Sri Lanka is deeply embroiled in a crisis. Fuel shortages have led to protests. Food protests have led to riots. The President fled the country and then resigned by email. A new President was just elected on Wednesday, July 20, but he is no outsider – he has been Prime Minister six times already. The …
With the Sixth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) being released, it’s important to revisit the climate scenarios that are its centerpiece. These scenarios form the basis of the climate science community’s modeling and projections, which in turn affects governance and investment decisions across the world. Trillions of dollars …
The UN climate panel still doesn’t understand technology – and it matters Read More »
Last year, the folks at Our World in Data published an article and some graphics about how human diets affect land use. The conclusion, as you can see on their chart below, is that if everyone in the world ate a vegan diet – one without any animal products at all – global agricultural …
“What about the Jevons Paradox?” This is a common refrain in environmental discourse. It’s another way of asking, “won’t new technology always just create more problems than it solves?” William Stanley Jevons was an English economist and mathematician who noticed in 1865 that, paradoxically, the consumption of coal actually increased when technological progress improved …
We are witnessing the start of the most profound disruption of the energy sector in over a century. Like others throughout history, this disruption is the result of a convergence of several key technologies – namely, solar photovoltaics, onshore wind power, and lithium-ion batteries (SWB). A 100% SWB energy system is possible as soon as …
During COP 26, as he was on route to the G20 summit, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had an extraordinary message. Civilization could collapse “like the Roman empire”, he warned, “unless we get this right in tackling climate change.” “Humanity, civilization and society can go backwards as well as forwards and when they start to …
The Next Economy: Why the growth and degrowth debate misses the point Read More »
Global business groups are calling on governments to pursue an international strategy on carbon pricing at the COP26 UN climate summit. While well-intentioned, the reality is we don’t need carbon pricing to create a level-playing field in global markets. We just need to end trillions of dollars of subsidies to the coal, oil and gas …
OK, Doomer… Doom and gloom are everywhere, and not just because of what the COVID-19 pandemic has done to societies and economies across the globe over the last 18 months. A deeper contagion of pessimism has been spreading as well. The belief that we are doomed by climate change, and that all other human progress …
Restoring Our Faith in Human Progress: Part 1 – How Prosperity Solves Problems Read More »
Despite all of the doom and gloom that surrounds climate change today, there has never been greater cause for optimism about the future of the environment. The reason why is that we already have the tools we need to meet this formidable challenge. But some tools are better than others, and if we get distracted …
We Already Have the Tools We Need to Solve Climate Change Read More »
The United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, is bringing together world leaders to discuss the world’s future action on climate change. At present, the world’s biggest polluters are China, the United States, and India – three enormous countries with large populations and extensive infrastructure built on fossil fuels. In these, and all, countries, it’s …
Decarbonization is an unprecedented economic opportunity for poorer countries Read More »
