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• November 5th - Clean Power 2030 – My thoughts (2) (Uncategorized) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  National Energy System Operator released the Clean Power 2030 plan today (link below). I’ve had a brief look this morning and modelled the pathways in my Digital Twin of the GB Electricity Mix. Here’s my 🔟 takeaways. What are yours? TLDR- this is an exciting vision. Clean Power 2030 is achievable and my comments are […]
• October 20th - How to Maximize Solar Power Efficiency in Small Residential Homes (2024 Guide) (1) (Uncategorized) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  Guest Post from Donaldson Bright Want to harness the sun’s power but worried about your compact space? Don’t let a small roof hold you back! I’ve helped countless homeowners optimize their solar power systems, and I can tell you firsthand – when it comes to solar energy, it’s not about the size of the space, […]

• February 5th - Decoupling – reducing energy bills by £3bn (16) (Uncategorized) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  Since September 2022, I have been campaigning to stop gas controlling the price of all of our electricity bills. Retrospective analysis shows that this would have reduced bills by £3bn from November 2022 to January 2023. In this blog, I will explain the idea more so you can share it and campaign for it yourself […]
• January 8th - Three Energy Predictions for the UK in 2023 (0) (Guest Blog, Opinion Piece) (by Logan Black)

  GUEST BLOG BY LOGAN BLACK https://www.linkedin.com/in/logangblack/ In 2022, there were many significant developments in the UK energy sector. These included: political tensions over the supply of energy through interconnectors with other countries, particularly Norway; the reintroduction of onshore wind and solar PV to the Contract for Difference; high gas and electricity prices and the implementation of […]

• August 18th - Electric Car Myths Debunked (5) (Uncategorized) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  Guest Blog: Emma Rix, Creative Bloom Rocks As with a lot of things in life, the electric car industry has a few myths floating around. From how green they are to how long a single charge lasts for, it seems every man and his dog has had their say on EVs in recent years.  But […]
• July 22nd - What’s Green and Invisible? Natural Gas (apparently) (0) (Guest Blog, Opinion Piece, Uncategorized) (by Logan Black)

  A commentary on the relabelling of natural gas a green.
• July 7th - CfD AR4 – What Does this mean (0) (Guest Blog, Opinion Piece) (by Logan Black)

  GUEST BLOG BY LOGAN BLACK https://www.linkedin.com/in/logangblack/ The results of Contract for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round (AR) 4 were announced on 07 July 2022. CfDs were awarded to 93 projects in total to deliver low-carbon energy starting from 2023. This is more than in the previous three rounds combined. In total 10.8 GW of low carbon technology […]
• April 9th - UK Energy Security Strategy (4) (Uncategorized) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  The UK Energy Security Strategy was released today, so we gathered the views of energy professionals to get their views. The headlines are as follows (courtesy of Logan): 50 GW offshore wind by 2050 – including a cut in planning timescales 24 GW Nuclear by 2050 – Wylfa and up to eight other reactors Solar – […]
• March 17th - New UK Energy Strategy (4) (Guest Blog, Opinion Piece) (by Logan Black)

  GUEST BLOG BY LOGAN BLACK https://www.linkedin.com/in/logangblack/ Number 10 and BEIS are making rumbling noises about launching a new UK energy strategy. This energy strategy is likely to focus on the ‘security of supply’ aspect of the energy trilemma. Security of Supply has been brought to the fore by recent tensions over NordStream 2 and Russia’s […]
• February 21st - The Policy Failures that Caused the 2022 Energy Price Crisis (6) (Uncategorized) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  The 2022 energy price crisis is leaving thousands of British homes with a stark choice: heating or eating. It’s wrong, unfair and, for reasons outlined in this blog, something we could have mititaged or avoided. Nothing is more telling of the disjointed nature of energy politics and reality has been the proposed “solution” to the […]

• December 2nd - Guest Blog: Oakwood pt 2 (0) (Uncategorized) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  My mission I have always had a passion to live as environmentally sustainable as possible without being a full-on tree hugger. So, buying a thermally efficient house in Staffordshire on 24 September 2014, with a high-level of insulation and underfloor heating heralded the start of my journey. I wanted to see if it was possible […]
• January 15th - UK Government Releases Energy White Paper: Powering Our Net-Zero Future (1) (Uncategorized) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  The following Guest Post was written by Allen Shuford who works with Selectra Group, which is a company that offers advice on consumer energy . He is developing www.theswitch.co.uk This past December the UK government finally gave an answer to the long-awaited question of how the UK will meet its deadline of net-zero emissions by […]

• November 3rd - Solarcentury bought by Statkraft: what it means, and what I will do next in my campaigning on the climate crisis etc (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The sale was completed on 1st November, and the following is a composite Q&A of media questions that I hope will explain what the sale means and what I will do next in my campaigning on the climate crisis and Read the rest
• October 18th - A tale of severe and growing social inequality in the Highlands, and two suggestions to help fix it (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Ruined buildings on the unused Kilundine estate, which the Morvern Community Woodlands group hopes to buy and revive AS a new migrant to the Highlands I have made a depressing discovery. Many Highlanders are not able to buy property of Read the rest
• September 18th - A history of the solar century so far: a tale of disruption, denial, and existential threat. (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  An account of the oil and gas industry’s response to climate risk and the emergence of low-cost solar since that late 1990s as seen by a bit-part player in the drama. As presented in the closing keynote at the UBS Read the rest
• September 3rd - Record donation of £920,000 from Solarcentury launches a new era at SolarAid (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Some of the team at Solarcentury, and SolarAid’s new chair for a new phase, Mirjana Skrba. Followers of this website could be forgiven for being fed up with being reminded that Solarcentury gives 5% of net profit every year to Read the rest
• July 5th - The Bunloit Wildland project: full Q & A of an interview with The Scotsman on mission and progress to date (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Interview for this an article on 5th July: 1. Why Bunloit Estate? What attracted to you this particular parcel of land and how does it fit in to your rewilding vision? Beyond the fact that I have loved the Highlands Read the rest
• June 9th - Covid-19 has accelerated the stranding of fossil-fuel-economy assets. What does that mean for our world? (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  My latest Big Picture update for the team at Solarcentury, built around the latest report from Carbon Tracker, “Decline and Fall”, published 4th June. Read the rest
• April 17th - Sir John Houghton, a co-chair of the IPCC scientific group and hero of the climate struggle, has died of COVID-19 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  I witnessed Sir John Houghton co-chair the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Scientific Working Group between 1988 and 2002. He was a man I admired enormously. His mission was difficult in the extreme: to find a way of capturing and Read the rest
• April 10th - Imagine facing this pandemic in the dark. Let’s spare as many as we can in rural Zambia and Malawi that fate. (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  In isolation, there is so much time for thinking. One of the silver linings to the COVID-19 clouds is that many people seem to be translating their thinking time into empathy for others, and are acting on that empathy. God Read the rest
• March 31st - Climate crisis + Covid crisis = ? ….some early thoughts for companies able to help lead the green new deal (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  My presentation at Solarcentury’s annual review meeting this afternoon. Bottom line: we and our like will be even more needed, and have so very much to offer. Read the rest
• March 7th - A search for hope on the climate front lines in 2020: an idea for a new campaigning people-power company (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  My presentation at Cambridge University on 5th March. In it I describe an idea for a new people-power company to help lead the charge to a zero-carbon world by decarbonising, recarbonising, and pressuring foot draggers: ZeroCarbon Revolution. A video of Read the rest
• February 5th - Financing solar for a zero carbon world: panel discussions at two international conferences. (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Solar finance and investment, London, 5th February 2020 Making solar bankable, Amsterdam 7th February 2020 What follows are the 8 points I would most like to make. Time will not allow me to make them all, or in much detail Read the rest

• November 25th - Opinion piece – UK Coal (0) (Uncategorized) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  The closure of Wales’ last coal plant now halves to 4 (in a single year) the number of remaining UK coal power stations being kept on standby as a price-hedge in case of a surge in European gas prices (the only reason that the National Grid has been keeping coal in our energy mix).https://www.energylivenews.com/2019/08/09/sse-secures-capacity-contracts-from-rwes-aberthaw-b-coal-plant/ I suppose […]
• November 2nd - Why the UK government finally gave up on fracking. And why American shale drilling will crash. (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  After years of dogged support for fracked shale gas and oil, at the expense of clean energy, the Conservatives finally gave in today. This is a significant victory for environmentalists. But the implications are global, substantial, and fully explored in Read the rest
• October 24th - The quest for zero net carbon: globally and in the UK ….an eclectic tour (Business Green Summit presentation) (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Read the rest
• October 23rd - The global context of Solarcentury’s work: my presentation at the company’s quarterly review Oct. 22 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This is a summary in pictures and charts of selected major developments during the last three months in the global issues relevant to the company’s mission, culture, and brand. Those who would like the original powerpoint, with source urls as Read the rest
• September 20th - This is one of the most heart-rending scenes I have witnessed in 3 decades of campaigning (13 sec video) (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Where indeed is the government? I find it agonising to imagine being in the minds of these kids. How awfully my generation has let them down. I and many of my compadres have fought for years to save them from Read the rest
• September 20th - What it’s all about tomorrow: triggering a survival reflex in society in the face of climate chaos (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Read the rest
• September 19th - On the eve of the schoolchildrens’ strike for climate, a 2 minute video from parents all over the world (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  I am proud to “represent the UK” in this group, and I encourage everyone to accept the schoolchildrens’ invitation to join them on the streets tomorrow. We at Solarcentury and SolarAid will be. Read the rest
• September 11th - Global heating and the climate chaos that results from it: a summary slideshow to mark the global schoolchildrens’ strike (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A slideshow-summary for-the-busy prepared for the team at Solarcentury, as a backgrounder for our support for the youth strike event on 20th September and the Extinction Rebellion protest on 7th October. Those who would like the original powerpoint, with source Read the rest
• September 1st - How liberal democracy can die ….on our watch: A pictures-and-charts summary for-the-busy (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The UK enters the most important week in the history of its ancient democracy at a time when trends in social attitudes and tech capabilities bode ill for the future of democracy in multiple countries. Some of the numbers in Read the rest
• August 9th - This is why we talk of extinction – A slideshow precis/analysis for-the-busy of the latest UN IPCC report (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  UN scientists this week reviewed the impacts of observed and predicted global heating on land, plus adaptation and mitigation response options. This is a vital report, with many life-or-death messages for governments at the climate negotiations, and indeed everyone who Read the rest
• August 5th - A groundbreaking report out today shows huge capital-efficiency advantage of solar and wind over oil (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  In it, BNP Paribas introduces the concept of Energy Return on Capital Invested. Conclusion: “The economics of oil for gasoline and diesel vehicles versus wind- and solar-powered EVs are now in relentless and irreversible decline, with far-reaching implications for both Read the rest
• July 25th - Solarcentury donates >$0.5 million to SolarAid from 2018-19 profits: an appeal to other companies to join us (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Picture: Solarcentury CEO Frans van den Heuvel presents SolarAid representatives with a cake with which to celebrate the donation at the company’s recent quarterly review Today Solarcentury announced its 2018-19 financial performance, and hence donation to SolarAid: 5% of net Read the rest
• July 23rd - The global context of Solarcentury’s work: my presentation to the company’s quarterly review (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  For years now I have given the closing presentation at Solarcentury’s all-team quarterly reviews. My topic is always the global context of our work: an effort to position holistically all the operational, technical, and financial detail that has gone before, Read the rest
• July 2nd - Q2 2019: A chronology in pictures & charts of developments in climate, energy, tech & the future of civilisation (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  One person’s collated precis-for-the-busy of the last three months in the related dramas of climate change, energy transition, big tech and the future of civilisation. The slideshow is derived, as ever, from entries in the Future Today chronology. Those who Read the rest
• June 4th - Progress on the provision of affordable and clean energy for all by 2030 (SDG7) and how to catch up (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A global progress report on the four sub-targets of SDG7, the extent to which the international community is behind the pace, and how this can be fixed, with emphasis on investment. A pictures-and-charts presentation to accompany a blog on Business Read the rest
• June 4th - An updated history of SolarAid in pictures and charts, to mark the sale of our 2 millionth solar lighting product (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The successes, failures, opportunities, challenges and learnings of a social enterprise endeavouring to catalyse solar lighting markets among the poorest of the poor in African (2006 to present). Read the rest
• May 26th - The survival-investment gap and the Berlin Wall: a thought for Solarcentury’s 21st birthday (+ our history updated) (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  As concern spreads in the world about the implications should humankind fail to cut carbon emissions, realisation that the threat of global heating is existential has become increasingly commonplace. Perhaps most notably of late, it is expressed in the name Read the rest
• April 22nd - Letter to the Times by business leaders supportive of Extinction Rebellion ….of which I am proud to be one (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Sir, The multi million-pound costs that the Extinction Rebellion protests have imposed on business are regrettable, as is the inconvenience to Londoners. But future costs imposed on our economies by the climate emergency will be many orders of magnitude greater. Read the rest
• April 15th - If we transitioned away from fossil fuels could we fuel the energy needs of the global economy 100% with renewables? (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A short introduction to a historic report, published 12th April 2019 by LUT University and Energy Watch, that models the global energy system on an hourly basis using the real economics of existing renewable energy technologies. A unique first, andRead the rest
• April 1st - Q1 2019: A chronology in pictures & charts of developments in climate, energy, tech & the future of civilisation (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  One person’s collated precis-for-the-busy of the last three months in the related dramas of climate change, energy transition, big tech and the future of civilisation. The slideshow is derived, as ever, from entries in the Future Today chronology. Those whoRead the rest
• April 1st - “Cleantech start-ups pitch for cash amid surging enthusiasm for green investing”: Business Green (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Peter Holder: “Amid the gloom, it is all too easy to miss the genuinely exciting and impressive work underway to drive low-carbon growth across the UK economy. There are some incredibly smart people out there working tirelessly to achieve someRead the rest
• March 28th - Investment on the global energy transition: a report from the front lines as of March 28th 2019 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A global energy transition is underway: a system change driven by exponential growth in clean-energy technologies. But there is an investment gap. Much will depend on closing it. What will happen next? This presentation was the keynote for Business Green’sRead the rest
• March 15th - Thoughts of hope for the students on strike today – and one person’s apology for his generation’s failure (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The schoolchildren on strike from school today in more than 100 countries are staging a global protest essentially about the failure of my generation to deal with climate change. They should of course be daunted by that collective failure. ButRead the rest
• March 8th - The writing on the wall: a trillion dollar fund built on oil & gas exploration has just pulled out of oil & gas exploration (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The Norwegian government has just mandated its sovereign wealth fund, the biggest such wealth fund, to divest from pure oil and gas explorers. This is a significant landmark in the global battle to abate global heating. If oil and gasRead the rest
• March 7th - China’s vision for climate action and related issues pertinent to common security (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This presentation is the basis for points made on a panel discussion and Q&A at a climate solutions discussion organised by the New York Times and The Conduit Club, in London today. The slideshow is derived, as ever, from entriesRead the rest
• February 27th - Effect of fracking on climate: Letter to The Times from UK academics and environmentalists (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Sir Recently Ineos and Cuadrilla, which both have significant interests in the hydraulic fracturing of shale gas, have demanded that the “traffic light” system that monitors seismicity at fracking well sites should be relaxed to allow larger earthquakes (reports, FebRead the rest
• February 27th - Regulating fracking: response from Dr Jeremy Leggett and Prof David Smythe to geoscientists supportive of fracking (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The UK fracking industry claimed last week that it is being strangled at birth by unreasonably severe rules on earthquake monitoring during fracking. It has enlisted the support of nearly fifty geoscientists who assert, in a letter to The Times,Read the rest
• February 21st - A report from the front lines of the global energy transition as of 21 Feb 2019 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  https://collegerama.tudelft.nl/Mediasite/Showcase/delft-energy-initiative/Presentation/c32833964516476b94e514430bf92fd41dRead the rest
• February 17th - The children, the climate and the oil companies: a short video blog presentation (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  What needs to happen to deliver the striking schoolchildren the deliverance they are pleading for in the face of the climate threat? How far are the big oil companies away from being able to help with that? Those who wouldRead the rest
• February 14th - What to do about the recent worrying news on insect decline: a short video by Jeremy Leggett (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A quick background to the terrifying evidence that has emerged of late, a look at the main problems (industrial agriculture and pesticide use compounded by climate change), ending in a whistlestop tour of the solutions. Those who would like theRead the rest
• February 7th - “We need to put jobs and poverty at the centre of climate action”: Philip Smith and Jeremy Leggett (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  To have a realistic chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change, we need to see greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions peaking by 2020 and heading into reverse (UNEP Emission Gap Report 2018). Yet the stark reality is that despite progress toward implementationRead the rest
• February 1st - The Great Global Energy Transition: A report from the front lines as of 31st January 2019 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  If we look at the total system change going on in energy out of context, the picture could be rosy. But in climate-change context, the transition is not going fast enough. And it is held back by the oil andRead the rest
• January 21st - Westminster Energy Forum – Next steps for the renewable energy industry in the UK: The case of solar (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  How is solar faring globally? The answer is a success story redolent with potential to inspire progress on wider fronts of the battle for a livable future. How is solar faring in the UK? That is a story incongruent withRead the rest
• January 2nd - A chronology in pictures and charts of selected developments in climate, energy, tech & the future of civilisation (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  One person’s collated precis-for-the-busy of the last three months in the related dramas of climate change, energy transition, big tech and the future of civilisation. The slideshow is derived, as ever, from entries in the Future Today chronology. Those whoRead the rest

