The eminent American economist Jeffrey Sachs announced this
week: “Climate change is not only an issue for the future. It is a critical
issue of the present”.
Well, Europeans have been saying that for years, but Jeffrey
was talking about the US. He opened a meeting I was at in New York by saying
that there has been a sea change in the US in attitudes to the climate change
issue.
I was taking part in the Global Roundtable on Climate Change.
It was organized by the Earth Institute of Columbia University (where Jeffrey
is director), which may seem a little odd until you realize that buildings use
40% of all primary energy.
It was easy enough to believe in climate change as soon as I
landed at JFK. Snow-clearing machines were lined up idle along the runway. It
was like early spring – 59 degrees (about 15ºC). So warm that people were eating outside – when they could tear
themselves away from shopping. It was the last Sunday Christmas shopping day. But
what a circus! Most people I know hate shopping but the Americans seem to love
it…. what a footprint!
Continue reading "Is the US at last waking up on climate change?" »
It’s windy and rainy in Brussels. Looks like the winter is finally
coming. But only after a long and exceptionally warm autumn. And what is likely
to be another “hottest year ever”. You can’t help thinking about Climate change.
I am in Brussels where Philips is launching an initiative for efficient lighting technology. It’s
an important aspect of making buildings energy efficient because so much
electricity is used for lighting in homes, offices and (especially) shops and restaurants
– and so much of it is wasted.
Harry Verhaar has been telling me all about it. He
is Philips’ director for Energy & Climate Change and he has convinced me
what can be achieved with the latest technology. We can have better lighting
but radically reduce the use of energy.
Continue reading "If you're cold: Use heaters, not light bulbs!" »
In Paris last week, experts from all over the world seemed to agree: we know how to make
buildings more energy efficient, but we don’t know how to make it happen.
I was at a
workshop on Energy Efficiency in Buildings at the International Energy Agency's
building conference. It will feed in to the IEA's recommendations for the G8
meeting in Japan 2008.
Buildings
might not seem as important as cars, aircraft or power stations. But they
already account for 40% of the world’s primary energy use. And if things carry
on as now, buildings will consume more energy than transport and industry
together in 2050. That is not sustainable.
Continue reading "A passport to low energy. But which route?" »
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