Thanks Ede for exciting insights for post COVID worlds. While the GRIT and green recovery offers to most of us convincing model for future growth, it would be good to hear your views on what is constraining the scale up - is it just the lack of progressive leadership or still an economic argument which focuses on quick and near term results rather than sustainability?
Thanks for posting this very informative article. With regard to cooling of buildings, as you point out, air conditioning does consume huge amounts of electricity and the demand is likely to grow as incomes increase in developing countries . The best heat pumps available today are rated 26 SEER plus and can be improved but the units are expensive. Heating mostly uses fossil fuels which produce CO2 and directly contributes to greater emissions . The most effective way to deal with this is better insulation and better building design including use of appropriate building materials and solar panels. Proper building insulation which need not be expensive, can reduce cooling and heating needs significantly thus reducing electricity demand. The need to eliminate fossil fuel plants for power generation is urgent. Even though renewable energy is now cost competitive with fossil fuel plants, everyone realizes that there will be a transition period to close out existing coal and gas plants and make the switch to renewables. Policy makers and businesses need to move with determination now if this transition is to occur within a reasonable time frame.
+1 for Donut Economics. Really helps to reframe how we need to look at the world. Modern Monetary Theory is another book which challenges orthodoxy.
Thanks Ede for exciting insights for post COVID worlds. While the GRIT and green recovery offers to most of us convincing model for future growth, it would be good to hear your views on what is constraining the scale up - is it just the lack of progressive leadership or still an economic argument which focuses on quick and near term results rather than sustainability?
Thanks for posting this very informative article. With regard to cooling of buildings, as you point out, air conditioning does consume huge amounts of electricity and the demand is likely to grow as incomes increase in developing countries . The best heat pumps available today are rated 26 SEER plus and can be improved but the units are expensive. Heating mostly uses fossil fuels which produce CO2 and directly contributes to greater emissions . The most effective way to deal with this is better insulation and better building design including use of appropriate building materials and solar panels. Proper building insulation which need not be expensive, can reduce cooling and heating needs significantly thus reducing electricity demand. The need to eliminate fossil fuel plants for power generation is urgent. Even though renewable energy is now cost competitive with fossil fuel plants, everyone realizes that there will be a transition period to close out existing coal and gas plants and make the switch to renewables. Policy makers and businesses need to move with determination now if this transition is to occur within a reasonable time frame.