• December 31st - The FT Editorial Board has a problem with those who pretend to solve climate change. Who might they be? (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “The depressing reality about climate change is that we could solve the problem, at manageable cost, but are failing to do so.” So the Financial Times Editorial Board concluded on 26th December. “This failure is due to a mixture ofRead the rest
• December 19th - Jeremy Leggett interviewed on solar and Solarcentury by Solarcentury – the full 17 minute interview (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Read the rest
• December 15th - Why the UN Secretary-General is right to say that it is “immoral and suicidal” not to accelerate emissions reductions (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Some may think that the UN chief is exaggerating the threat of climate change, and that David Attenborough is overly alarmist in warning that the collapse of civilization is on the horizon. This slideshow summarises why that would be aRead the rest
• December 9th - Why I have finally quit Facebook. A chronology of unfulfilled hope for democracy in pictures and charts. (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The original powerpoint, which includes source urls as notes, can be downloaded from the usual folder.Read the rest
• December 3rd - SolarAid: A history in pictures and charts on the day we help launch an upgraded best-of-class solar light (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The world is behind the required pace to reach UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: clean and affordable energy for all by 2030. SolarAid has been trying to help to lead the way, and we are approaching our 2 millionth solarRead the rest
• October 17th - God, Man, Tech and Climate: Hans Joachim Schellnhuber paints a picture for the Club of Rome (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The Club of Rome, an organisation of experts on the state of the planet long concerned about that state, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a conference. Some two hundred souls gather in muggy Rome, in an airless auditorium inRead the rest
• October 16th - BBC Radio airs an unprecedented critique of the UK government’s undermining of renewables (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A personal view of the File on 4 programme: I found it powerful and accurate, in particular because it used a wide range of interviewees across the full span of renewables industries devastated by the long-running strategy of the civilRead the rest
• October 16th - History of oil and gas production from US shale, and UK hopes to copy it, in pictures and charts (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  With fracking restarting in the UK after a 7 year abeyance, it is time to update my August 2018 presentation suggesting that this is a very bad idea. To understand why this latest fiasco in British energy policy and widerRead the rest
• October 16th - A change of format on FutureToday (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The daily chronology of selected news developments has been running for 6 months now. Most of the interest on the site has been in the slideshow blogs, which select items from the chronology and endeavour to join dots. I haveRead the rest
• October 15th - Fracking allowed once again in UK after 7 year abeyance following failure of last minute injunction (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So the BBC reports. Image: from BBC websiteRead the rest
• October 14th - Senior Tory MP protests lack of police investigation into breakages of law by 3 pro-Brexit campaigns (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Damian Collins: “What is our law worth if the police won’t act?” Plus it is “absurd” that the UK has not reacted to claims of Russian interference in the referendum with an enquiry like Mueller’s on the 2016 US election.Read the rest
• October 13th - Google to shut down Google+ after failing to disclose massive user data leak (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This was on the scale of the one that landed Zuckerberg in Congress. According to a memo leaked to the WSJ, the reason for the cover up was the risk of the CEO having to testify, & “immediate regulatory interest.”Read the rest
• October 13th - Businesses and organisations withdraw en masse from Saudi showcase summit, citing Khashoggi case (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The Guardian reports that they include NYT, FT, CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, World Bank, Branson, & even Uber – despite having the Saudi sovereign wealth fund as an investor. With no government that supplies arms to Saudi Arabia having spoken outRead the rest
• October 12th - Saudi government hit squad murdered dissident Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, strong evidence suggests (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The Guardian reports that Turkey has audio and video recordings. There is a trend of increasing state-induced abductions and murders, including by the US (with rendition), Russia and China. “Why do more and more governments think they can get awayRead the rest
• October 12th - “Dirty capital: London’s financial flows are polluted by laundered money”: Economist headline (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The Economist reports that the National Crime Agency believes international money rinsed through British banks each year is “many hundreds of billions of pounds”. “The case for action is stronger (than for laissez faire). Predictions of severe economic damage fromRead the rest
• October 12th - “Dirty capital: London’s financial flows are polluted by laundered money”: Economist headline (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The Economist reports that the National Crime Agency believes international money rinsed through British banks each year is “many hundreds of billions of pounds”. “The case for action is stronger (than for laissez faire). Predictions of severe economic damage fromRead the rest
• October 11th - Hurricane Michael: Category 4 storm hits Florida for the 1st time ever, flattening whole neighbourhoods (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This time wind is the problem: up to 155 mph, 5 mph less than Category 5. Governor Rick Scott, climate-change denier, describes the devastation as “unimaginable” This 3 days after Trump said nothing about the IPCC report and Bill Shine,Read the rest
• October 11th - Coal has risen from ashes of 2013, as price has risen, to be top earning Australian export (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The FT reports that Glencore, BHP Billiton and Anglo American are among those cashing in. And the Australian government says that acting on the IPCC report would be “irresponsible.” Image: from FTRead the rest
• October 11th - Carbon Tracker satellite analysis shows 40% of Chinese coal fleet is cash-flow negative in 2018 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This is due to to high fuel costs (capacity weighted average of $85/t). 95% of the coal fleet will be cash-flow negative by 2040, due to carbon pricing & air pollution regulation, Carbon Tracker further estimates. The results suggest itRead the rest
• October 10th - Huge reduction in meat-eating “essential” if the world is to avoid climate breakdown  (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So concludes the most comprehensive survey of the food system yet: 90% less beef consumption in western world, 5x more beans & pulses. Images: screenshot of BBC video, Diabetes UKRead the rest
• October 10th - This week’s UN warning of climate chaos: is the total world rewrite they say we need doable? (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a landmark report warning that global warming must be kept to 1.5˚C. This would entail a zero carbon world by 2050…..Read the rest
• October 9th - Dutch appeals court upholds landmark climate change ruling: government must accelerate emissions cuts (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Court backs citizens case that the crisis demands cuts of at least 25% by 2020 from 1990 levels, not the 17% cut the government targets. The Guardian reports that “the ruling – which was greeted with whoops and cheers inRead the rest
• October 9th - CEO says Shell will not “go soft” on oil & gas, and vast reforestation will be needed for 1.5˚C target (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Van Buerden insists that gas has a key role to play in a 1.5˚C world. “You can have an endless discussion about semantics. Is it a transition role, a destination role? In the end it is a bit of both.”Read the rest
• October 8th - Landmark UN scientists’ report confirms ruinous contrast between 1.5˚C & 2˚C global warming  (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The IPCC concludes that for 1.5˚C limit, emissions must be cut from 2010 levels by 45% by 2030, and to net zero by 2050 (by 20% and 2075 for 2˚C). A baby born today may well live >100 years, givenRead the rest
• October 3rd - With world debt well above 2008 levels, world economy is at risk of another financial crash: IMF (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Median government debt-GDP ratio stands at 52%, up from 36% before the 2008 crisis. The Guardian reports that “Like many institutions the IMF has warned that rising levels of inequality have a negative impact on investment and productivity as wealthierRead the rest
• October 2nd - Denmark to set world’s tightest national ban on new petrol and diesel cars: from 2030 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  PM Lars Lokke Rasmussen says: “It is a big ambition that will be hard to achieve. But that’s exactly why we need to try.” National goal is to be fossil-free by 2050, Reuters reports. Image: ChargedEVRead the rest
• October 2nd - $1.45 tn of labelled green bonds and climate-aligned bonds leaves “headroom for huge growth” into 2020s (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So the Climate Bonds Initiative reports in its annual state of market report. Some other key findings: – USA, China and France are top three countries for labelled green bond issuance, followed by Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Canada and MexicoRead the rest
• October 2nd - “We don’t discuss the question anymore of, ‘Is there climate change’,”: Munich Re in the WSJ (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  WSJ: “Changing risk probabilities may make some areas uninsurable altogether, or at least so risky the cost would be prohibitively expensive for insurance buyers, executives say.” Yes, but the trouble is – although the Wall Street Journal may only justRead the rest
• October 2nd - 2018 Q3: A chronology in pictures & charts of developments in climate, energy, tech & the future of civilisation (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  One person’s collated precis-for-the-busy of the second three months of 2018 in the related dramas of climate change, energy transition, big tech and the future of civilisation. The slideshow is derived, as ever, from entries in the Future Today chronology.Read the rest
• October 1st - Beijing axes coal and steel production curbs as Trump’s trade war impacts economy (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  China’s economy is decelerating, prompting Beijing to pare back environmental policies to boost GDP, analysts profess. The FT reports that: “Last year, steel producers in four major production cities were forced to halve their steel production during the winter monthsRead the rest
• September 30th - Big energy firms ask for billions from UK taxpayer to build mini nuclear reactors …to be ready mid 2030s (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This in a paper by the Expert Finance Working Group on Small Reactors obtained under the Freedom Of Information Act. The Guardian reports that: “while the report named the companies involved in the mini nuclear projects, it did not specifyRead the rest
• September 30th - Tim Berners-Lee launches a radical plan to decentralise the World Wide Web, so that users own their data (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  In an exclusive interview for Fast Company: “We are not talking to Facebook and Google about whether or not to introduce a complete change where all their business models are completely upended overnight. We are not asking their permission.” HeRead the rest
• September 29th - China sets renewable energy target of 35% by 2030 amid concerns about new coal-plant construction (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The SCMP reports that the previous goal was “non fossil fuel” to make up 20% of energy by 2030. But satellite photos suggest a disastrous 250 GW of new coal being built – an amount bigger than the US coalRead the rest
• September 29th - China sets renewable energy target of 35% by 2030 amid concerns about new coal-plant construction (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The SCMP reports that the previous goal was “non fossil fuel” to make up 20% of energy by 2030. But satellite photos suggest a disastrous 250 GW of new coal being built – an amount bigger than the US coalRead the rest
• September 29th - New California law compels two huge pension funds to disclose climate-related financial risk (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The FT reports that Calpers ($360bn in assets), and Calstrs ($228bn ) must now report publicly on climate risk to their public market portfolio. Beginning in 2020 the reports must cover “the effects of the changing climate, such as intenseRead the rest
• September 28th - UK coal revival as gas prices surge, reversing gains in clean power drive, and threatening emissions rise (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The wholesale price of gas for supply in the winter of 2018-19 is up 50% since June, contributing to an increase in household fuel bills. The FT reports that “it became cheaper to generate power from coal than gas inRead the rest
• September 26th - UK Labour would target zero carbon by 2050, with 7x increase in offshore wind & 3x solar by 2030: global leadership (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The Guardian reports the leader’s speech: 85% renewable-plus-nuclear by 2030, up from 50% today …including onshore wind, creating 400,000 new jobs in a “green jobs revolution.” This would represent leadership in Europe and the world, and this formulation creates veryRead the rest
• September 26th - “Relatively few” companies are disclosing climate risk, & v. few in financial filings, as TCFD recommends (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  513 organisations now support the TCFD recommendations, 457 of them with a collective market cap of $7.9 trillion. But few are yet acting to report financial risk. TCFD press release on publication of its 2018 Status Report: The growing listRead the rest
• September 24th - How the ultra-rich could save the world, if they wanted to, in 22 pictures and charts (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Recent compilations of wealth show staggering record inequality, and miniscule engagement by the rich in socially-responsible investment. This presentation explores the potential this entails for triggering of the necessary levels of investment in the sustainable infrastructure needed for a viableRead the rest
• September 24th - As much as 5% of gas produced in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale drilling is leaking to the atmosphere (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So investigator Jorge Talliant finds, as reported by the FT. “There is a history of abuse as no one is controlling the sector ….there is no credible environmental authority.” “…“Methane is leaking everywhere,” says Mr Taillant, executive director of theRead the rest
• September 21st - “We definitely have the power to shut down power grids”: RUSI analyst on UK cyber war capabilities (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This of existing capabilities, on the eve of a new UK cyber war unit being set up, with >2,000 staff and a budget of hundreds of millions. FT: ” Analysts said the UK was one of the most effective playersRead the rest
• September 20th - Danske Bank scandal was only possible because UK allows Kremlin to move dark money with impunity (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Oliver Bullough in The Guardian: If cash flowing west in other Baltic state banks were in proportion to the $200bn uncovered in Danske’s Estonian branch 2008-15, up to €4n could have transited the three small republics. British LLPs are theRead the rest
• September 20th - OECD warns global economic growth has peaked, cuts projections and blames trade tensions (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  OECD interim economic outlook: Current US-China trade spat and resulting uncertainties are a “significant source of downside risk to global investment, jobs and living standards.” “Global growth is projected to settle at 3.7% in 2018 and 2019, marginally below pre-crisisRead the rest
• September 19th - UBS finds that only 39% of world’s High Net Worth Individuals have >1% of their assets invested ethically (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  UBS: Americans are worst at 12%. British second worst at 20%. Chinese are at 60%. HNWIs defined as those with $1m (£760,000) in investable assets. Nick Tucker, head of the UK for UBS Global Wealth Management: “It is disappointing toRead the rest
• September 18th - Two directors quit UK fracking firm as Tory MPs tell of a rebellion in their ranks re no planning for fracking (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Third Energy had been due to frack in Yorkshire, subject to government checks on its financial health. Meanwhile around 20 Tory MPs plan to vote against fast-tracking planning for fracking, according to reports. The Guardian reports that “the resignation ofRead the rest
• September 15th - Evacuation warnings in place for 1.7 million and 800,000 without power in the Carolinas (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  BBC: Florence has been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm …but eight months of rain are expected to fall in 3 days. A reminder: Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria caused combined insured losses in 2017 of $92 bn,Read the rest
• September 14th - “Sub-national actors” pile pressure on national governments at California climate summit (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Climate Home News reports that one of the architects of the Paris Agreement, European Climate Foundation CEO Laurence Tubiana said the evidence that many cities and states from around the world felt bound to the climate deal their governments hadRead the rest
• September 13th - 480 companies from 38 countries now base climate plans on SBTs: c. one eighth of global market capitalisation (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  SBT.org press release: That is nearly USD$10 trillion, comparable to the NASDAQ stock exchange. 17% of Fortune Global 500. 130 since January 2018. 50 since Trump’s withdrawal from Paris.Read the rest
• September 13th - Ten years after the Lehman collapse, the world debt burden has ballooned $27 trillion to nearly $250 trillion (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So Bloomberg reports. Entering 2000 it was $84 tn. Total global wealth at the end of 2017 summed to $280 trillion. Debt is growing 3 times faster than wealth. Bloomberg: “Governments are largely responsible for the borrowing binge, with theirRead the rest
• September 13th - Emissions have peaked in 27 of the C40 group of major cities, including London, New York, and Paris (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So mayors announce at the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco. Emissions continue to fall. 66 cities expect to peak by 2020. Wired: “That’s a big deal in the fight against climate change.” More than half the world’s populationRead the rest
• September 11th - “Fossil fuels will peak in the 2020s as renewables supply all growth in energy demand”: Carbon Tracker (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Analyst Kingsmill Bond estimates peak years for different growth rates of renewables & global energy demand, and warns of “trillions of dollars in stranded assets” across the corporate sector & in petro states. Extracts from the Carbon Tracker press release:Read the rest
• September 10th - UK’s Green New Deal Group calls for a “green jobs in every constituency” investment push (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Ten years after the Lehman collapse, the group says that had its call at that time been heeded, the rise of populism could have been mitigated. Business Green reports that “the group is calling on political parties and local campaignersRead the rest
• September 10th - Funds committed to divestment from fossil fuels now total more than $6 trillion (£4.6 trillion) (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Almost 1,000 institutional investors have so pledged, led by insurers at $3tn. Oil majors now cite divestment as a material risk to their business. The Guardian reports: “The new divestment report, by Arabella Advisors, calculates that investors with $6.2tn inRead the rest
• September 10th - “Trump Administration Wants to Make It Easier to Release Methane Into Air”: New York Times (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Oil & gas lobbyist group the Western Energy Alliance “praised the Trump administration for turning the oil companies’ requests into policy.” The New York Times reports comments from Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance: “The Obama-era E.P.A. methaneRead the rest
• September 9th - A new first for the US shale gas industry: some of its product is being sold with ‘responsible’ branding (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The FT reports that Utility New Jersey Resources is to buy gas produced ‘responsibly’ from Southwestern Energy wells in W Virginia, at an undisclosed premium. “Using 100 per cent “responsible gas” would add about 90 US cents per month toRead the rest
• September 8th - Global wave of climate protests in dozens of countries as UN climate talks stumble on old issues (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  US blocks a Chinese bid to insert two-tier standards for rich and poor countries, leading to deadlock on guidelines for the national climate plans that underpin the global pact.” North-South finance also problem. Prospects for the annual Conference of PartiesRead the rest
• September 7th - Google’s AI hate speech detector is easily fooled by a few typos or the insertion of words like “love” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Researchers at Aalto University in Finland find simple keyword filters & complex AIs are equally vulnerable to workarounds, in 7 systems used for hate-speech detection. New Scientist reports that some words were particularly effective at masking hateful content because ofRead the rest
• September 7th - A Green New Deal 2018: the imperative for new energy and new jobs in the UK, and globally (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The tenth anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and the onset of the financial crisis, is on 15th September. The Green New Deal group, a team of British green economic thinkers of which I am a member, has updatedRead the rest
• September 6th - Ørsted opens world’s largest offshore windfarm off Cumbria: “the shape of projects going forward” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Walney Extension, 659 MW, spans an area the size of 20,000 football pitches provides enough to power the equivalent of 590,000 homes. Matthew Wright, UK managing director: “It’s another benchmark in terms of the scale. This – bigger turbines, withRead the rest
• September 6th - “The evidence of a slowdown in the US shale is unmistakable now” despite prices >$65 for months (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So reports Ed Crooks on Twitter, referring to his FT article based on a gathering of the service industry in New York. Schlumberger CEO Paul Kibsgaard on the rapid declines of “child wells” drilled nears “parent wells”: “This suggests thatRead the rest
• September 5th - Facebook and Twitter testify as Congress mulls regulation, & DoJ vows action on anti-right “bias” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The FT reports: “Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic vice-chair of the committee, warned at the start of the session: “The era of the wild west in social media is coming to an end. I’m sceptical that ultimately you’ll be ableRead the rest
• September 5th - If we made the $90 tn of infrastructure investment needed by 2030 Paris-congruent we would save $26 tn (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  >65 million additional (low-carbon) jobs by 2030, avoid 700,000 premature deaths, and other big benefits to the global economy … “if only governments stop standing in the way.” So concludes the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate report: “UnlockingRead the rest
• September 5th - “The Super Rich of Silicon Valley Have a Doomsday Escape Plan”: dinner party talk has turned to action (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “Seven Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have purchased bunkers from Rising S Co. and planted them in New Zealand in the past two years.” So Bloomberg reports, along with other details of the escape plan. See also: ‘Survival of the Richest.” Image:Read the rest
• September 5th - Booming stock markets mean the world’s 0.25 million super-rich now possess wealth of $31.5 trillion (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This is almost double the GDP of the USA. UHNWIs (defined as those with >$30m assets) increased by 12.9% last year, to a record 255,810. So finds the Wealth-X World Ultra Wealth 2018 report. So inequality grows yet further. PopulismRead the rest
• September 5th - “Why so little has changed since the financial crash”: Martin Wolf offers a clear view in the Financial Times (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “So what happened after the global financial crisis? Have politicians and policymakers tried to get us back to the past or go into a different future? The answer is clear: it is the former.” “If those who believe in theRead the rest
• September 4th - Intra-NATO collaboration is vital in an era of cyber warfare: former NSA director Keith Alexander (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Writing in the FT: “The west’s approach to cyber-security is not working”: individual companies cannot combat attacks by actors with state-level capabilities.” “There are two types of companies: those that have been hacked and know it, and those that haveRead the rest
• September 4th - UK government blocks oil drilling at Surrey Hills site, citing impact on woodland and water (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A DEFRA spokesperson says: “The nation’s woods and forests are cherished natural assets and we want to ensure they are protected now and into the future.” Though Defra is keen to point out that each decision is taken in itsRead the rest
• September 4th - “Shale Plays Will Not Cause the Next Financial Crisis”: Art Berman …the debt pile isn’t big enough (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “I believe the opposite is more likely, that a developing financial crisis may crash oil prices and test the survival of shale plays.” You pay your money (or not, as the case may be), and you take your choice. Image:Read the rest
• September 2nd - UK local government pension funds invest £9bn in fracking companies ….including Lancashire County (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The FT reports on research compiled by Platform London, 350 and Friends of the Earth. Lancashire County Pension Fund have no comment. Dumfries and Galloway Council (in Scotland, where fracking is banned indefinitely): “non-financial factors should not drive the investmentRead the rest
• September 1st - “The Next Financial Crisis Lurks Underground”: Bethany McLean, author of famous book on Enron (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Writing in the New York Times: “These companies have survived because, despite the skeptics, plenty of people on Wall Street are willing to keep feeding them capital and taking their fees. …fracking could not have taken off so dramatically wereRead the rest
• August 31st - LinkedIn struggles to contain a “super-aggressive” effort by China to recruit spies in US using fake accounts (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The targets are people with access to confidential information. German and British security agencies have reported similar Chinese campaigns, the FT reports. Global cyberwar treaty urgently needed now please, world leaders. As called for by the former head of UK’sRead the rest
• August 30th - Canadian Federal Court of Appeal quashes approval of $9.3-bn Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The Vancouver Sun reports that Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer accuses Trudeau’s government of spending “taxpayer money to buy a pipeline (they) can’t even build.” Construction stops. The industry expresses surprise. The reasons – in adequate consultation with First Nation stakeholders,Read the rest
• August 30th - MPs publish a withering verdict on Facebook, Cam. Analytica, Russia …and infer Brexit vote may be illegal (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  After an 18 month deep dive, the DCMS select committee has a far-reaching list of recommendations . And big questions remain. So Carole Cadwalladr reports in the Guardian. “Recommendations include: -“Clear legal liability” for tech companies “to act against harmfulRead the rest
• August 28th - Germany reaches 100,000 home battery systems …to add to its 1 million+ home solar PV systems (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  National trade group BSW Solar aims to make batteries “standard” in the energiewende, and to add the next 100,000 in the next 2 years. It is marvelous for me to see Solarwatt at the heart of this good-news story. IRead the rest
• August 28th - Driverless taxi debuts in Tokyo ahead of Olympics in ‘world first’ trial with fee paying passengers (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  ZMP, a developer of autonomous driving technology, and the taxi company Hinomaru Kotsu, are using Toyota vans on a 5km route. I suspect we can expect to see accelerating clean-energy innovation of this general kind in the run up toRead the rest
• August 28th - Trump accuses Google, Facebook & Twitter of favouring negative news stories about him (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “Be careful”, he threatens. You “are treading on very, very troubled territory”. Insiders say the news appears negative because it mostly is, and that is his own fault. This is one of the vital steps for aspiring autocrats to takeRead the rest
• August 28th - Facebook targets 100% renewable electricity by end 2020, joining Ikea & Citigroup despite soaring demand (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  In 2017 the company used 2.46 TWh of electricity, up 34% from 2016 and more than enough for all the homes in Vermont.  51% came from renewable energy power purchase agreements. The FT reports that “since signing its first contractRead the rest
• August 28th - California’s legislators set landmark goal for 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045 …& 60% RE by 2030 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Hawaii passed legislation in 2015 for 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045. Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C. are also considering the same mandate. The New York Times reports that “the California bill passed the State Assembly on TuesdayRead the rest
• August 28th - There is now a recognisable global rightward shift on climate change: Robinson Meyer in The Atlantic (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  No industrialised country is on target with Paris commitments. “Moderate national leaders …are finding it far easier to talk about climate change than to actually fight it.” Meyer describes the problems of acting on climate in Australia and Canada, andRead the rest
• August 27th - South African government cancels costly 9.6GW nuclear expansion plan, switching it to gas, wind, solar (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The new plan calls for additional capacity of 8.1 GW gas, 8.1 GW wind, 5.6 GW solar, 2,500 MW from hydro and 1,000 MW from coal by 2030. The S African plans would have cost around $100 billion – theRead the rest
• August 27th - AI can now make high-definition fake videos from just a simple sketch overlain on a trained template (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Open source software created by graphics firm Nvidia and MIT. New Scientist fears it  “could be used to warp our perception of the world.” Digital forensics expert Hany Farid at Dartmouth College.“It is sort of stunning, the progress that hasRead the rest
• August 26th - Trump says US is “working now on a military plan” based on a national-security need for coal revival (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  It is “indestructible”, whereas wind turbines and pipelines can be “blown up”. Leaked memo suggests reregulation, enforced purchase. The FT reports that this argument is being used to justify other Trump actions: on steel and aluminium imports. “Either Congress, orRead the rest
• August 25th - Battery energy storage – the challenge of sustaining sustainable energy (1) (Energy Storage) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  Battery energy storage is promoted as a key technology in the decarbonisation of electrical power systems and in the provision of energy in contexts across the globe. In the UK, commercially viable projects have halved the carbon emissions of domestic properties and have allowed commercial properties to achieve 2030 carbon targets. In areas with little […]
• August 24th - University researchers demonstrate how easy hacking a robot is, taking over movement & speech (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “A serious security problem is looming over robotics” Wired reports. Meanwhile developers are rushing to market without considering it. Researchers at Brown University successfully hack into a robot at the University of Washington via a commonly-used web-linked Robot Operating System.Read the rest
• August 22nd - Why the UK nuclear renaissance plan is doomed to failure, in 30 pictures and charts (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The UK government’s nuclear power programme will come off the rails because nuclear energy has become uneconomic, the builder of the crucial first reactor faces existential safety and financial threats, …and other reasons. Image: Construction at Hinkley Point C, screenshotRead the rest
• August 22nd - Continent-wide ban on halogen lightbulbs begins in Europe 1st Sept, slashing emissions & energy bills (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  LEDs consume five times less energy than halogen bulbs and their use will prevent >15m tonnes of carbon emissions a year, an amount equal to Portugal’s annual electricity usage. Consumer savings = c.£112 p.a., Philips estimates. The Guardian reports: “TheRead the rest
• August 21st - Bank of England warns that AI threatens lengthy and widespread unemployment in the UK (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Andy Haldane, Chief Economist: more disruption than the first industrial revolution (coal and steam), second industrial revolution (chemical engineering and the combustion engine), or the digital revolution. It seems to me that this makes the case for green energy jobsRead the rest
• August 21st - Arctic’s oldest and thickest sea ice, north of Greenland, breaks up for first time on record (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Abnormal heat in the Arctic has been worrying scientists all year, and now winds have helped break up an area normally solid all summer, the Guardian reports. Image: from articleRead the rest
• August 21st - EU carbon price rise set to drive substantial switching from coal to gas for power 2019-2023 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So Carbon Tracker concludes in its latest report, analysing the impact of the start-up from January 2019 of the Market Stability Reserve. “The EU carbon market has been the hottest commodity market in the world over the last 16 months, Read the rest
• August 17th - “Big Trouble Brewing At The Bakken: Rapid Rise In Water Production Signals Red Flag Warning” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  SRSrocco Report: “While oil production in the Bakken has reversed since it bottomed in 2016 and increased over the past few years, so has the amount of by-product wastewater.  Now, it’s not an issue if water production increases along withRead the rest
• August 17th - Cornell Professor Anthony Ingraffea explains why frackers’ plans threaten America’s water supply (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Current wells use 10 to 30 million gallons, he tells ThinkProgress. A million more wells are planned in the next 20 years. That means trillions of gallons. “Shale gas/oil is exchanging absurd volumes of water for absurd volumes of fossilRead the rest
• August 17th - Renewables offset fossil & nuclear shortfalls in generation as heatwave limits water use of conventional power (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Not the first time, Recharge reports. Heatwaves forced nuclear shutdowns or curtailments across Europe in 2003, 2006, and 2015. A microcosm of the future. What do I need to add? Is this a microcosm of the futrue, or what? Image:Read the rest
• August 16th - Solar in use for Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles “for all tactical, surveillance/inspection” missions (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The US Navy’s Hybrid Tiger Group 2 UAV project integrates high efficiency solar cells, a hydrogen fuel cell, and AI. Some solar companies are now actively marketing their involvement. This is potentially a step on the way to autonomous killRead the rest
• August 16th - Heatwaves are proving Mrs Thatcher was right on global warming 30 years ago: a former Tory leader in the Mail (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “Margaret Thatcher, in whose government I served, is unique among prime ministers in having had a science degree”, writes Michael Howard. “Thirty years ago next month, she gave a speech to scientists of the Royal Society. There was a danger,Read the rest
• August 16th - UK government drops the question about fracking from their regular public-attitude survey on energy (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The latest survey had only 16% in support. The first fracking for seven years is due to start in a few weeks. HMG says the question will be back in 2019. You can’t make it up, really. Image: Drill OrRead the rest
• August 15th - Fracking wastewater volume rose 1,440% in 5 years, water use 770%, adding to tension in dry regions (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So a Duke University study finds. Total produced water is now “more on a per day basis than Niagara Falls has going over it in an hour,” says Joel Mack, an attorney at Latham & Watkins, a firm which representsRead the rest
• August 15th - China follows the US in building a fleet of autonomous, AI-powered submarines, ready 2020 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Onboard AI systems will make decisions on course and depth. It is unclear, the Singularity Hub reports, whether they will have autonomous kill / no-kill decisionmaking power – which ships to attack. i.e. whether they will be giant killer robots.Read the rest
• August 15th - “Why Facebook is losing the war on hate speech in Myanmar”: a bombshell Reuters investigation (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Reuters uncovers more than a 1,000 posts attacking the Rohingya and other Muslims. Facebook has failed to fix a problem Zuckerberg promised to 4 months ago. The details make shocking reading. For example: “Even now, Facebook doesn’t have a singleRead the rest
• August 13th - Google records your location even after you have used a privacy setting telling it not to (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So an Associated Press investigation finds, in the case of many Google services on Android devices and iPhones. At a certain point, one’s patience with these tech giants begins to wear a bit thin, does it not? Image: keep-calm-omaticRead the rest
• August 13th - The Race of Our Lives: A summary of Jeremy Grantham’s note to investors, in pictures and charts (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A precis of the recently-updated 35 page classic note by the investment legend, aiming to be readable in minutes. Subject: climate change meets population meets soil meets agriculture, meets other problems …..and implications for both investors and the rest ofRead the rest
• August 13th - US elections remain “dangerously vulnerable” to cyber-attacks, experts continue to warn (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A “rare error” reported by electoral officials in computers used in the April 2017 election in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District may have already cost the Democrats a seat in Congress. The Guardian chronicles some worrying history in computerised electoral practices,Read the rest
• August 12th - More than 100 large wildfires burn in USA, with more expected today …and increasingly in future as world warms (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  1.6 million acres consumed in multiple states, Reuters reports, with 30,000 personnel fighting the blazes, the Mendocino Complex fire in California is the state’s largest ever. The Union of Concerned Scientists on climate change and wildfires: “The effects of globalRead the rest
• August 12th - Shell heading back to deepwater drilling, where breakeven costs are now as low as $30, they say (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico and West of Shetland are among the most attractive, head of exploration & production Andy Brown tells the FT. He also mentions some drawbacks in US shale. FT: “He said shale oil projects were “moreRead the rest
• August 9th - “Why oil firms should worry more about climate change”: too-high oil price assumed, assets overvalued (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So The Economist argues, using a chart showing oil price based on assumptions of 8 European oil majors in a recent Bank Sarasin report, versus Paris-congruent price estimates. This is the updated version of the argument that Carbon Tracker hasRead the rest
• August 9th - “The Race of Our Lives”: Jeremy Grantham updates his classic investor note on climate change in holistic context (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  We may win the race to decarbonise energy, he argues, but add in soil loss, plunging crop yields, etc – and it’s quite a different challenge. Some extracts from the summary of the paper hopefully to tempt readers to tackleRead the rest
• August 8th - History of oil & gas production from shale in pictures & charts: why US shale will crash and UK will fail (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  With fracking about to recommence in the UK after 8 years, a review of progress and prospects is in order. To understand why this latest fiasco in British energy policy and wider society has come about, it is necessary toRead the rest
• August 8th - China restarts coal plant construction after two-year freeze: 46.7 GW of new plants visible in satellite imagery (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Coal Swarm analysis of Planet Labs imagery shows some are generating already, some soon to be. If all come online, Chinese coal consumption goes up 4%. Demand is rising, policy is loosening. This is very bad news, there is noRead the rest
• August 7th - Top journalists write graphically about their terror of climate meltdown, deep fears for their children (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Jenny Chase of Bloomberg on Twitter: “I think lots of us working in the clean energy industry don’t want to express how afraid we are of climate change, because we’ll be seen as alarmist and self-serving or at least unhelpful.Read the rest
• August 7th - “Climate change: ‘Hothouse Earth’ risks even if CO2 emissions slashed”: BBC (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  International scientific team warns of coalescing amplifying feedbacks from melting methane hydrates and other sources of emissions risks runaway effect. Katherine Richardson from the University of Copenhagen, one of the authors, says: “We note that the Earth has never inRead the rest
• August 7th - Solar PV on UK Homes: A new build requirement (19) (Solar) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  In 2018, I have been running a petition on the UK Parliament website asking for a Parliamentary Debate that every new home in the UK should be installed with solar panels. I still believe that solar on all new build homes should be mandatory through building regulations to ensure that all new homes save money […]
• August 6th - Apple, Facebook, YouTube and Spotify ban racial-hate-stirrer Alex Jones of InfoWars – only Twitter doesn’t (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A Facebook spokesperson says the ban is “for glorifying violence …& using dehumanising language to describe people who are transgender, Muslims and immigrants.” This is good. They are trying. Twitter is the only mainstream social media platform not to banRead the rest
• August 5th - “Our climate plans are in pieces as killer summer shreds records”: CNN review of heatwaves around world (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The article reviews extreme events in the US and globally. The conclusion is that because of the picture emerging, “more and more Americans are starting to accept climate change is happening, despite Trump’s pledge to pull the US from theRead the rest
• August 4th - First drone assassination attempt on a head of state ….It won’t be the last, says Wired (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  President Maduro of Venezuela survives blast from 2 drones each bearing 1 kg of explosive. “…he suspects used two DJI M600 drones, each loaded down with 1 kilogram of C-4 explosive, capable of creating a blast radius of 50 meters.Read the rest
• August 3rd - SEC, under Trump-appointee chairman, drops investigation of ExxonMobil climate-risk reporting (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Union of Concerned Scientists: “The Trump administration is the fossil fuel industry’s fairy godmother, so it’s no surprise.” Jay Clayton took over as chairman in May 2017. Surprise, no. Disappointment, yes. The investigation was launched in January 2016. At theRead the rest
• August 3rd - Air pollution linked to changes in structure of the heart of the sort seen in early stages of heart failure (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  University of London cardiologists find exposure to nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 and PM10 particles linked to an increase in the size of ventricles. Image: viendong dailyRead the rest
• August 2nd - Facebook uncovers disinformation campaign aiming to influence US midterm elections (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  32 pages and accounts on Facebook and Instagram removed for “co-ordinated inauthentic behaviour”. Intelligence experts blame the Kremlin. Mark Warner, top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee: “Today’s disclosure is further evidence that the Kremlin continues to exploit platforms likeRead the rest
• August 2nd - Report finding that fracking increases air pollution buried for 3 years by UK government, until….. (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The Guardian reports that the Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) report is eventually quietly published 3 days after Caudrilla gets clearance to frack in Yorkshire. “The report estimated that a fracking industry of 400 wells would increase national emissions ofRead the rest
• August 2nd - World passes 1,000 GW of wind and solar, on a rising exponential curve, in the last days of June: BNEF (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  BNEF estimates the 2nd TW will arrive by mid-2023, costing 46%  less than the c. $1.3 tn required for the first. 54% wind, 46% solar. “Total installed capacity has grown 65-fold since the year 2000, and more than quadrupled sinceRead the rest
• August 1st - Heatwave forces 3 Nordic reactors to be curbed, 1 to close, more expected, and EDF may shut 4 French reactors (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Shut plant: Ringhals, Sweden. Reuters reports that the water is too warm for reactor cooling in the sea off Sweden and Finland, and the River Rhone is too warm in France. “Utility Vattenfall, which operates seven reactors in Sweden, shutRead the rest
• July 27th - Facebook reveals growth slowing & revenues down post Cambridge Analytica: share price plummets (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  3m Europeans have quit (of 282m European users). Market cap $119bn down (19% – biggest ever one day drop). Zuckerberg fortune $17bn down. Brent Thill, an analyst at banking group Jefferies:“many investors are having a hard time reconciling that deceleration”Read the rest
• July 27th - Twitter stock plunges 20% after 1m quit following cull of fake and offensive accounts: 70m+ of 320m (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The Guardian reminds us that >50,000 Russia-linked accounts posted automated material about the 2016 US election, reaching at least 677,000 Americans. “Twitter deleted more than 70m fake or offensive accounts in May and June, and has continued to delete accountsRead the rest
• July 26th - BP heads into US shale oil and gas by buying BHP’s assets – up for sale nearly a year – for $10.5bn (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Beating Shell and Chevron to the 4.5 billion barrels of oil-equivalent resources, BP CEO Bob Dudley calls it a “transformational acquisition.” On 29th June 2017, after BHP’s $13bn of writedowns of shale assets, Chairman Jacques Nasser described their 2011 $20bnRead the rest
• July 26th - Amazon face recognition falsely identifies 28 members of Congress as past arrestees, ACLU finds (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  With a disproportionate number of people of colour. In face of calls to cease selling their Rekognition product, Amazon is resistant, defensive. The ACLU used a database of 25,000 public arrest photos. 11 of the 28 falsely identified were peopleRead the rest
• July 26th - “Current fake news pales in comparison to the harm that could come from deepfakes” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Roula Khalaf in the FT: “Within 2 or 3 years we may be watching moving images and speeches without anyone being able to tell whether they are real or fabrications.” “Aviv Ovadya, chief technologist at the Center for Social MediaRead the rest
• July 26th - Decline rate in the top US shale oilfields has steadily increased to half a million barrels per day now (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  SRSRocco Report latest: To keep production ahead of such decline, most companies are piling on debt even at current oil prices. Cash flow in top 10 Q1 2018? Minus $455 m. Coming soon on Future Today: “A history of oilRead the rest
• July 25th - EDF’s Flamanville cracked pipe latest: reactor now 7 years late and €7bn over budget (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  33 welds need repairing. Nuclear fuel now to be loaded Q4 2019, cost up €0.4bn to €10.9bn. How many unforeseen welds and detections of high carbon in steel are needed before they bail? How many billions over budget before theRead the rest
• July 25th - BNEF NEO: “Every year a big surprise” …2018’s is wind & solar at nearly 50% of global electricity by 2050 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “Wind, solar and batteries are set to become far more deeply entrenched in the generation mix of almost every country than anyone has so far thought possible”: Seb Henbest, BNEF team leader. “That is the headline message of the NEORead the rest
• July 25th - Renewables c.30% of UK electricity in 2017, set for c.50% by 2025 ….but could have been 100% by 2025 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Newly published UK energy statistics show that renewable electricity generation increased by around 20% in just a single year so that 29.3% of electricity consumed came from renewables in 2017 (15% wind power, 4% solar pv, 2% natural flow hydroRead the rest
• July 25th - Energy Minister Claire Perry finally gives Cuadrilla the go-ahead to start fracking in Lancashire (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “Our world-class regulations will ensure that shale exploration will maintain robust environmental standards”, she says. Frack Free Lancashire and Frack-Free East Yorkshire are among those that differ. And for a summary of national protest see the Frack Off website. Image:Read the rest
• July 24th - Nuclear power can’t compete with solar power: former IEA boss and nuclear advocate Nobuaki Tanaka (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Nuclear is “ridiculously expensive”, “utterly uncompetitive”: $9bn now to build one reactor. So reports Asahi Shimbun. And around the world, right now, how many civil servants will be flogging away at the dying horse, under kamikaze instructions from energy-incumbency masters?Read the rest
• July 24th - Tepco, long a mainstay of the nuclear industry, pivots to renewable energy, and seeks overseas partners (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “We must gain competitive advantage in renewable energy”, says President Tomoaki Kobayakawa. The main focus will be offshore wind. Nikkei Asian Review coyly points to the possible reason: “Tepco’s radical change in direction comes in a business environment where aRead the rest
• July 24th - Heavy industry turns to renewables, including aluminium smelters, cement plants & “green steel” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The FT reports that “corporate buyers of renewable power have been on the rise and emerged as one of the main drivers for new renewables projects, because long-term power supply deals typically enable construction to begin on a large windRead the rest
• July 24th - “Summer of extreme temperatures continues, to the beat of climate change”: CNN (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Record heat waves on four continents. “The impacts of climate change are no longer subtle”, says Prof Michael Mann, the climate scientist who gave the world the welcome news of the “hockey stick curve.” Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist atRead the rest
• July 23rd - “Elected Leaders Are Making the World Less Democratic”: Bloomberg contrasts indices from 2012 and 2018 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “Organizations that monitor the health of democracies are converging around a similar idea: On average, the world is becoming less democratic for the first time in several decades. The surprising twist is that it’s happening as more and more countriesRead the rest
• July 23rd - Both sides in an Indonesian election use fake social-media-account “factories” to whip up hatred (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “Buzzer teams” with multiple fake Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts fan religious and racial divides. Indonesia ranks among the top five users of Twitter and Facebook globally. Image: Cornell blog (of an Asian internet café, not one of the actualRead the rest
• July 21st - Trump’s tiny election margin and Russia’s major hacking access lead The Economist to conclude… (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  …that it is “impossible” to say categorically that the GRU did not swing the 2016 election, as Paul Ryan and other GOP leaders do. “The margin of Mr Trump’s victory in the electoral college was tiny, a matter of justRead the rest
• July 20th - “How can Facebook stop climate misinformation when its ‘fact-checkers’ are deniers?” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Joe Romm gives examples on ThinkProgress of Zuckerberg confirming that deniers will be allowed to “fact check” for the platform. “This week, Zuckerberg made clear that Facebook won’t explicitly ban either Holocaust denial or an extreme conspiracy theory guy likeRead the rest
• July 20th - WhatsApp tiny anti-hate step: message forwarding limited to 20, and 5 in India after mob lynchings (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The Guardian reports that In the last 2 months 20 people have been set on by mobs and murdered after being falsely accused of child abduction on the app. The previous forwarding cap, rarely hit by users, was more thanRead the rest
• July 20th - Zuckerberg says Facebook will not ban Holocaust deniers and other extreme conspiracy theorists (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Original interview: Holocaust deniers are “deeply offensive”, but “I don’t believe that our platform should take that down because I think there are things that different people get wrong. I don’t think that they’re intentionally getting it wrong … It’sRead the rest
• July 20th - Swarm of 30 independent drones programmed to self organise, including choice of direction (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Most drone swarms are pre-programmed, Wired reports. The development team for this one is led by Gabor Vásárhelyi, director of the Robotic Lab in the Department of Biological Physics at Eötvös University in Budapest. How long before this capability isRead the rest
• July 19th - Farnborough Air Show features a “smorgasbord” of new robotic technologies, on all scales (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Rolls Royce featured a swarm of micro-robots designed to crawl through jet engines servicing them without necessarily detaching them from planes. Bloomberg: “If the bots don’t get you the drones will. Farnborough is awash with unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs,Read the rest
• July 19th - 2,600 scientists, including 3 Google DeepMind co-founders, sign pledge not to develop killer AI robots (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Among institutions signing the Future of Life Institute’s pledge, Solarcentury is the first British company to do so. And if you think it is unlikely that solar could be part of a killer robot system, please see this project onRead the rest
• July 19th - Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse predict large contraction of global solar installation rate in 2018 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  24% and 16% respectively, driven by the slow-down decreed in China. If correct, this would be the first time the global market had shrunk. This is turning into a rather bad news day for solar. Image: from articleRead the rest
• July 19th - UK government proposes, on same day, no payments for solar electricity exports & no planning need for fracking (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The 7-month-delayed UK government consultation on the end of the solar feed-in tariff at the end of March 2019 makes no proposal for a replacement, dashing industry hopes. Furthermore, the government proposes no export payments for surplus solar power exportedRead the rest
• July 19th - US District Judge dismisses New York’s global warming suit against oil companies (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Another setback for cities seeking legal redress. Judge rules global warming has to be tackled federally. New York says it will appeal. Wired reports Theodore Boutrous, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and attorney for Chevron saying: “This, IRead the rest
• July 19th - Wildfires rage across the Arctic Circle – worst in Sweden, which calls for international help (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  There have been many fires before in Sweden, but never over such a wide area. EU nations asked for emergency assistance in firefighting. “EU officials said many of this year’s fires are outside the traditional European fire zone of theRead the rest
• July 18th - Gas flaring dropped globally in 2017 for first time since 2013 ….but still very high, & up 7% in the US (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The FT reports the vast scale of the problem, still: If the the gas burnt in flares were captured and used for power generation, it could supply 90% of Africa’s electricity consumption. In 2015, the World Bank launched an initiativeRead the rest
• July 18th - Google fined £3.8bn by EU over “serious illegal behaviour” in Android antitrust violations (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Margrethe Vestager, EU competition commissioner, says: Google used the Android mobile phone operating system “to cement its dominance as a search engine”, preventing rivals from innovating and competing “and this is illegal under EU antitrust rules”. Google will appeal. Image:Read the rest
• July 17th - Clean energy investment fell 3% in 2017, and expect another fall in 2018, says a worried IEA (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  World Energy Investment 2018: All energy $1.8 trillion. Renewables down 7% to $298bn. Energy efficiency up 3% to $236 bn. = $534bn incl. big hydro.  Fossil fuels $790bn. Electricity $750bn. Fatih Birol, IEA Executive Director: Worrying. While we would needRead the rest
• July 17th - Facebook protected far-right activists even after rule breaches: Channel 4 investigation (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A moderator tells an undercover reporter that the policy, called “shielded review”, is to keep certain pages up because “they have a lot of followers so they’re generating a lot of revenue.” Caught out this way, Facebook had to apologiseRead the rest
• July 16th - Siemens boss urges need for retraining in a global car workforce facing one third cuts in a decade (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Joe Kaeser is already spending €500m a year on retraining because “the fourth industrial revolution which will obviously affect manufacturing massively as it accounts for 70% of global GDP.” In a rationale world, governments would be working closely with industryRead the rest
• July 15th - How liberal democracy can die, in our lifetimes: a summary in 30 pictures and charts (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The Trump Putin meeting would seem to be a good occasion to review the existential threat liberal democracy finds itself under in multiple countries today. I have the impression that the way this narrative has taken shape since 2016 hasRead the rest
• July 14th - Superhomes (0) (Uncategorized) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  In this blog, Jürgen Huber tells us about his “Superhomes” project which is an eco-home in London. For the last 6 years we live as a family of four in our converted terrace in West London (nearly) energy or carbon neutral. The home has been widely publicised over the years featured in the Sunday times and […]
• July 13th - Iberdrola is using drones to spot faulty solar panels and wind turbine blades way ahead of engineers (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Its €0.5m investment in drone maker Arborea Intellbird SL is one of a number targeting returns via O&M efficiency improvements, Bloomberg reports. The others include Stem Inc., a California energy-storage provider that uses artificial intelligence to gauge when customers willRead the rest
• July 13th - On eve of Trump / Putin meeting, US DoJ indicts 12 Russian spies for interference in 2016 US election (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The 11-count 29-page indictment “lays out Russia’s alleged efforts in the excruciating detail & specificity that has become the Mueller investigative team’s hallmark,” Wired reports. The article is a fascinating update on the state of play. Two crucial elements: “OfficialsRead the rest
• July 13th - People are easily identifiable in huge “anonymized” online datasets, multiple studies show (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Perhaps the most worrying example cited: 1.5 m people almost all identifiable from behavioural patterns revealed by location data from mobile phones. “By analysing a mobile phone database of the approximate locations (based on the nearest cell tower) of 1.5Read the rest
• July 13th - Oakwood Energy efficiency Project (12) (Efficiency, Energy Storage, Opinion Piece, Residential, Solar) (by Guest Author)

