The independent panel of energy and finance experts behind Finance for Resilience have presented eight new proposals that they believe could have the potential to increase global investment in clean energy. Run alongside the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit, Finance for Resilience (FiRe) is a non-profit aiming to identify “promising … [continued]
A new report has concluded that it is vital that industry improve its energy efficiency if it is to be able to meet predicted environmental and social challenges. The report, The Role of Industry in Forging Green Cities, published by the Institute for Industrial Productivity, concludes that “the world’s cities are … [continued]
Originally published on The ECOreport. In 2009, Gregor Robertson was elected mayor of Vancouver after campaigning to make it the greenest city in the world. Two years later, The Economist ranked Vancouver #2 in North America. In 2013, Vancouver was chosen as the planet’s first Global Earth Hour Capital. The judges were … [continued]
This year’s WWF Earth Hour City Challenge now has its finalists, as revealed in a recent press release from the organization. These 44 finalist cities, selected from all around the world, have been chosen due to their actions in building “a sustainable and safe energy future.” 2015 will mark the … [continued]
What if we could cut city energy use by about one-fourth, from 730 EJ to 540 EJ, in 2050? The alternative is tripling it, as current urbanization trends indicate. The most urbanized areas of the globe are North America (82%), Latin America and the Caribbean (80%), and Europe (73%). Urban areas play … [continued]
Almost everyone in the media has taken a stab at summarizing, if not snap-judging, the results of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s one-day UN climate summit last week. The meeting had a real name, but Robert N. Stavins in his New York Times runup to the conference was the only writer I … [continued]
Many cities served by private utilities think they have little capacity to encourage local renewable energy development. But a largely untapped tool – utility franchise contracts – may hold the key. There are two kinds of city energy systems: publicly owned or privately owned. Cities with municipal utilities already have … [continued]
Mid-August. A great time for four researchers from Climate Central to publish their new report on urban heat islands—areas with high daily urban vs. rural temperature differences. Almost anybody over 60 will tell you the organization of leading scientists and journalists is right on. My city’s stats are just above. … [continued]
The Obama administration is pushing power plant regulations to reduce carbon emissions and most states have some sort of renewable energy policy. But there’s plenty of opportunity left for action at the local level; action that can also boost the local economy. The following presentation by ILSR’s Director of Democratic … [continued]
Originally published by ClimateProgress by Kiley Kroh While densely-populated cities produce less greenhouse gas emissions per person, the suburban sprawl around these cities — and the increased driving, bigger homes, and higher emissions from goods and services that accompany suburban living — essentially cancels out that benefit, according to new research from … [continued]
