Magazines
High-class magazines comprising a record of our principal digital content
07/October/2019FORESIGHT Climate & Energy Autumn/Winter 2019
Cities are significant consumers of energy and big emitters of greenhouse gases, responsible for global warming and dangerously poor air quality. By the end of the century, few cities will be safe from the risks of deadly heatwaves, flooding and overcrowding. But while dystopia may not seem too far away, there is an alternative, more utopian scenario that increasingly seems possible as cities the world over position themselves as energy transition leaders with or without national support. How cities will fund their clean energy transition needs sorting out, given that most taxes and other revenue sources generally go into the national coffers. Many cities are getting creative on climate financing. Best practice needs identifying and repeating elsewhere. All residents, including the poorest and most vulnerable, have to be involved in projects and decisions related to ditching fossil fuels in favour of renewables and greater efficiency. Research and experience both demonstrate how inclusive measures and actions help accelerate the energy transition and climate action in cities. Cities hold the key to a successful clean energy transformation. Striving for utopia, rather than allowing urban living to become synonymous with dystopia, is a big step to avoiding climate catastrophe. It will also improve the overall resilience and health of cities and their inhabitants
07/May/2019FORESIGHT Climate & Energy Spring/Summer 2019
A decarbonised heating and cooling system is vital for the energy transition, but fossil fuels remain the sector’s dominant energy source globally. The technologies exist to switch heating and cooling to clean sources of energy, and work by Heat Roadmap Europe and others shows the way forward. Progress in that transition is slow, however, with poor policy to blame. It is high time lawmakers stepped up to the plate. They must enforce existing laws, create new rules to fill regulatory gaps and introduce investment mechanisms for a timely and cost-effective turnaround in the heating and cooling sector. Change means phasing out oil and replacing coal generation in district energy systems with solar thermal energy, wind energy, direct geothermal heat, waste heat and large heat pumps. It also means extending and building new district heat networks, and massively increasing the use of heat pumps in buildings, especially outside dense urban areas. Data and planning at a local, regional and national level are key to finding the best solutions for different geographies, as is the spreading of best practice to avoid time wasting. Modern life is dependent on ambient indoor temperatures that are neither too hot nor too cold. But achieving the right temperature should not be at the expense of the climate. Enjoy the read
25/September/2018FORESIGHT Climate & Energy Autumn/Winter 2018
“We are on the cusp of a new economic era,” states a report published in September 2018 by political, finance and economic leaders from around the world. The report from the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate predicts that “rapid technological innovation, sustainable infrastructure investment and increased resource productivity” will drive economic growth in a brave new world powered by “affordable, clean, energy systems” available to everyone. The good news is that many politicians, businesses and investors are already onboard with this vision and benefitting from such change. But much more can and needs to be done. Indeed, the report makes it clear that the only way to create economic growth and social prosperity, given the increasing threat from climate change, is to move rapidly to an inclusive clean energy economy, and that those in the lead stand to benefit most. FORESIGHT Climate & Energy provides the knowledge needed by policy makers, finance and business leaders to make this reality, enabling well informed, timely decisions about the transition. As the report states: “Over $26 trillion and a more sustainable planet are on offer, if we all get on board…now.” Enjoy the read
20/May/2018FORESIGHT Climate & Energy Spring/Summer 2018
The Nordic countries are right to be proud of their leadership in the energy transition and to want to share their achievements with the world. In this edition of FORESIGHT Climate and Energy we take a look at the street in Norway where electric vehicles rule, at how countries around Europe are being inspired by Denmark’s low carbon district heating model and at the Nordic companies driving efforts to decarbonise shipping fleets. We also set the record straight on what an increase in electrification and variable renewables in the grid actually means in terms of flexibility, where gas fits into the energy transition, and why companies need to take action on climate risk. The energy transformation is a monumental challenge and progress everywhere is still far too slow if the global temperature rise is to be kept to below levels agreed in the international climate deal signed in Paris in 2015. With this in mind, we encourage even those at the forefront of the transformation to look outside their borders for inspiration. We trust that FORESIGHT will spark conversations and galvanise action for change. Enjoy the read.
01/November/2017FORESIGHT Climate & Energy Autumn / Winter 2017
Devoting an entire issue of FORESIGHT Climate & Energy to the subject of electricity storage in grid networks might seem like overkill, but the more evidence we unearthed about the role of storage, the more we saw an urgent need to set the record straight. Electricity storage, it turns out, is no more essential for reliable supplies of electricity from a power system based on variable sources of renewable energy, like wind and solar, than for a system based on fossil fuels and nuclear power. Given that fact, the emerging global rush by governments to manufacture profitable markets for electricity storage, whether or not it is needed, and the resulting push to develop storage solutions, risks triggering one of the biggest investment blunders of all times, not least in batteries. Belief is no substitute for rigorous examination of the facts. The false assumption that storing electricity and "firming supply" from variable renewables is essential for reliable power delivery is no basis for law making, or for investment. FORESIGHT examines the complex case for electricity storage in power systems in its latest issue. We trust you'll enjoy this readable walk, undertaken with a cool head through a hot topic of our times. Enjoy the read.
07/July/2017