  In this blog, Alan Chapman talks us through an energy project on his home. His LinkedIn profile is here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-chapman-7314385a/ Front Solar panels were completed on Friday 27 February 2015 at 12.15pm & were up & generating from this time via the installed dual string Samil inverter & registered for FIT payments the beginning of March. […]
• July 12th - Ireland will be the first country to divest from all fossil fuels after all-party support in a Parliamentary vote (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The €8bn national investment fund must sell all its >€350 milion investments in coal, oil, gas & peat “as soon as is practicable”, expected to mean within 5 years. This is another very significant milestone in the remorseless advance ofRead the rest
• July 12th - “American democracy’s built-in bias towards rural Republicans”: The Economist (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “Its elections no longer convert the popular will into control of government” …. “a red vote is worth more than a blue one.” The most sobering passage in the article: “Republicans hold both the houses of Congress and the WhiteRead the rest
• July 12th - National Grid Future Energy Scenarios: Solar could be UK’s ‘dominant’ source of power by 2030 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The “optimistic” “Community Renewables” scenario envisages 33 GW of solar and 9 GW of storage by 2030, and 66 GW of solar and 29 by 2050. It is worth perusing the track record of scenarios in energy reports covered inRead the rest
• July 12th - Ex-Cambridge Analytica staff launch venture using same techniques …and already have a client in an African state (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Auspex International will be headed by Mark Turnbull, former head of CA’s political team …caught with CEO Nix admitting smears based on lies by C4 News. They will target elections in Africa and the Middle East. They already have aRead the rest
• July 11th - UK Information Commissioner fines Facebook the maximum possible over a data scandal ….£500,000 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  And starts a criminal prosecution against Cambridge Analytica parent SCL Elections, accusing it of failing properly to deal with a data request. Commissioner Elizabeth Denham: “We think they (Facebook) broke the principle of fair processing; we think it was unfairRead the rest
• July 11th - “How to 3-D Print an Entire House in a Single Day” …costing only $4K: ideal for housing crises, development (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A typical single-family home in the US takes an average of six and a half months to build. Not with Icon’s mega-size 3D printer, called Vulcan. The article on Wired explains further. It is wonderful to imagine the good thatRead the rest
• July 11th - Whitehall plan to keep NI lights on in a hard Brexit: a flotilla of requisitioned barges plus diesel generators (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Thousands of them, flown back from Afghanistan etc, according to the private government paper described in the FT. Including this one? Ofgem, the Climate Change Committee, and the National Infrastructure Committee are advising the government as you read in recentRead the rest
• July 10th - UK NIC urges HMG to grab the ‘golden opportunity’ to ditch nuclear and go with cheaper solar and wind (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This in the UK’s first ever National Infrastructure Assessment: at least half UK power should be renewable by 2030, & can be at no extra cost. So now they have all key relevant advisors/regulators urging them to go green: theRead the rest
• July 10th - Tesla takes big bet on China by announcing a factory in Shanghai, to double EV production (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Tesla intends capacity will be 500,000 cars p.a., =1m vehicles p.a. including US. Most car plants are 200-300k p.a. China car sales: 28 million in 2017 (biggest market). “Tesla said the first cars would roll off the Shanghai production lineRead the rest
• July 9th - China’s Belt and Road difficulties proliferate across the world in face of local controversies (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A US study suggests 234 of 1,674 Chinese-invested infrastructure projects (14%) announced in 66 countries have hit corruption and other troubles. According to the FT article on the study, “most of the problems encountered — public opposition to projects, objectionsRead the rest
• July 8th - “Electoral law has been broken – this is a fight for the soul of our democracy”: The Guardian (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “The investigation into Vote Leave is just one of a number of ongoing inquiries into potential crimes.” This article is a passionate summary of a shocking state of play, that speaks for itself. Image: YouTubeRead the rest
• July 8th - Analysts fears an oil spike above $150 in wake of low investment since 2014 & record low discovery (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Sanford Bernstein: “Investors who had egged on management teams to reign in capex and return cash will lament the underinvestment in the industry.” Proven reserves of the oil majors have fallen by more than 30% on average since 2000, theRead the rest
• July 8th - “Inside China’s Dystopian Dreams: A.I., Shame and Lots of Cameras”: New York Times (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “China is reversing the commonly held vision of technology as a great democratizer, bringing people more freedom and connecting them to the world. In China, it has brought control.” There are an estimated 200 million surveillance cameras nationwide, 4 timesRead the rest
• July 6th - New UK solar and wind could be cheaper than existing gas plants within the 2020s: Climate Change Committee (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Meanwhile, the Climate Change Committee’s Progress Report for 2018 concludes, government’s current plans for 100gCO2/kWh goal by 2030 are “not credible”. Power sector emissions stand at 263gCO2/kWh. Not much to add here. Other than the necessary acceleration would be easilyRead the rest
• July 6th - “I was shocked it was so easy”: ​meet the professor who says facial recognition ​​can tell if you’re gay (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Paul Lewis on Prof Michal Kosinksi: “He is trikingly enthusiastic about some of the technologies he claims to be warning us about, talking excitedly about cameras that could detect people who are ‘lost, anxious, trafficked, or potentially dangerous’.” See theRead the rest
• July 6th - Amazon’s AI lets governments track all faces …there is “no way to use this and not harm citizens” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “As academics who have studied IT and privacy, including the social implications of face recognition and biometrics, we are calling on Amazon to get out of the surveillance business”: Peter Asaro et al. “The threat that such a massive, automatedRead the rest
• July 6th - “Survival of the Richest: The Wealthy Are Plotting To Leave Us Behind”: tech author Douglas Rushkoff (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “How do I maintain authority over my security force after the (collapse) event?”: typical question from super-rich clients in Q&A about their “how to escape” vision of the future …and how to use tech to execute it. One knows thisRead the rest
• July 5th - Shell CEO says firm carbon emissions targets are “superfluous”, and society should simply trust him (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Ben van Beurden: “You have to believe us that setting an ambition, sticking my neck out, my personal reputation, the reputation of the company, is a big enough incentive for me to get it right.” As was the case inRead the rest
• July 5th - “Red-hot planet: All-time heat records have been set all over the world during the past week”: Washington Post (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Africa’s hottest temperature likely ever reliably recorded: 124.3˚F (51.3˚C) in Ouargla, Algeria. Northern Siberia: > 90˚F ….> 40˚F above normal. Los Angeles highest-ever: 111˚F. And so on and so on. The implications? The article uses the flat, safe, language weRead the rest
• July 5th - “How Digitalization Is Ushering in a New Solar Era”: GE on digital twins and smart dispatchability (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Azeez Mohammed, president & CEO of Power Conversion: “Once the plant is digitalized, our goal is to achieve more than 99 percent plant availability throughout the renewable farm’s lifespan. Improved plant availability could translate into reduced operation and maintenance costsRead the rest
• July 4th - “It’s going to create a revolution”: how AI is transforming the UK’s National Health Service (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  For example, Microsoft’s InnerEye AI analyses images of tumours marked up by top consultants, so should perform like the best every time …and far faster. “Computer engineers are fond of asserting that data is the fuel of AI” and “theRead the rest
• July 4th - Opportunity Despite: History and future of the UK solar PV market in pictures and charts (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This slide show is for the 40th anniversary of the UK Solar Trade Association and is the basis for a keynote speech at the celebration thereof in City Hall, London, 5th July 2018.Read the rest
• July 3rd - SEC joins FBI, Justice Department & Federal Trade Commission in probing Facebook data breaches (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Investigation, previously limited to Cambridge Analytica, now widens, including FB’s 2011 undertakings to the FTC on data control, and Zuckerberg testimony to Congress. “The FTC has been examining whether the privacy breach violated the terms of Facebook’s 20-year data protectionRead the rest
• July 3rd - Facebook confesses to another false disclosure: it gave 61 companies access to user data blocked for most (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Nike, Spotify, Snap, UPS and dating app Hinge among those given special rights to access. How many incremental revelations do there have to be before stakeholders totally lose trust in a corporation? Image: techpoint.ng, adaptedRead the rest
• July 3rd - Facebook confesses to another false disclosure: it gave 61 companies access to user data blocked for most (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Nike, Spotify, Snap, UPS and dating app Hinge among those given special rights to access. How many incremental revelations do there have to be before stakeholders totally lose trust in a corporation? Image: techpoint.ng, adaptedRead the rest
• July 2nd - UK solar hits record weekly highs in heatwave …and tops gas as the biggest generator for an hour or so (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  21 – 28 June: 533 GWh from the UK’s 12.8 GW, >75GWh on five of the seven days, >8GW for eight consecutive days. The topping of gas has only occurred a few times since the first reported instance in AprilRead the rest
• July 2nd - 2018 Q2: A chronology in pictures & charts of developments in climate, energy, tech & the future of civilisation (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Things are moving so fast. Most of us are so busy. This slide show offers one person’s eclectic precis-for-the-busy of the first three months of 2018 in the related dramas of climate change, energy transition, big tech and the futureRead the rest
• June 30th - Yingli Green Energy, formerly the world number 1 solar PV manufacturer, is delisted from the NYSE (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  YGE shipped 2.9 GW in 2017, and is still in the top 10 manufacturers, despite years of financial problems. What a rollercoaster the solarcoaster truly is. See my upcoming slide show of the history and future of the UK solarRead the rest
• June 29th - Facebook patents a system that can use your phone’s microphone to monitor TV habits …& ambient sound (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  An audio fingerprint embedded in TV shows or ads, inaudible to human ears, would trigger the phone to turn on the microphone and record. The recording could be used to map TV watching, so as to target advertising better, orRead the rest
• June 29th - California passes broadest digital privacy law of any US state, somewhat like GDPR, to enter force 2020 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  But even its supporters say it will need revising before then, having been completed hurriedly in the face of the changing politics of privacy. Californians will be able to ask what personal information businesses hold about them, what kind ofRead the rest
• June 29th - “Why Tech Worker Dissent Is Going Viral”: Wired headline – protest is “tearing through” tech giants (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “Within a few days in late June, employees from Microsoft, Amazon, and Salesforce publicized petitions urging their CEOs to cancel or rethink lucrative contracts with US Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and local police departments.” Wired’s investigationRead the rest
• June 28th - BP, expecting 140k EVs to grow to 12m by 2040, buys UK’s biggest electric car charger for £130m (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The rebadged BP Chargemaster will add to the existing 6,500 charging points fast-charging on all 1,200 BP forecourts over the next year. Tufan Erginbilgic, the chief executive of BP’s downstream division: “I don’t believe the fastest person in this spaceRead the rest
• June 26th - UK democracy under threat, electoral regulator warns, calling on government for urgent reform (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Recommendations include no spending by foreign organisations and  individuals, transparency on who pays for online ads, ++ Sir John Holmes, chair of the Electoral Commission: “Urgent action must be taken by the UK’s governments to ensure that the tools usedRead the rest
• June 25th - Two federal judges rule against and for hearing of cities’ suits versus oil companies over climate costs (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  One throws out San Francisco and Oakland’s case, another rules cases of San Mateo and Marin Counties and the City of Imperial Beach can be heard in state court. Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate ChangeRead the rest
• June 24th - Erdoğan narrowly wins Turkish election in “climate of fear” (Amnesty), assuming quasi-dictatorial powers (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A pro-government television station accidentally aired election “results” 3 days before the polls ..showing the 53 % that Erdoğan “achieved”, and indeed always has achieved in elections and the presidential-powers referendum. This now places authoritarian “strongmen” in power after electionsRead the rest
• June 24th - Erdoğan narrowly wins Turkish election in “climate of fear” (Amnesty), assuming quasi-dictatorial powers (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A pro-government television station accidentally aired election “results” 3 days before the polls ..showing the 53 % that Erdoğan “achieved”, and indeed always has achieved in elections and the presidential-powers referendum. This now places authoritarian “strongmen” in power after electionsRead the rest
• June 23rd - Only one new community energy group formed in the UK in 2017 as subsidies went to fossil fuels (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So Community Energy England reports in its annual survey. Subsidies for FF are 30x higher than for renewables, including >£3bn in 2017 through the capacity market. Community energy groups grew by 30 a year until 2015. There are 228 inRead the rest
• June 23rd - “A 14th straight YouGov poll shows Britain wishes it had never voted to leave the EU”: Business Insider (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The chart shows all those YouGov polls grouped into monthly averages. Opinion of Brexit has been negative, on average, for 9 straight months. The article also finds a slight rise in Theresa May’s approval rating, and speculates that this mayRead the rest
• June 22nd - “A single picture can be worth thousands of words. Here is what this one means to me, in less than 100.” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The people in this collage represent an international team that has been achieving amazing things on four continents of late, deploying and laying the ground for solar-energy projects that are capable of making a major contribution to environmental protection, economicRead the rest
• June 22nd - Methane leaks from the US oil and gas industry c.60% higher than government estimates, new study finds (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A top-down study incorporating aerial data from nine major basins estimates 2.3% leakage well-to-power plant. The EPA suggested 1.4%. 2.7% makes gas worse than coal. Will this do anything to stop the oil-and-gas industry using its mantra that gas isRead the rest
• June 22nd - In a major boost for privacy rights, US Supreme Court rules police need warrant to track phone data (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A 5:4 decision. Chief Justice Roberts notes that the facility would give police “near perfect surveillance, as if it had attached an ankle monitor to the phone’s user.” I agree with Jake Laperruque, senior counsel at the Project On GovernmentRead the rest
• June 22nd - Employees and American Civil Liberties Union demand Amazon stop facilitating government surveillance (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Employees write imploring Bezos to stop selling Rekognition AI facial recognition software to government agencies and police. The letter says: “Amazon Rekognition is primed for abuse in the hands of governments. This product poses a grave threat to communities, includingRead the rest
• June 22nd - There is a growing “crisis of liberalism”, the Economist laments – but it can be fixed (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The liberal elite has “over-reached” in philosophies, institutions, and self-enrichment, and this has spawned much of the rise of rightist populist voting. Reforms must begin with an end to free movement, the Bagehot’s notebook column argues. This is a fascinatingRead the rest
• June 20th - Trump’s separation of immigrant children from parents creates a storm of protest in Silicon Valley (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  But, argues  Wired’s Emily Dreyfuss, protest is selective: there is as yet insufficient reflection on the role of technology in wider societal ills. As implicit in my recent compilation of the state of play ‘Tech: Nirvana or Nightmare”.  Read the rest
• June 19th - Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, a VW board member since 2010, is arrested over diesel cheating scandal (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  VW’s board had asked Stadler to put it in writing that he knew nothing of the fraud. After raids at work and his home, police now think he did. It has taken three years for the onion to unpeel thisRead the rest
• June 19th - As global solar capacity soars in 2017, new solar in the UK halves for a second year running (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  21 of the 28 EU markets showed growth, but this wasn’t enough to compensate for UK losses resulting from subsidy cuts in 2015 and 2016. James Watson, chief executive of SolarPowerEurope: “Solar power has been voted the most popular energyRead the rest
• June 19th - Battery cost-down will mean wind and PV at a combined 50% of global power by 2050: BNEF (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  New Energy Outlook 2018: Analysts forecast LCOE of new PV down a further 71% by 2050 and onshore wind 58%, fueling 15x growth in PV by then and 6x in wind. Though this is solid growth by any standards, itRead the rest
• June 18th - IBM AI holds its own against human debaters , including jokes and accusations opponents are lying (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “Debater” had no foreknowledge of topics and assembled arguments in real time searching hundreds of millions of articles for evidence. A fascinating exercise. The system took 6 years to develop. Interesting paragraph in the article: “The system has not beenRead the rest
• June 18th - HMG gives UK pension funds green light to dump fossil fuel investments if they see risk of stranding (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Department of Work and Pensions says its new regulations, proposed today, “are intended to reassure trustees that they can (and indeed should) take account of financially material risks.” This is another useful step forward, clearing yet more hiding places forRead the rest
• June 18th - Clean energy investment must be 50% higher for the 1.5˚C Paris global warming target than for 2˚C (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The IASA-led study is the first to compare capital requirements of 1.5˚C & 2˚C. The sums envisaged here are in the same order of magnitude as the “clean trillion” analysis of CERES. For context, annual investment in global energy wasRead the rest
• June 18th - “Oil must face its future as a declining industry”: Legal & General Investment Management in the FT (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Anton Eser, chief investment officer, and Nick Stansbury, fund manager and commodity specialist, suggest that rather than transition to renewables, oil companies stop investing and return cash. “We think the industry faces two choices. The first is to try andRead the rest
• June 18th - Interview: global energy transition, solar & Solarcentury role in it, China, Trump – & oil CEOs retirement worries (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  On 13th June, at Fund Forum International – the world’s largest asset-management conference – I gave a keynote lecture entitled “the huge opportunities and dire risks inherent in the clean-energy revolution and fossil-fuel stranding. The organisers interviewed me for tenRead the rest
• June 17th - Police link dozens of murders and serious assaults to rumours spread on WhatsApp in India (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  With evidence of the platform being used to spead lies on an industrial scale in other countries, and 1.5 bn users globally, encrypted fake news now emerges as a major problem. The difference with Facebook (which owns WhatsApp but letsRead the rest
• June 15th - UK tech leaders say scale of government’s visa cap removal is not enough to fix skills shortage (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This comes at the same time as Brexit and the UK’s “hostile environment” immigration policy are scaring away overseas talent. Tugce Bulut, founder of the Streetbees business intelligence platform: “This is the best of the best talent we are talkingRead the rest
• June 15th - Of the top 50 tech startups by value, 26 are Chinese and 16 are American, with none from Europe (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Of the top 20, 11 are Chinese, 6 are American and 2 are Indian. As Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz puts it in the FT: “China is winning the global tech race.” It is interesting to reflect on what couldRead the rest
• June 14th - UK police face legal action over use of automated facial recognition cameras, if they don’t stop (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Cases from Liberty and Big Brother Watch would be based on lack of regulation and “dangerously authoritarian” privacy violation. Image: Big Brother WatchRead the rest
• June 14th - EU strikes deal on 32% renewable energy by 2030 target, including strong solar provisions (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The deal includes an upward review clause by 2023 at the latest, no charges for solar prosumers and much easier connection to grid. On solar, Solar Power Europe reports as follows: “After several month of intense negotiations, the European Parliament,Read the rest
• June 13th - Now AI can be used to track movements of people through a wall, and model what they are doing (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  WiFi reflections are unscrambled by machine learning. After 100 people train the AI, 83% of them can then be recognized by style of movement. The article offers some rather unconvincing suggestions from the researchers for medical uses that the technologyRead the rest
• June 13th - Sea level rise due to Antarctic ice melt has tripled in the past five years, satellite measurements show (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The international Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise, using multiple satellites, shows most mass change is in West Antarctica. “The reason that West Antarctica may be more vulnerable to melting than other regions is because it is largely made upRead the rest
• June 13th - The opportunities and risks inherent in clean-energy revolution and fossil-fuel stranding (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Keynote presentation to FundForum International, BerlinRead the rest
• June 11th - Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, also founder of Oculus, aims to develop a range of AI military tools (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  He is a funder of the alt-right and a Trump supporter. Investors include Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley billionaire with the same credentials. Image: WiredRead the rest
• June 11th - US start up Anduril tests AI surveillance tech on Mexico border that acts as a virtual border wall (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  They use tower-mounted sensors to monitor anyone within 2 miles. Customs say they have helped in 55 arrests of unauthorized crossers. Images: Wired article, courtesy of Anduril  Read the rest
• June 11th - Impact4All column on government bailouts of Transmountain Pipeline, Wylfa nuclear plant and US coal (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  In recent weeks we have seen evidence on the one hand of the fast advance of renewable energy, and on the other the incredible resilience of the energy-incumbency defence against that advance, including big oil and nuclear. Celebrations of theRead the rest
• June 11th - Microsoft begins to put data centres under the sea, seeking energy efficiency, beginning off Scotland (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  They can be installed much quicker than onland data centres …and will be renewable-powered, in this case by tidal, wind and solar. The company hopes to power future data centre installations directly using offshore wind or tidal energy, with noRead the rest
• June 10th - Oil groups say backlash against plastics will not derail the industry’s big bet on petrochemicals (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  As Shell:’s downstream director John Abbott puts it: “even if all one-time use plastics were eliminated globally it would only reduce demand for chemicals by 3-4 per cent.” Image: screenshot from Shell websiteRead the rest
• June 9th - Brussels changes rules to boost Paris-congruent financial products & disclose climate risk of others (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  c. €180bn p.a. of new investment will be needed until 2030 to hit EU share of Paris targets. Changes in the Commission’s proposals include green labels. Axa is a driving force behind this. Valdis Dombrovskis, EC vice-president overseeing financial servicesRead the rest
• June 9th - Pope Francis invites oil bosses to the Vatican and tells them that they must switch to clean energy (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The Pope told leaders including from BP, Exxon Mobil, Statoil and Anglo-American: “There should be no room for opportunistic and cynical efforts to gain small partial results in the short run while shifting equally significant costs and damages to futureRead the rest
• June 8th - 2018 global solar demand to increase 11% to 105 GW despite China cuts, IHS Markit forecasts (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  According to IHS, we should expect “another wave of oversupply, low profitability and consolidation” then solar “even more competitive across new markets.” They reduced their outlook for global PV installations in 2018 to 105 GW from 113, with 38 GWRead the rest
• June 7th - With bees scarce, a drone pollinates an apple orchard for the first time ….results yet to be seen (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Dan Robitzski of Wired describes the project in New York State as follows: “like putting a bandage over a big, gruesome cut that we didn’t even clean first.” His point is that if ventures such as this succeed, there mightRead the rest
• June 7th - With bees scarce, a drone pollinates an apple orchard for the first time ….results yet to be seen (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Dan Robitzski of Wired describes the project in New York State as follows: “like putting a bandage over a big, gruesome cut that we didn’t even clean first.” His point is that if ventures such as this succeed, there mightRead the rest
• June 7th - Google sets limits on its use of AI, but will work with the military in “many areas”, and self-police (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  No work on AI for weapons, CEO Sundar Pichai says. Nor surveillance technology “violating internationally accepted norms of human rights.” But he is effectively saying “trust us” on the oversight. One Google employee tells Wired that any such rules wouldRead the rest
• June 6th - New Facebook revelation: data shared with four Chinese consumer-device makers, including Huawei (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  New questions arise. Has data gone to Chinese servers? Have back doors been created for Chinese hacking? And obviously, users were not told their data would be used in this way. Yet Zuckerberg told Congress in April that users haveRead the rest
• June 6th - People’s Liberation Army and corporate China “draw ever closer” as military budget rises: FT (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  10 years ago China spent $35 bn on defence. Now $230 bn. Silicon Valley started out on DoD largesse. Now tech firms tend to distance themselves. The article gives examples including Midea, which started out as a white goods companyRead the rest
• June 6th - Trump’s hopes to save America’s failing coal-fired power plants are “all about the base”: The Economist (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “The plan would benefit a handful of firms the president favours at the expense of consumers” …c. $12bn worth of “cash for cronies”, as Nora Brownell, a former FERC commissioner appointed by George W. Bush, puts it. Image: from theRead the rest
• June 6th - AI can now manipulate people’s movements and speech in photorealistic fake videos (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The development will be made public at a virtual reality conference in August in a paper that has just one sentence on ethical concerns. Futurism: “The researchers suggest thatsomeoneought to look into better watermarking technologies or other ways to spotRead the rest
• June 6th - “Utilities dispel all doubts about renewables’ ability to power planet”: Recharge on Eurelectric summit (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Jerome Pecresse, head of GE Renewables: “We are inventing things that we did not even imagine three years ago …renewable baseload is coming fast.” Francesco Starace, Enel CEO and Eurelectric president: electrifying the transport sector “is not only a winningRead the rest
• June 5th - Chinese government slams the brakes on domestic solar, and the global industry braces for the impact (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Subsidy cuts and a 10 GW cap (vs 53 GW last year). Solar manufacturers’ stock prices plunge. Developers overseas anticipate lower prices, but… It will be difficult for the rest of the world to absorb all the manufacturing capacity thatRead the rest
• June 5th - The week of the white elephants: The UK, US, and Canadian governments all tried to bail out the energy incumbency (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This short true-story-of-the-day, in pictures and charts, assesses the extent of the incomprehensibility.Read the rest
• June 5th - 4 companies in $30 billion sex technology industry now sell robots, one with AI “conversation” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A US survey suggests 49% of men would be open to sex with an “enhanced, hyper-realistic” doll, and the emergence of such is both inevitable and imminent, Futurism suggests. There are no studies yet of the social impacts of suchRead the rest
• June 5th - In remarkable U-turn, UK government agrees to £5bn public stake in a Welsh nuclear power station (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Total cost of Wylfa, to be shared with Hitachi and Japanese government according to the interim agreement made: £16bn. Price of power: £75-77 MWh …more than solar & wind. For many years, politicians, civil servants and Big Energy execs toldRead the rest
• June 5th - Investment in renewables in 2017 was less than it was in 2011 …it has essentially been flat since then (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The $280bn invested is 3x the investment in fossil fuel generating capacity and more than 2x fossil-fuel and nuclear power capacity combined. ….But not enough.  Only 4 of 38 energy sectors are on track with Paris targets – which ultimatelyRead the rest
• June 4th - REN21: Renewables growth in heating, cooling, and transport are well behind the electricity generation sector (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Rana Adib, executive secretary of REN21: warns of “complacency” ….“we are coasting along as if we had all the time in the world. Sadly, we don’t.” The report contains all the statistics we in the renewables sector have come toRead the rest
• June 4th - Hungarian government tables new law that could jail lawyers and activists advising migrants of their rights (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  As Parliament debates it, Orban’s state-controlled media pump out scare stories about migration-linked crime and terrorism, and the “Soros network”. Having recently been elected for a second term, the populist regime is leaning into a Fascistic modus operandi. Image: BBCRead the rest
• June 3rd - Google reacts to internal and external pressure and drops Pentagon project for facial recognition AI (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The tech giant will publish an ethical framework for use of AI later this week. Critics want and expect it to go far beyond military uses. More than 4,000 employees signed a petition pleading for withdrawal, and several resigned. TheRead the rest
• June 2nd - Trump orders emergency federal action to stem coal and nuclear plant shutdowns (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Proposals in a leaked memo include forcing utilities to buy electricity from coal and nuclear operators for 2 years. This would be an unprecedented intervention by the government in “free” energy markets – active subversion of renewables, and gas forRead the rest
• June 1st - Protestors opposing oil drilling off Brazil and French Guiana make their point in Total’s AGM (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Four Greenpeace activists abseil from the ceiling just as Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné begins his presentation. Pouyanné, in an admirable display of French élan, invites the Greenpeace leader to address the AGM and explain her concerns. Note the solar panelsRead the rest
• June 1st - UK homes vulnerable to a “staggering” level of corporate surveillance, a Which? survey finds (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Many smart appliances send data to their manufacturers, and third-parties like advertisers, with scant regard for permissions or security. According to the article, the Which? researchers “found televisions selling viewing data to advertisers, toothbrushes with access to smartphone microphones, andRead the rest
• June 1st - Teens are abandoning Facebook in dramatic numbers, a Pew Research Center poll finds (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  71% of US 13-17 year olds used FB in 2015, 51% today. Analyst Paul Verna: this demographic shift is a “greater existential threat” than privacy concerns.` Which of the online platforms do teens use the most: 35% Snapchat, 32% YouTube,Read the rest
• June 1st - How Does Biogas Work Exactly? (9) (Uncategorized) (by Guest Author)

