How Japan’s ‘opt-in’ smart city could change urban living
This article is part of the Global Technology Governance Summit The city of Aizuwakamatsu in Japan has introduced an opt-in service for smartphone disaster alerts. It’s…
Innovation
Energy efficiency boosts jobs and cuts climate heat
Creating millions of jobs in energy efficiency schemes is the fastest way to restore prosperity and cut climate heating. LONDON, 26 January, 2021 − Improving energy…
Avoid hydrogen for heating homes, urges energy efficiency coalition
A coalition of 33 business and civil society groups have urged the European Commission to prioritise renewables and energy efficiency over hydrogen as part of…
Greening our homes could kickstart an economic recovery – but we need new ideas
Ask an economist what they’d do first to kickstart a green recovery and they’ll probably say ‘retrofit’. That’s because greening our homes is essential if…
Energy efficiency must apply across all renewables, EU Commission says
Europe needs a massive increase in renewable electricity to meet its 2030 decarbonisation targets, including a ramp up of clean hydrogen production from electrolysers, a…
We need to radically reimagine the way we travel and commute
Let’s start with a fact: electric vehicles (EVs) are better for the environment than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. We should focus on promoting electric vehicles…
The UK has some of the least energy-efficient housing in Europe – here’s how to fix this
Samot/Shutterstock Sankar Sivarajah, University of Bradford Poorly constructed housing can seriously affect people’s health and wellbeing. And with the UK having some of the oldest…
Shift to decentral heating needed to make Germany’s buildings climate neutral – industry
Government measures to create a climate-neutral building stock by 2050 are insufficient, the German Housing Association (GdW) and the CDU Economic Council (CDU Wirtschaftsrat) have warned in a joint…
Children’s views should be taken into account when designing urban space
Iryna Inshyna/Shutterstock Jenny Wood, Heriot-Watt University Children see the world in a different way to adults, but urban planning policies rarely take this into account….
Of hemp’s many uses, one of the most promising could be in construction
“Hempcrete,” made from the woody core of hemp, is showing promise as an environmentally friendly building material. October 6, 2020 — It has become almost…
China’s new carbon neutrality pledge: what next?
Experts react to President Xi’s statement that China will up its climate ambition by striving for carbon neutrality by 2060. In a virtual address to…
Ring out the old, ring in the new
Now is the time to plant the seeds of innovation. The pandemic has been too global and too prolonged to be considered just one of…
Big Green Apple: forbidden fruit, no more
The science behind climate change is self-evident: the burning of fossil fuels is the largest contributor to human-caused climate change. Climate change is a worldwide…
Energy performance in buildings is key to meeting 2030 emissions target
Ursula von der Leyen and Frans Timmermans have pledged to kick-start a renovation wave across Europe. This is a management challenge with three aspects that…
A solution to engineering energy-saving smart materials
Dr Mohammad Taha It is estimated that between 40-60 per cent of energy usage in buildings is due to climate control, including air conditioning and…
The heat is on to make German buildings ‘nearly’ climate-neutral
A mainly fossil energy guzzler, heating in Germany has taken a back seat to the Energiewende’s poster child, the power sector. But the “Wärmewende”, or…