About this Discussion

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis that has major implications for world economies, energy use and CO2 emissions. According to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2020 report, the immediate effects of the pandemic on the energy system shows expected falls in 2020 of 5% in global energy demand, 7% in energy-related CO2 emissions and 18% in energy investment. Oil consumption is anticipated to decline by 8% and coal use by 7%. However, as with previous crises, the rebound in emissions may be larger than the decline, unless the wave of investments to restart economies is dedicated to cleaner and more resilient energy infrastructure.
Decarbonizing energy use in time to avert catastrophic climate change requires increased international cooperation. Recovery measures following COVID-19 pandemic could include flexible power grids, efficiency solutions, electric vehicle charging, energy storage, interconnected hydropower, green hydrogen and other technology investments consistent with long-term energy and climate sustainability.

In line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is a global movement to address these challenges by substantially increasing investment in renewable energy technologies and implementation, doubling the rate of improvement to energy efficiency, and changing user behaviours, with the aim to achieve absolute decoupling between energy consumption and economic growth.

Energy

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As the world gets warmer the more we need cooling systems - it's a vicious cycle of climate change.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates in a 2018 report that global demand for space cooling will more than triple by 2050. The growing cooling demand is “one of the most critical energy issues of our time”.

Is there a way to make air conditioning less of an environmental issue?

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/03/air-conditioning-climate-crisis-clean-tech-solut...
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Created a Post in Energy

Together with Partners, EIT Climate-KIC is leading a process aimed at supporting stakeholders in three European lignite regions transition from high economic dependence on lignite to a low-carbon future. Lignite is considered the lowest rank of coal, or ‘brown coal’. It is one of the most polluting forms of coal because its lower density means more needs to be burned to produce a unit of power.

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https://www.climate-kic.org/news/lignite-regions-just-transition/

New listings of fossil fuel companies would be immediately banned on the London Stock Exchange as part of a proposal by the Liberal Democrats that the party says could help the UK become a leader in tackling the climate emergency.

Under the plan outlined to the Guardian by the Lib Dem leader, Ed Davey, another immediate policy would be to stop new bonds being issued in London to finance oil, coal or gas exploration.

Fossil fuel firms already listed in the UK would then have two years to produce a coherent plan about how they would reach net zero emissions by 2045, or risk being struck off the LSE.

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https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/aug/26/lib-dems-propose-ban-on-new-listings-of-fossil-fuel...
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Created a Post in Climate Change, Energy

China's provinces are still planning to launch more than 100 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power capacity despite a decline in new approvals in the first half of 2021, environmental group Greenpeace said on Wednesday.

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https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinas-provinces-still-planning-over-100-gw-new-coal-project...
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Created a Post in Energy

A modern, clean electricity grid is foundational to ensuring the United States is resilient in the face of a changing climate and can achieve a net-zero energy future by 2050. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) represents a historic investment of about $550 billion in new spending over five years on the nation’s infrastructure, including in the energy grid.

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https://www.wri.org/insights/us-infrastructure-bill-good-not-enough-transform-electricity-grid
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Created a Post in Energy

US local governments bought more renewable energy in 2020 than ever before, according to new data from the Local Government Renewables Action Tracker. Nearly 100 cities and counties across 33 states completed 143 deals, adding 3,683 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity. This is a 23 percent increase from 2019 and represents enough energy to power 811,000 households annually. Here's how it happened.

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https://rmi.org/us-cities-bought-more-renewables-than-ever-in-2020-heres-how

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The UK’s greenest health centre, constructed using Passivhaus sustainability standards, has opened its doors to patients - what does it look like?

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https://buildingbetterhealthcare.com/news/article_page/UKs_greenest_health_centre_opens_its_doors_to...

With 335% increase in investment, compared to the same period last year, listed Canadian cleantech and renewable energy companies are enjoying their strongest fundraising performance ever in the first half of 2021, showing an incredible momentum. However, experts warned that market volatility in the energy transition is something that has to be watched.

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https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/renewables/canadian-cleantechs-335-surge-in-financing-s...

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The prefecture of Fukushima and the region of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany have exchanged best practices on regional energy transition since 2013 on topics such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. In 2017, to accelerate the partnership and strengthen its industrial dimension by involving experts, local businesses, clusters and research institutes, an agreement was signed between the energy agencies of both regions, facilitating B2B activities, bilateral experts workshops and access to trade fairs.

North Rhine-Westphalia was the first German state to adopt binding greenhouse gases reduction targets and by 2018 has created 46.000 jobs in the renewable energy sector. While Fukushima Prefectural Government has strived towards reducing greenhouse gases emissions by at least 45% by 2030 compared to 2013.

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https://www.eu-japan.eu/publications/energy-transition-agencies-fukushima-x-north-rhine-westphalia
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Created a Post in Energy

The Biden administration on Thursday said it would conduct a formal review of coal sales on federal lands to study their impact on climate change and value to American taxpayers.

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https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/biden-administration-review-climate-impacts-federal-coal-lea...