  How Does Biogas Work Exactly? Biogas is classified as a biofuel that is produced from the fermentation of plant-based carbohydrates. To understand how biogas works you need to first have an understanding of how the biofuel is created.   Biogas is produced anaerobically, meaning without oxygen. Archaea, the microscopic organisms that break down the pant […]
• June 1st - Zuckerberg and his board suffer a barrage from investors and protestors at Facebook’s annual meeting (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “You Broke Democracy”, a plane-towed banner reads. Investors warn of “corporate dictatorship.” But there is no sign of investors voting with their capital. They, at the end of the day, acceded to his having absolute control. And still he hasRead the rest
• May 31st - “World’s Biggest AI Startup Raises $1.2 Billion in Mere Months”: Bloomberg on Sense Time Group (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  China “is ramping up spending on surveillance as it cracks down hard on restive parts of the country, including Xinjiang.” Sense Time Group is a front runner in that. As Bloomberg puts it: “SenseTime specializes in systems that analyze facesRead the rest
• May 31st - Europe’s largest asset manager Amundi sees a “tipping point” in climate-risk aware investing (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Frederic Samama, co-head of institutional clients, says: “Until recently, that question was not on their radar screen. It’s changing, and super fast.” Bloomberg: “France was the first country to make it mandatory for investors to disclose the carbon footprint ofRead the rest
• May 31st - China is using modern tech to age-old repression to turn Xinjiang “into a police state like no other”: The Economist (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  In this far-western province, Beijing “is committing some of the most extensive, and neglected, human-rights violations in the world” against Muslim Uighurs. The details in this long article are harrowing, like something out of a Margaret Atwood novel about aRead the rest
• May 31st - French nuclear regulator fears “epidemic” safety-culture collapse at Flamanville: disaster looms for EDF (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Almost 150 more weld failures (beyond those discovered earlier, as reviewed in the article) mean the nuclear plant scheduled online in 2012 at a cost of €3.5bn is now delayed to 2020, probably, at a cost of €10.5bn, and counting.Read the rest
• May 30th - “Global warming is making tropical cyclones stronger”, renowned climatologists conclude (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  “Especially storms of previously unobserved strength.” So Stefan Rahmstorf, Kerry Emanuel, Mike Mann and Jim Kossin write, drawing on their own work and synthesising that of other researchers. This is very bad news for the insurance industry, and indeed allRead the rest
• May 30th - Q&A with Solarcentury founder Jeremy Leggett on the 20th birthday of the company: “proud, grateful and lucky”. (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Q: Solarcentury turns 20 this month. As the company founder, how does that make you feel? A: Proud, grateful, and lucky. It is an absolute rarity for a solar company to still be alive, let alone relatively healthy, after 20Read the rest
• May 29th - In a single day, the electric car boom is given a billion-dollar boost in 3 US states (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  New Jersey, New York and California invest a collective $1.2 bn in charging stations and other EV support. This the same day as Canada bails our a struggling and controversial oil pipeline. Image: InhabitatRead the rest
• May 29th - Canadian government bails out a stranded Kinder Morgan oil pipeline system for $4.5 bn (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  They hope to sell the Trans Mountain pipeline later. Analysts doubt they can. Protestors label PM Trudeau a climate criminal. The pipeline, from Alberta to British Columbia, faces stiff resistance in the latter, and this is expressed in high regulatoryRead the rest
• May 29th - IEA publishes a new monitoring tool showing only 4 of 38 energy sectors are on track with Paris targets (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  They are solar, lighting, data centres and networks, and EVs. Particularly problematic is that energy efficiency improvements have slowed. IEA on its Tracking Clean Energy Progress tool: “For the first time, TCEP includes a series of high-level indicators that provideRead the rest
• May 28th - AI increases risk of nuclear war because of risk of hacking of military communications in time of crisis (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So argues a report by the RAND Corporation, based on expert workshops that it convened. “Mutually Assured Destruction” policy requires rapid response, and militaries may be tempted to use AI. Nuclear security expert Stephen Schwartz, talking to Singularity Hub: “KeepRead the rest
• May 26th - Solarcentury: a history on our 20th birthday, 26th May 2018, in pictures and charts (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Read the rest
• May 25th - FBI says Russians hacked hundreds of thousands of home and office routers in more than 50 countries (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The warning follows a court order that allows the FBI to seize a website that the hackers planned to use to give instructions to routers. i suppose we ignore the FBI at our peril: I just turned my router offRead the rest
• May 25th - Scotland sets toughest greenhouse-gas target in the world: a binding cut of 90% by 2050 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Up from 80%, with a new interim target for 2020 of a 56% compared with the existing goal of 42%. NGOs wanted net zero by 2050. Competition in setting Paris targets is vital, and it is fine for politicians toRead the rest
• May 24th - In 2017, the global economy grew $3.9tn …& global debt grew $21tn to $237tn: the implosion “is approaching” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A clear warning from Steve StAngelo in SRSrocco Report: this mountain of debt will crash the global economy: “Unfortunately, when the massive amount of debt finally implodes, it will take down the values of most Stocks, Bonds, and Real Estate. Read the rest
• May 24th - From 2000 – 2017 US GDP grew $10 trillion to $19.7tn …while US all-sector debt grew from $27.2tn to $68.6tn (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A clear warning from Steve StAngelo in SRSrocco Report: this mountain of debt will cause a crash …it is not a question of if, but when. Debt began to soar in 1970: from there, US conventional oil production & energyRead the rest
• May 23rd - Hitting 1.5˚C Paris target will save the world $30 trillion in climate-related damages this century (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So estimates a Stanford University economic study published in Nature. The cost of action to hit the target would be $0.5 tn globally. Marshall Burke, alead researcher: “By the end of the century, we find the world will be aboutRead the rest
• May 21st - Twitter bots altered the outcomes of both the Trump and Brexit elections by targeting margins (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A US National Bureau of Economic Research study suggests they added fully 3.2% to the Trump vote and a crucial 1.76% to pro Leave. The evidence that democracy is being subverted grows and grows. Image: screenshot of Twitter websiteRead the rest
• May 21st - Tech: nirvana or nightmare? State-of-play report: An analysis of recent years in pictures and charts (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Read the rest
• May 21st - Tech: nirvana or nightmare? State-of-play report: An analysis of recent years in pictures and charts (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Read the rest
• May 21st - Carbon Tracker on oil companies’ climate business-risk assessments: “a large gap remains” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  CTI’s latest concludes: ”A 2°C pathway means that some companies will lose, but current scenario analyses see everyone winning.” “Some examples of companies constructing proprietary scenarios demonstrate that the oil and gas industry cannot be relied upon to faithfully modelRead the rest
• May 18th - “How Lousy Shale Economics Will Pull Down The U.S. Economy”: SRSrocco Report (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The general inability of companies to make a profit from fracking means the industry must keep borrowing new debt to pay back existing debt: “…the very definition of a Ponzi Scheme.” The article includes an embedded 30 minute video, whereRead the rest
• May 17th - UK green investment falls to lowest in a decade and government moves to make fracking easy (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Investment fell 56% in 2017. Meanwhile government is to consult on dropping planning permission for seismic work and fracking in shale. Mary Creagh, a member of Parliament who leads the the Environmental Audit Committee: “Billions of pounds of investment isRead the rest
• May 17th - “There are no roadblocks on the way to a 100% renewable future” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This is the conclusion of an international group of scientists systematically working through the counter-arguments of a pro-nuclear group. They come from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Lappeenranta UniversityRead the rest
• May 17th - Climate change on track to cause “major insect wipeout” with “far-reaching disruption to life on Earth” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  So an international group of scientists warn, after the most comprehensive study yet: of the geographic ranges of 31,000 insect species. Climate change would make almost half of current insect habitat unlivable by the end of the century,  even ifRead the rest
• May 16th - “Nissan’s Following Tesla Into Solar Power and Home Batteries” …is mass solar V2G in the offing? (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Wired magazine reports a US perspective on a new development in the UK. Gareth Dunsmore, electric vehicle director for Nissan Europe says of the company’s new venture: “It enables UK homeowners to make significant savings on their household electricity bills,Read the rest
• May 16th - Water shortages likely to be the key environmental challenge of the century, Nasa warns (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  NASA’s two Grace satellites (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) tracked trends in freshwater from 2002 to 2016: a first-of-its-kind mission. Results show that areas in northern and eastern India, the Middle East, California and Australia are in particular danger. ThisRead the rest
• May 16th - This site (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Read the rest
• May 16th - Fly-sized robots can now be powered by a laser and tiny solar photovoltaic cell: a new first in robotics (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  University of Washington researcher Sawyer Fuller frees the mini-robot of power wires by using a laser to power a solar cell. Currently the laser has to be less than 7 feet from the device. But this will no doubt beRead the rest
• May 16th - Hungarian government repression forces Soros Open Society Foundations to retreat to Berlin (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The hate campaign now leads to “Stop Soros” legislation that requires NGOs to have a government licence in order to represent refugees, the foundations report. Patrick Gaspard, president of the Open Society Foundations: “The government of Hungary has denigrated andRead the rest
• May 15th - Repsol will end pursuit of oil and gas growth and chase energy transition instead (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The Spanish oil company “is the first among its peers” to do this, Bloomberg reports. Production will be limited to around current levels: around 700,000 to 750,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. Reserves will be maintained at 8 yearsRead the rest
• May 15th - Collapsing Venezuelan oil exports push oil price to $78, highest level since the big price drop in 2014 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  With Iranian exports soon to be hit by Trump sanctions, some analysts predict $100 oil again. Energy stock prices are surging. Now a big test begins for the oil and gas industry, I think If they stick to their oldRead the rest
• May 14th - Rolls-Royce to go ‘fully electric’ by 2040, calculating UK and France will not be alone in banning ICE sales (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The company aims for its first EV within 10 years, but will phase out its existing engines over several decades, CEO Torsten Müller-Otvos tells the FT. “Electrification is the future, full stop. You need to prepare yourself for that.” Prediction:Read the rest
• May 13th - Hello world! (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
• May 13th - UK on track to phase-out coal by 2025 without the need for any new large gas plants: WWF report (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Offshore wind will provide most of the growth from 2017 to 2025, the report suggests, but HMG could and should also use onshore wind and solar, and accelerate storage. “95% of the required renewables growth to replace coal is alreadyRead the rest
• May 12th - Facebook mislead UK Parliament over Russian interference in Brexit vote, MPs say (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  CTO Mark Schroepfer told MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee that targeted ads had not been used by Russian agencies, but new evidence released by US Congress shows that it was.Read the rest
• May 11th - “You’ll be able to buy a Boston Dynamics SpotMini soon, please don’t teach it to kill” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Victor Tangermann for Futurism: an ‘accessibility aid for the impaired’ sells a lot better, than a ‘walking death machine, with a machine gun mounted on its back.” Image: screenshot of Boston Dynamics videoRead the rest
• May 11th - The $100bn Softbank – Saudi Vision Fund is placing huge bets in those it favours across the tech world (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  With $64 bn raised by all VC funds in 2016 by contrast, the implications of this pool of capital include supercharging a relatively small number of companies: an enormous bet itself, the Economist argues.Read the rest
• May 11th - “From Drone Swarms to Tree Batteries, New Tech Is Revolutionizing Ecology and Conservation” ….but (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  A Singularity University article posits revolutionising of ecological research, with no discussion of net upsides / downsides from new tech. Image: from articleRead the rest
• May 10th - “Terrorists Are Still Recruiting on Facebook, Despite Zuckerberg’s Reassurances”: Bloomberg (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  At least a dozen U.S.-designated terror groups use Facebook, Bloomberg discovers, and when banned soon reappear with slight modifications. JL: Yet again, Facebook and its boss overstate what they can do ameliorate the social harm that spills off their platform.Read the rest
• May 10th - A perspective on California’s solar roof mandate on BBC World TV News: “That’s good news for you, isn’t it” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  http://www.jeremyleggett.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/solarpanels-3.mp4… Read-more
• May 10th - “Facebook’s dual-class share structure is akin to a dictatorship”: Calstrs portfolio manager in the FT (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Aeisha Mastagni: “Who is it that holds Mr Zuckerberg to account?” One share should equal one vote. “Facebook, it is time to act like an adult.” Image: from the FT article, unaccreditedRead the rest
• May 10th - Uber reveals plans for electric flying taxi-service to be launched by 2023 – with no vehicles yet built (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Electric vertical take-off and landing (Evtol) technology can provide transit at same price as current car rides, Uber claims, …if enough (thousands) are built. JL: it is interesting to read that Elon Musk is among those who think that thisRead the rest
• May 10th - Russia is only 12th in the global economic league table, and not likely to move up soon (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Financial Times: “In many areas, the country is so far from Mr Putin’s 2024 goals that his plans appear to be not just ambitious but outright utopian.”Read the rest
• May 10th - “Google’s AI fest offers an ominous glimpse of the robot future”: Richard Waters in the FT (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Among Waters’s concerns: “Isn’t a computer voice that can trick you into engaging in conversation destined to become the political robocall from hell?” Social media theorist Zeynep Tufekci was among those concerned by the demo. She tweeted that it wasRead the rest
• May 10th - A perspective on California’s solar roof mandate on BBC World TV News: “That’s good news for you, isn’t it” (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  https://defactodesign.com/jl/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/solarpanels-3.mp4Read the rest
• April 30th - The Green Energy Revolution Is Happening Faster Than You Think: my first column for Impact4All (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  In the first of a series of exclusive columns, Jeremy Leggett, CEO of Solarcentury, the UK’s largest solar energy company and board member at Impact4All, discusses renewable energy’s supercharged journey into the future When the G7 nations agreed in June 2015 to push for a treaty to phase out fossil … Read-more
• April 30th - The Green Energy Revolution Is Happening Faster Than You Think: my first column for Impact4All (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  In the first of a series of exclusive columns, Jeremy Leggett, CEO of Solarcentury, the UK’s largest solar energy company and board member at Impact4All, discusses renewable energy’s supercharged journey into the future When the G7 nations agreed in June 2015 to push for a treaty to phase out fossil … Read-more
• April 25th - Are Britain’s coal free days a completely good thing? (3) (Coal, Energy Storage, Gas) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  In 2017, Britain’s reduction in coal use was commended around the world. Over the year, just 6.3% of UK electricity was produced from its coal power stations which is remarkable when you consider that coal provided more than 40% of electricity in 2012. Through MyGridGB, I’ve tracked how there were over 620 hours of coal […]
• April 11th - Retired BP executive, one the UK’s most eminent geologists, suggests The Carbon War is over (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Dr Bryan Lovell is these days a Senior Research Fellow in Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge.  In the April 2018 issue of Petroleum Review, published by the Energy Institute, he wrote a fascinating article reviewing the state of play in the oil industry, as he sees it, regarding… Read-more
• April 4th - 2018 Q1: An eclectic chronology in pictures and charts of developments in climate, energy, tech and the future of civilisation (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Things are moving so fast. Most of us are so busy. This slide show offers one person’s precis-for-the-busy of the first three months of 2018 in the related dramas of climate change, energy transition, big tech and the future of civilisation. I hope it is useful. Powerpoint versions, with source… Read-more
• March 1st - History and future of the global energy transition – full 30 minute presentation at Making Solar Bankable 2018 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Keynote presentation delivered in Amsterdam 15the February 2018. See the longer version of this powerpoint, “History and future of the global energy transition 2016 – 2017 in pictures and charts”, including source urls posted as notes.… Read-more
• February 28th - A good news story at SolarAid / The Test (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Brave Mhonie has worked for SolarAid in Malawi for 10 years, through good times and bad, working his way up to be national director of our non-profit retail brand, SunnyMoney. In gratitude we part-paid for him to achieve a dream of his: a qualification from a top European business school.… Read-more
• February 26th - The oil industry and the global energy transition: existential threats and world-improving opportunities (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  On February 21st shareholder activist group Follow This partnered with Principles for Responsible Investment and Share Action to hold a seminar for investors in the City of London entitled ‘How can investors help oil majors to commit to Paris’. The presentations and discussion were off the record, but I am… Read-more
• February 20th - History and future of the global energy transition – an update (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  One minute video of extracts from talk at Solarplaza on 15th February (thanks to FMO Development Bank). See also extended version of powerpoint.… Read-more
• February 15th - The history and future of the global energy transition 2016 – 2017 in pictures and charts (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This presentation, to accompany the publication of the updated edition of The Winning of The Carbon War, is downloadable in 3 parts: As pdfs: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 As powerpoints: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 Please feel free to use it anyway you… Read-more
• February 6th - The current crop of oil and gas company investments and acquisitions in clean energy: a quick Q & A (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Picture: BP advertising, 2000. Q: Are they actually committed to diversifying beyond oil and gas this time, or is this just a fresh round of greenwash? A: All this is beyond greenwash, but far short of retreat consistent with the Paris Agreement – the oil and gas companies and are… Read-more
• January 23rd - Lloyd’s of London divests from coal 25 years after first being advised to. What financial damage to their business has the delay entailed? (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  In a report entitled “Climate Change and The Insurance Industry”, the world’s largest insurance market was advised as follows in February 1993: “It would behove the industry to look very closely at where all capital is invested. Fossil-fuel-related operations should be eschewed, and solar energy and energy-efficiency projects favoured.” I… Read-more
• January 14th - My hopes for the great global energy transition, and thoughts on the UK state of play: Interview for Impact4All (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Q: How do you feel about the developments at the One Planet Summit in Paris? Was it enough? It wasn’t enough to hit the ultimate Paris Agreement targets, but enough to keep those targets in play. I very much enjoyed the flurry of financial-sector announcements at the summit. If the… Read-more

