Posts in the 'Energy + Climate Change' category
Corporations have driven much of the recent U.S. investment in renewable energy, collectively procuring more than 16 gigawatts of new capacity since 2014, enough to power roughly 5 million homes for a year. Commercial and industrial energy users represent more than 60% of U.S. ...
The largest and highest-consuming cities in the world have carbon footprints equal to those of small countries. This is the finding of a study surveying the carbon footprint of cities worldwide. Half the world’s population lives in cities, but just 100 cities ...
Around the world, grassroots movements like Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future are sounding the alarm about the climate crisis, and government representatives are responding to the call: national parliaments and cities have declared climate emergencies, the Green New Deal is gathering support in ...
Street lighting is important. It allows informal vendors and traders to operate for longer hours and improves road and public safety. It also makes streets feel safer and more secure, especially for women. But street lighting is sorely lacking in many of sub-Saharan Africa’s ...
At Connect Karo 2019, WRI India’s seventh annual conference on sustainable urban development in India, experts across sectors agreed on one big thing: the future of mobility is electric. This marks a rapid evolution of opinion since last year’s Connect ...
The emergence of the Green New Deal has inspired unprecedented activism and lively debate about the future of climate action in Congress and the relationship between climate policy and a broader economic and social equity agenda. So far, it’s only been talk, since ...
When a city decides to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, headlines follow. But the work has only just begun. Cities have many options for generating and purchasing renewable electricity, each of which comes with distinct benefits and challenges. ...
Cities in the global south today face a complex challenge: like all cities, they need to reduce carbon emissions, but they also need to expand access to energy. Around the world, 1.1 billion people currently lack access to electric cooling ...
Mayors from cities across the U.S. are stepping up and committing to broad and inspirational action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonize local energy systems. This leadership is especially critical given lack of federal climate action, but translating a ...
Electrification is a key step to creating low-carbon cities. Replacing fossil fuel-powered vehicles, stoves, furnaces with electric alternatives reduces emissions and creates a host of other benefits. But not all cities are equally suitable for electrification. In some cases, electrification is ...
Cities are currently both climate-culprit and climate-victim. They are already responsible for 70 percent of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions and 65 percent of global energy demand; they could easily account for more than three-quarters of electricity use by 2030. ...
The UN climate summit in Katowice, Poland (COP24) is seen by many as the most important climate negotiation since 2015, when 196 countries created a vision for a zero-carbon future by adopting the landmark Paris Agreement. This year’s summit is the ...
Because countries’ commitments are not enough, and cities, local governments and businesses can only do so much to keep climate impacts from reaching the most dangerous levels, we need to strengthen the mutually reinforcing relationship between national and subnational climate action ...
More than 7 million people die prematurely every year due to air pollution. That’s like the entire population of Hong Kong dropping dead due to a cause that’s ultimately avoidable. The World Health Organization (WHO) is turning its attention to ...
Amid the barrage of news about climate-related natural disasters and climate change summits, it’s important to recognize real inflection points—when there is truly cause to sit up and take note. The IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC, released ...
