Green Energy

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – At the energy think tank Ember, Matt Ewen and Sarah Brown have issued a new report showing that the use of fossil fuels in the European Union fell a remarkable 17% in the first two quarters of 2023, year over year. Indeed, hydrocarbons accounted for only a third of energy […]

Climate Crisis

As America faces Greatest Threat in Climate Crisis, Yellow-Bellied Republican Candidates Cower in Denial

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Neil Vigdor at the NYT focuses on the short moment in the Republican Debate last night when reality intervened in the proceedings and even the Fox News moderators, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, asked about the issue of the climate crisis. They wanted a show of hands by the candidates […]

Climate Crisis

After Maui: Why Sultan al-Jaber both is and isn’t the Right chief for the COP28 Climate Summit

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Sultan al-Jaber, the controversial chairman of the COP28 climate conference, is a United Arab Emirates businessman extraordinaire. His role and that of COP28 appear all the more important in the wake of the terrifying wildfires that swept the tropical island (!) of Maui this week and destroyed the ancient capital […]

Climate Crisis

Renewables supplied a record 69.2% of Germany’s Electricity for Homes in July

Julian Wettengel

By Julian Wettengel | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Renewable energy supplied a record of 69.2 percent of Germany’s public net electricity generation in July 2023, according to data by research institute Fraunhofer ISE. Due to favourable weather conditions, wind power alone contributed about 29 percent. At about 23 percent, the solar power […]

Climate Crisis

Two-Thirds of Americans Prioritize Wind, Solar, favor Gov’t Incentives, as 54% see Climate Change as Dire Threat

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Pew Research Center has released the results of a new US poll on climate change and green energy. It gives reason for hope, though some of the results are a little discouraging. The poll found that 67% of Americans want to prioritize green energy such as wind and solar. […]

China

Green Jobs take off in China after Beijing’s Carbon Neutrality Pledge

China Dialogue

Jiang Mengnan ( China Dialogue ) – Around the world, tech and finance companies have been laying staff off. In 2022, tech firms’ payrolls fell by 164,000 employees, with a further 166,000 jobs cut in the first quarter of 2023, according to tracking platform Layoffs.fyi. In China, youth unemployment is also rising, hitting 20% this […]

Climate Crisis

Renewable Energy poised to overtake Coal, Providing 1/3 of Global Electricity: IEA

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The International Energy Agency’s report on electricity markets is out and it has some good news. Depending on how cold the winters are, the IEA expects renewable sources of energy to outstrip coal in 2024, and forever thereafter. It calls this change “structural.” That is, it isn’t a blip or […]

Climate Crisis

We Need to Decarbonize our Electricity, and Quickly — the Good News is that Green Energy is Practical and Brings Economic Benefits

The Conversation

By John Quiggin, The University of Queensland | – We use energy in everything we do, but few of us understand it properly. Much of the time this doesn’t matter. We can flick a light switch or turn the ignition key in a car, knowing the technology will work whether we understand it or not. […]

Climate Crisis

Renewables covered more than Half of German Electricity Consumption in the first half of 2023

Julian Wettengel

( Clean Energy Wire) – Wind, solar and other renewable energy sources covered 52 percent of German electricity consumption in the first six months of 2023, up from 49 percent in the first half of last year, preliminary data by the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Wuerttemberg (ZSW) and energy industry association BDEW […]