• November 21st - Rogue US can’t derail Bonn agenda as leaders keep the faith (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  The US was a marginal presence at a COP23 summit that kept the wind in the sails of global climate action, writes Jeremy Leggett in Recharge Magazine. Busy executives in companies producing and using renewable energy may be wondering what to make of the increasingly detailed negotiations at the latest… Read-more
• November 4th - Explaining Solarcentury’s move this week, and a presentation on solar civilisation and the emerging threats to democracy (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Photo: Solarcentury CEO Frans van den Heuvel Solarcentury entered a long-term strategic partnership with Germany’s number one solar park builder, Capital Stage, this week. Together we intend to capitalise and execute 1.1 GW of a 2.5 GW Solarcentury project pipeline, in 5 countries, an undertaking requiring capital of £0.8 billion… Read-more
• October 31st - The conundrum deepens – big solar deployment rises yet faster, small solar falls still further: chapter 4 of The Test (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Paramount Pictures, West London, 16th August 2017 A private screening of Al Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Sequel. We are ten years on from the release of his original blockbuster, An Inconvenient Truth. The new film tells the story of that decade, and the race against time that it represents for… Read-more
• October 5th - Tracking the demise of the fossil fuel industries: 21 September 2017 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Presentation to the Springtij sustainability festival, Netherlands Tracking the demise of the fossil fuel industries – Jeremy Leggett  … Read-more
• September 10th - A view under the bonnet: chapter 3 of The Test. (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Photo: Charlottesville, Virginia, 12th August 2017 – New players on the stage, probably unbothered about passing The Test Cambridge, UK, 31st July 2017 I land at Heathrow, take a train into London and then another to Cambridge. I have occasional sessional teaching duties at the University, with the Cambridge Institute… Read-more
• September 8th - Appropriate Civilization versus New Despotism – my paper for international business schools, in Chinese (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  You can read more here..… Read-more
• August 9th - Corruption, subsidies, the mad math of kerosene, and the ups and downs on SolarAid’s front lines in Malawi, Uganda, and Zambia: Chapter 2 of The Test (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Picture: Team Malawi, Lilongwe, 22nd July 18th July 2017, Johannesburg Mandela Day. South Africans are celebrating the life of the father of their unified nation, four years after his death. Foreigners too. In Capetown, Richard Branson leads a parade with The Elders, a group of former world leaders and other… Read-more
• July 18th - The Test: Chapter 1 of my latest serialised free-download book now available (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Two extracts from the first chapter of my new book set out its premise. Like the previous book, it will be a live serialised linear narrative, telling a vital story of our times as it unfolds. The two scenes in the first chapter are in the Albert Hall, London, and… Read-more
• July 5th - SolarAid’s SunnyMoney wins Prince of Wales’s Business In The Community / Unilever Global Development Award: a personal note to all stakeholders (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  I and my colleagues at SolarAid and SunnyMoney are deeply grateful to all the many and varied stakeholders who made this award possible, most of whom have the dubious privilege of receiving my periodic e-mails. To all the SolarAid supporters who fund SunnyMoney – from Canadian elementary schools, via round-the-world-cyclists,… Read-more
• June 5th - Trump’s attempt to pull the USA out of the Paris Agreement: a personal reaction from Solaraid   (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  I was barely listening as he delivered his speech. I had heard most of his mantras already. I also knew that he would be unable to complete a US pullout, legally, until his second term. And he surely can’t aspire to one of those now, with all the skeletons… Read-more
• May 23rd - FT and BBC articles agreed on something very important yesterday (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Coverage in the FT and BBC yesterday recounted how the SM100 solar light – developed by my team at SolarAid with Chinese solar giant Yingli, and designed by cool UK design company Inventid – is a big new opportunity to fight poverty in Africa and elsewhere. With this light, SolarAid… Read-more
• May 10th - An opinion on the problem of Mexico’s oil and Trump’s wall (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Op-ed by Jeremy Leggett for Energiahoy, slightly edited from the Spanish: What do you do if you are running out of oil, and your neighbour’s President, who has plenty of oil, seems to hate you? The answer is that you develop a renewable-powered economy as fast as you can.… Read-more
• April 30th - Guest Blog: Are there advantages of UK onshore natural gas? Part 2 (5) (Uncategorized) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  This is a guest post by Nick Grealy. Nick Grealy has been the natural gas industry for 24 years and found the first 16 really, really, boring. He sees a role for all energy sources except for coal everywhere. He prefers to produce lower carbon energy, not scenarios and would like to make natural gas […]
• April 30th - Record breaking renewables: 30th April 2017 (2) (Uncategorized) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  Sunday 30th April 2017 is seeing record amounts of low carbon generation in Great Britain. At 1030 am, 74% of electricity supplied was from low carbon sources. Renewables (wind, solar and hydro) were providing the bulk of the power. The amount of carbon generated per kWh electricity fell below 125gCO2/kWh Here is some historical perspective for […]
• April 24th - Appropriate Civilization versus New Despotism, month 3, 21st March – 20th April 2017 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  As ever, I hope that a precis of one individual’s experience and interpretation of emerging history will be helpful to the many without the hours I have available each week – after a little engaging as a minor player in some of the theatres of war – for observing, studying,… Read-more
• April 21st - A day without coal (0) (Coal) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  By Dr Andrew Crossland and Dr Grant Wilson 21st April 2017 looks like the first day ever with no coal generation in the UK. Here are some fast facts to explain what is happening: This was the first day since the late 19th century that no coal power is being produced in the UK for […]
• April 19th - Guest Blog: Are there advantages of UK onshore natural gas? Part 1 (2) (Gas, Opinion Piece) (by Guest Author)

