You can’t manage what you don’t measure – and US President Donald Trump’s new budget for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will leave too little funding for the country to measure its carbon emissions. Craig Morris takes a look.
Year: 2017
The unknown climate risks for renewable energy projects
Just like every other form of power, renewable energy can be vulnerable to natural disasters (although considering the alternatives, the fallout is less dangerous). But as climate change makes storms more violent, it’s worth considering how to insure new renewable plants. Emilio Godoy takes a look at how Latin American countries are handling it.
Six years after Fukushima, much of Japan has lost faith in nuclear power
The 2011 Fukushima disaster was a huge turning point for how many countries saw nuclear energy. Years later, many Japanese people have not returned home but may be forced to help pay for the cleanup. Tatsujiro Suzuki looks at the current situation and recommends that the Japanese government take measures to regain public trust.
Stronger together: The EU’s energy and climate governance
Governance is not about imposing new obligations to member states. It is about mobilising and coordinating all relevant actors, including cities and regions. Europe is changing. Europe is greening. Let’s embrace this change rather than falter, write Michèle Rivasi and Claude Turmes.
Dispatching with “dispatchable” nuclear
In the US, a debate on “deep decarbonization” is raging: going nearly zero-carbon in energy supply. Journalist David Roberts says we will need “dispatchable” nuclear. Via Twitter, he told readers that, to refute his argument, people need to move beyond their anti-nuke rant and show that we won’t need “dispatchable nuclear.” Craig Morris has a different take: Roberts needs to define “dispatchable.”
Poland to miss 2020 European Union renewable energy target, Ecofys
Poland is set to miss its target of covering up to 15% of energy demand with renewables by 2020. Under the most favorable scenario provided by a report released by local consultancy Ecofys, new additions for solar may reach 695 GWh, while the country is expected to reach a target of only 13.8% by the end of the decade. Emiliano Bellini goes in-depth.
UK leads the way on emissions reductions, despite overall increase across the European Union
The UK recorded the largest decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union (EU) in 2015, although new research has found the emissions from the bloc increased for the first time in five years. Matt Mace of Edie Newsroom explains.
Workers fear radiation exposure after nuclear waste storage tunnels collapse in Washington
In this article, Democracy Now recaps what exactly happened at the Hanford nuclear site in Washington State. The most polluted nuclear weapons production site has been leaking for years, and the state’s Department of Ecology has taken legal action. Amy Goodman of Democracy now speaks to Tom Carpenter, executive director of Hanford Challenge.
Trump is normalizing climate skepticism
Lots has been said about Trump’s decision to back out of the Paris Accord, but have we overlooked one factor: like-minded politicians abroad feeling encouraged to speak up? Judging from German events, opponents of the Paris agreement are coming out of hiding. As the Germans would say, Trump is making skepticism salonfähig: literally, “suitable for the salon” – something that can be talked about in polite company. Craig Morris explains.
How green are the manifestos? UK elections and climate change
Sam Fankhauser and Sini Matikainen review what the manifestos of the Conservatives, Labour, and the Liberal Democrats contain on the environment. They argue that all three parties are committed to taking action, but there is a risk that climate change will be forgotten by a new government preoccupied with other issues.