Farmers are bearing the brunt of big food companies’ decarbonisation efforts – here’s why: The corporate rush to reduce the environmental footprint of their food supply chains poses several challenges for farmers. StockMediaSeller/Shutterstock More than a third of the global greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activity can be attributed to the way we produce, …
Shipping must accelerate its decarbonisation efforts – and now it has the opportunity to do so: Shipping emitted the same amount of carbon as Germany in 2018. petrugusa/Shutterstock Member states of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the UN agency that regulates international maritime affairs, are meeting on December 5-16 to discuss how to accelerate the …
‘Dark data’ is killing the planet – we need digital decarbonisation: dotshock / shutterstock More than half of the digital data firms generate is collected, processed and stored for single-use purposes. Often, it is never re-used. This could be your multiple near-identical images held on Google Photos or iCloud, a business’s outdated spreadsheets that will …
‘Decarbonisation is too expensive’ – how to sell climate change action to bean counters: Scharfsinn/Shutterstock The three most prevalent myths about tackling climate change allege that transitioning to renewable energy jacks up household bills, requires massive amounts of government subsidy and creates mass unemployment. These concerns are all (thankfully) false. With fellow academics, I studied …
Global warming below 1.7°C is ‘not plausible’, reveals our study of the social drivers of decarbonisation: If you read the scientific literature, there seem to be countless pathways and scenarios that might lead us to global deep decarbonisation by 2050, allowing us to meet the 1.5°C target. “It’s still possible,” is the message, “if only …
Hydrogen: where is low-carbon fuel most useful for decarbonisation?: FrankHH/Shutterstock Is hydrogen the lifeblood of a low-carbon future, or an overhyped distraction from real solutions? One thing is certain – the coal, oil and natural gas which currently power much of daily life must be phased out within coming decades. From the cars we drive …
‘Decarbonisation’ may be the wrong goal for energy – here’s why: Science in HD/Unsplash, CC BY-SA Electricity generated by nuclear power plants, wind turbines and solar panels results in negligible greenhouse gas emissions, even when their manufacture, construction and maintenance is taken into account. To the casual observer, nuclear power and renewables might appear to …
Energy isn’t just electricity – the common mistake obscuring the mammoth task of decarbonisation: Dtram/Shutterstock One of the first things I teach students is the difference between energy and electricity. Electricity is a particular form of energy, but often the two words are used interchangeably. Britain recently celebrated its longest streak without burning coal to …
South Africa in the news: Platinum group metals in pole position to benefit from global decarbonisation thrust: South Africa, with its superior sun, prime wind, available land, the world’s biggest platinum group metals endowment, ready infrastructure, years of scientific insight and advance investments in key …: “South Africa” – BingNews Just in: GDP plummets by …