  This is a guest post by Nick Grealy. Nick Grealy has been the natural gas industry for 24 years and found the first 16 really, really, boring. He sees a role for all energy sources except for coal everywhere. He prefers to produce lower carbon energy, not scenarios and would like to make natural gas […]
• April 16th - A record breaking week (0) (Coal, Greenhouse Gas, Records, Solar, Wind) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  It has been a pretty amazing week for British electricity. At lunchtime on Sunday 9th April, a record 8GW of solar power was powering British homes. On Friday, and for the first time in 2017, all coal power stations in the UK were off, meaning that no electricity was being consumed from British coal power stations. […]
• April 12th - Where do British imports come from? (2) (Greenhouse Gas, Imports) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  In this blog, I assess how we import electricity to Great Britain and evaluate whether this is a low carbon thing to do. I conclude that to reduce carbon emissions from our electricity we should think carefully about where our imports come from and when we do so.
• April 2nd - 2017 versus 2016 (3) (Records, Review) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  I have just released a new page on the MyGridGB website which tries to chart how electricity generation is changing year on year. It can be found here. These charts tell some important stories about electricity in Britain and how fast it is changing. I now describe three biggest stories in the data and my […]
• March 25th - Appropriate Civilization versus New Despotism, month 2, 20th February – 20th March 2017: Tech-for-good and Truth take a pounding (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  This month evidence of the potential use of AI and robotics for social benefit continued to lag portentous developments. On the one hand, the prospects for improving healthcare systems continue to grow. Google plans a health record tracking system loosely based on the bitcoin concept and using its DeepMind AI,… Read-more
• March 24th - Appropriate Civilization versus New Despotism, month 2, 20th February – 20th March 2017: Climate action holds ground and energy transition accelerates (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Action around the world on climate and air pollution continued to offer cautious grounds for hope this month. The IEA reported that carbon dioxide emissions have not increased for a third year in row, despite the global economy growing. Fighting climate change requires that they begin to fall soon… Read-more
• March 20th - How can renewables help to create a better civilization? Statement by Dr Jeremy Leggett, Executive Chair of SolarAid, to the Start Up Energy Transition Tech Festival, Berlin, 20th March 2017 (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  I speak today about the wider context of all the wonderful innovation and creative disruption we are hearing about from around the world today. My message is about how to maximise its impact, in the singular times in which we live. The first is to inspire allcomers with what that… Read-more
• March 18th - A brief history of British Electricity Generation (4) (Demand, Greenhouse Gas, Records) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  British electricity generation and carbon emissions since 1970.
• March 10th - The business case is clear: renewables companies must openly resist the new despotism (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Picture: Google employees protest against Trump immigration policies. Blog: A slightly extended version of my latest column for Recharge: By building on the explosive growth of clean energy in recent years, and triumphs of multilateralism led by the Paris Agreement, a renaissance of civilisation can realistically be envisioned in… Read-more
• March 4th - February 2017 in review (0) (Review) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  In this blog, I compare the electricity generation in February 2017 to the same period last year. For readers concerned about carbon emissions, there is good news. Electricity was less carbon intensive and there was lower demand in February 2017 than there was for the same month in 2016. Overall there was 11% less greenhouse […]
• February 24th - Britain’s existing nuclear power stations (1) (Nuclear) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  In this articles I focus on nuclear power – something which rarely features in my blogs, but which is a big component of the MyGridGB manifesto. Nuclear power is low carbon generation according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): the source of carbon emission values on this website. The IPCC accounts the full […]
• February 24th - A windy lesson (0) (Manifesto, Wind) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  British news is dominated by the devastation caused Storm Doris over the past 24 hours. No doubt somewhere in the papers will be photos of a wind turbine which fell down, caught fire or was switched off in high winds – for some typical headlines on the matter, click here. Photographs of exploding wind turbines of […]
• February 20th - Appropriate Civilization versus New Despotism: State of Play on 20th February 2017, one month into the Trump presidency (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  Suddenly believers in the possibility of a better civilization, one rooted in increasing human co-operation and harmony, find ourselves in a world where demagogues can now realistically plot the polar opposite: a new despotism rooted in rising isolationist nationalism and human conflict. The more we dig into how the demagogues… Read-more
• February 19th - Guest Blog: Opportunities for teaching sustainable energy in post-compulsory education. (3) (Education) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  The following is a guest blog by Pamela Dugdale, a MyGridGB follower on Twitter. Followers are encouraged to submit guest blogs using mygridapp@gmail.com By Pamela Dugdale In schools in England and Wales [1], the topic of energy is primarily taught as part of the GCSE science syllabus. Students learn how electricity is generated from fossil […]
• February 19th - Rising carbon emissions (0) (Coal, Demand, Greenhouse Gas) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  January 2017 saw a rise in carbon emissions from the same period in 2016. The total amount of carbon rose by 17%. Adjusted for the higher demand in 2017, emissions rose by 8% for every unit of electricity generated. Consistent rises in carbon emissions will represent a Government policy unable to meet the obligations of the Paris climate deal.
• February 11th - The MyGridGB manifesto explained (0) (Coal, Gas, Greenhouse Gas, Wind) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  The MyGridGB Manifesto proposes one way that Britain can meet its present electricity demands using low carbon electricity. I first proposed it in July 2016 and since then it has been simulated, in real time, on the MyGridGB website. In this blog, we explore the manifesto and how it is structured. After reading it, I invite you to comment and look at ways that the manifesto might be changed in the future.
• January 28th - Guest Blog: Teaching energy (0) (Coal, Education, Greenhouse Gas) (by Guest Author)

