Environment

Tim Woollings, University of Oxford | – (The Conversation) – On several occasions this summer, Europe’s weather seemed to get itself stuck, leading to prolonged heatwaves and floods. In the UK, a long hot and dry spell throughout May and June gave way to a similarly persistent cool and wet period. In September, Europe saw […]

Climate Crisis

Germany Covers 52 percent of Electricity Consumption with Renewables so Far this Year

Clean Energy Wire

By Sören Amelang | – ( Clean Energy Wire) – Renewables covered more than half of Germany’s electricity consumption so far this year, according to calculations by utility association BDEW and the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Wuerttemberg (ZSW). Between January and September, the amount of renewables in the electricity mix rose to […]

Climate Crisis

Despite the Welcome Surge of Green Energy, the World is not on Track to keep Heating below 1.5C; We must do More

The Conversation

By Pep Canadell, CSIRO | – It was a rare bit of good news on climate. The International Energy Agency this week released its latest net zero roadmap, showing it was still just possible to hold global heating to 1.5℃. In the last two years, we’ve seen major global investment in clean energy, spurred on […]

Climate Crisis

Macron Pledges to end Coal by 2027, to get to 60% Renewables by 2030, and to Ramp up French EV Production; Is it Enough?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Kim Willsher reported this week at the Guardian on French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of a “French environmental plan” (l’écologie à la Française). Its centerpieces involved phasing out coal by 2027 and reducing fossil fuels in France’s energy mix from 60% today to 40% in 2030. France doesn’t use much […]

Climate Crisis

Portuguese youths sue 33 European Governments at EU Court in largest Climate Case Ever

The Conversation

By Marta Torre-Schaub, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne | – (The Conversation) – A little over three years ago, a group of Portuguese youths filed a legal action against 33 European governments to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over what they say is a failure to adequately tackle global heating. Now, the Strasbourg court […]

Climate Crisis

Sister Cities in Climate Crisis: New Orleans, Basra, Alexandria face Saltwater Intrusion, Fresh Water Shortage

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Eric Zerkel and Angela Fritz at CNN report on the great saltwater intrusion that is threatening drinking water over the next few months in New Orleans and towns to its south. The Mississippi delta was created by the silt deposited as the great river flowed south into the Gulf of […]

Australia

In First, Rooftop Solar Alone provides 101% of South Australia’s Electricity Demand

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Giles Parkinson at RenewEconomy in Australia reports that rooftop solar briefly generated 101% of South Australia’s electricity demand on Saturday around 2 pm local time. This milestone is important, since it was reached entirely with rooftop solar on residential and business edifices rather than with industrial-scale solar farms, of which […]

Corporations

Meeting Union Demands would be a Win-Win for Automakers

OtherWords

By Sonali Kolhatkar ( Otherwords.org) – The United Auto Workers (UAW), a union of nearly 150,000 workers at America’s “Big Three” automakers, are on strike. On the face of it, UAW’s demands sound audacious. They’re calling for a 46 percent pay raise and a four-day workweek, among other things. But in the broader context of […]

Batteries

Selling like Hotcakes: 1 mn EVs sold in US during Past Year — which is Why UAW Workers deserve Green New Deal

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A million purely battery-electric vehicles have been sold in the US during the past year, according to David Reichmuth at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Tom Randall at Bloomberg notes that it took 10 years for the first million EVs to be sold in the US, and it took two […]