Everything we do needs energy. The type of energy we use shapes the world around us, from how clean is the air we breathe, to how shock-proof our economies are.A rapid transition in energy use is at the centre of solving climate breakdown. The world still uses coal, oil and gas for over 80 percent of its energy needs. But the rise of renewable energy around the world is beating all expectations. Meeting climate targets means more than just having lots of solar panels and wind turbines, though – it means leaving fossil fuels in the ground, and radically reducing the amount of energy used in high-consuming countries and groups of people.
Story of change
Reclaiming power: The rapid rise of community renewable energy and why the added benefits of local, clean power can help accelerate transitionRenewable energy is on the rise. It made up more than a quarter of global electricity generation (27%) in 2019 and is outpacing all other energy sources’ growing capacity. Nevertheless, it is...
A rapid transition to clean and lower energy use can bring jobs, a wide range of health benefits, cleaner air and a more stable climate. Evidence shows that where communities own and develop renewable energy schemes the benefits spread more broadly and any problems are more easily overcome. It’s around energy that some of the most rapid and promising changes are happening right now.
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Commentary
Given Half a Chance: Ten Ways to Save the WorldEnvironmentalist Edward Davey’s new book, Given Half a Chance: Ten Ways to Save the World shows how little it would take to set a rapid transition in...
Story of change
From oil crisis to energy revolution – how nations once before planned to kick the oil habitJust as the modern oil and debt fuelled consumer age was building momentum in wealthy industrialised countries, the energy taps were turned off by the 1973...
Commentary
Fossil fuel disarmamentThree years ago, on 7 July 2017, something quite remarkable happened. After decades of trying to get the nuclear powers to fulfil their commitments under...
Story of change
Dethroning king coal – how a once dominant fuel source is falling rapidly from favourElectricity fuelled by coal is experiencing a record decline. 2019 is expected to show the biggest fall yet, after decades of increases. An accelerated move...
Story of change
Converting industry – how rapid transition happens in crises and upheavalsA brewer of ‘craft’ beer starts making sanitising hand gel and a car manufacturer converts one of its factories so it can make medical face masks. Just...
Report
Climate & Rapid Behaviour Change. What do we know so far?“We’ve shown in the past that surprising changes are possible in how people behave, in smoking, driving, antibiotics, and sexual health. We now know...
Story of change
Catch Chile’s waste reduction bus – how behaviour change, new infrastructure and different business models are cutting wasteWaste is a huge global problem and it’s growing fast. According to a World Bank report in 2018, global annual waste generation is expected to jump to 3.4...
Story of change
Can state-of-the-art batteries fuel a clean, renewable energy and transport future?In late 2019 images of Australia in flames spread around the world. Record weather extremes related to global heating had created conditions in which vast...
Story of change
Can Costa Rica’s path to carbon neutrality be replicated by other countries?While the UN unveils another devastating report on biodiversity loss, showing the threat from humanity to the rest of life on earth, and as countries puzzle...