  The following is a guest blog by Pamela Dugdale, a MyGridGB follower on Twitter. Followers are encouraged to submit guest blogs using mygridapp@gmail.com By Pamela Dugdale For the past five years I’ve taught Physics in a college of further education, looking out across the playing fields to the cooling towers of Fiddlers’ Ferry power station. […]
• January 27th - January 2016 vs January 2017: Has our electricity mix actually changed? (0) (Coal, Demand, Review) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  January 2017 represents the first chance to provide year on year comparison of electricity generation. When preparing the data for this blog, I didn’t expect to be very excited. However the analysis that I am about to show show a very interesting picture. In short, there is some evidence that electricity in the first 28 […]
• January 25th - What can Tidal Power Contribute? (Tidal Power) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  The UK is committed to carbon reduction in all sectors of the economy be that electricity, heating, transport, agriculture or industry. The £1.3bn, 320MW tidal power station at Swansea Bay could be the next mega-project to help generate sustainable, local energy and assist with climate goals. The question asked is how much it can reduce our carbon emissions per year. I believe that I can answer that using the same tools to run my Manifesto.
• January 21st - Are imports really low-carbon? (Greenhouse Gas, Imports, Interconnectors) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  Earlier this month, I reported how Britain has recently become a net exporter of electricity to France and has increased imports from Holland. Since writing that post, a more worrying trend has become apparent. Shifting our imports from France to The Netherlands has meant we are importing more carbon intensive electricity than we are generating at home.
• January 20th - G20 climate risk report is a wake-up call for fossil-fuel investors (Guest Blog) (by Jeremy Leggett)

  My latest for Recharge: It is rare for a report to hold the potential to change the world, but one study published last month may do just that. The Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD — a group of experts assembled by the G20’s Financial … Read-more
• January 15th - Has electricity become the primary consumer of gas? (Gas) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  My prediction is that in 2016 gas for electricity will have outstripped domestic consumption. That has only happened 4 times in the last 20 years. Britain is evidently getting more addicted to gas.
• January 15th - Peak demand doesn’t cause peak carbon emissions (Energy Storage, Gas, Greenhouse Gas) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  In this blog, I look how demand fluctuates on a daily and weekly basis and the impact that that has on our carbon emissions. A simple conclusion can be drawn: reducing our electricity demand has a direct impact in reducing carbon emissions.
• January 10th - For 3 months, Britain was a net exporter of electricity to France (Imports, Interconnectors) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  Britain became a net exporter of electricity to France in the last three months of 2016. Find out more in this blog.
• January 7th - What is replacing coal? (Coal, Wind) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  Coal generation has dropped from providing 30% of our electricity at the beginning of 2015, to providing less than 7% in the last 6 months of 2016. Furthermore, renewables have overtaken coal in our electricity supply. This may have created headlines, but we need to understand what has replaced our coal power stations.
• January 4th - Returning to work part 1 (Gas, Greenhouse Gas, Wind) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  Demand falls over Christmas and New Year as many of us are on leave but it quickly returns when we go back to work. In the chart below, I show our electricity use every hour between the beginning of December and 4th January when we return to work.

• December 31st - 2016 in Review (Review) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  2016 was a momentous year for our electricity supply: the signing and ratification of the Paris climate agreement, the announced closure of all coal power stations by 2025 and of course the launch of this blog. In this piece I pull out what I think are the key messages in GB electricity from 2016.
• December 29th - The carbon value of energy efficiency (Demand, Efficiency) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  Electricity is changing in the way it is being generated and also in how it is being used. At the end of 2015, I switched my house from incandescent/halogen lightbulbs to LED. In 2016, my family’s electricity consumption dropped by more than a third. But what is the carbon value in reducing our electrical demand?
• December 28th - The return to gas (Uncategorized) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  Christmas Day 2016 created headlines due to high amounts of low carbon generation and low demand. Since then, the use of fossil fuels increased as Britain returned to work and as wind generation fell.
• December 26th - Where did electricity come from on Christmas Day? (Gas, Greenhouse Gas, Records, Wind) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  In this blog, I focus on where our electricity came from across the whole of Christmas Day
• December 25th - Cooking turkeys with record amounts of wind (Gas, Records, Wind) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  On Christmas, the normal rules of providing electricity are a little different. Every day there is a peak demand for electricity which is met by switching on power stations at the right time. In this blog, I broke that our turkey was, in fact, powered by a record percentage of low carbon electricity.
• December 23rd - A new clean energy milestone? (0) (Demand, Greenhouse Gas, Records, Review) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  It was reported in the Guardian newspaper that the UK hit a "clean energy milestone" after low carbon power "accounted for 50% of electricity generation in the UK in the third quarter". This is based on Government figures here. Is this true for Great Britain? Here are the numbers.
• November 27th - The electricity story so far in 2016 (3) (Review) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  My review of electricity in 2016 for the online magazine Blue and Green Tomorrow
• November 27th - Quarterly Electricity Use (0) (Uncategorized) (by Dr Andrew Crossland)

  Coal power stations have been operating more often Oct-Nov Tweet