Meta tags:
description= Climate change can t be ignored. We need to live more simply so others can simply live.;
Headings (most frequently used words):
the, auspol, stopadani, to, climatestrike, extinctionrebellion, leichhardtvotes, coralnotcoal, climateelection, guardian, recent, labor, qldpol, is, climatechange, we, back, global, energy, of, need, new, and, natural, gas, elidafaith, change, not, climate, weather, should, be, on, great, barrier, reef, climateemergency, can, live, simply, posts, comments, archives, categories, meta, jpratt27, wild, koala, numbers, dwindle, 48, 000, as, crossbenchers, environment, law, overhaul, how, transition, set, disrupt, geopolitical, landscape, chatham, house, this, changes, everything, only, way, halt, challenge, logic, capitalism, narrative, renewables, have, won, race, against, coal, are, starting, beat, thinkprogress, for, clean, future, hothouse, earth, here, come, xr, blog, join, demand, system, parliament, must, policy, if, party, wins, power, mark, butler, says, why, putting, co2, levels, in, forecast, all, reports, scinate, warns, government, make, adani, coalmine, decisions, before, election, help, savethereef, frydenberg, hands, out, death, sentence, thedrum, qanda, warming, seas, wreck, regrowth, it, time, declare, post, navigation, ignored, more, so, others, menu, analysis, solar, wind, put, industry, notice,
Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (369), and (120), that (81), energy (75), for (65), are (58), #climate (56), have (45), this (41), #change (38), global (36), power (30), carbon (28), from (27), solar (26), reef (26), 2017 (26), how (26), has (26), will (26), world (24), 2015 (24), 2018 (24), 2019 (24), but (24), renewable (22), 2016 (22), levels (22), gas (21), transition (21), new (20), fossil (20), 2014 (20), april (20), coal (19), auspol (19), they (19), with (18), would (18), which (18), great (17), barrier (17), stopadani (17), one (17), per (17), can (17), wind (16), natural (16), there (16), more (16), australia (15), coral (15), only (15), not (15), emissions (14), march (14), climatestrike (14), leichhardtvotes (14), renewables (14), last (14), than (14), countries (14), now (13), weather (13), may (13), way (13), extinctionrebellion (13), system (13), back (13), environment (13), year (13), years (13), been (13), cent (13), earth (12), sea (12), economy (12), january (12), february (12), read (12), their (12), most (12), fuel (12), some (12), over (12), like (11), com (11), report (11), june (11), december (11), future (11), need (11), labor (11), temperatures (11), percent (11), comment (10), level (10), rise (10), july (10), september (10), geopolitical (10), posted (10), john (10), said (10), around (10), time (10), were (10), warming (10), government (10), guardian (10), resources (10), fuels (9), october (9), halt (9), make (9), all (9), when (9), was (9), minister (9), co2 (9), plants (9), planet (9), our (9), must (9), you (9), adani (8), pollution (8), capitalism (8), august (8), november (8), sir (8), charles (8), coralnotcoal (8), set (8), changes (8), many (8), every (8), about (8), during (8), such (8), these (8), based (8), comments (7), bank (7), batteries (7), says (7), recent (7), climatechange (7), against (7), clean (7), challenge (7), leave (7), international (7), www (7), also (7), industrial (7), out (7), pressure (7), very (7), should (7), then (7), peak (7), human (7), into (7), policy (7), country (7), could (7), economic (7), those (7), state (7), other (6), states (6), california (6), hothouse (6), here (6), climateelection (6), demand (6), elidafaith (6), race (6), disrupt (6), landscape (6), 000 (6), bleaching (6), too (6), see (6), before (6), made (6), major (6), election (6), its (6), what (6), people (6), million (6), had (6), today (6), butler (6), generation (6), currently (6), just (6), storage (6), become (6), electricity (6), green (6), moving (6), wordpress (5), required (5), already (5), united (5), south (5), ice (5), queensland (5), politics (5), oil (5), ipcc (5), come (5), won (5), starting (5), thinkprogress (5), logic (5), everything (5), wild (5), qldpol (5), reefs (5), corals (5), mass (5), two (5), including (5), since (5), take (5), another (5), event (5), off (5), going (5), impact (5), who (5), both (5), political (5), mine (5), reports (5), responsible (5), coalmine (5), any (5), put (5), because (5), dioxide (5), higher (5), week (5), reduce (5), 2030 (5), almost (5), society (5), given (5), plus (5), prices (5), investment (5), think (5), challenges (5), sector (5), economies (5), log (4), jpratt27 (4), join (4), blog (4), feed (4), water (4), science (4), ocean (4), nuclear (4), growth (4), security (4), extinction (4), tax (4), springs (4), africa (4), climatec (4), transiti (4), beat (4), koala (4), numbers (4), dwindle (4), crossbenchers (4), law (4), overhaul (4), org (4), events (4), likely (4), atmospheric (4), scale (4), species (4), number (4), found (4), fall (4), industry (4), move (4), pre (4), however (4), party (4), thermal (4), seen (4), approvals (4), important (4), coming (4), while (4), morrison (4), price (4), why (4), target (4), temperature (4), long (4), remain (4), humanity (4), end (4), daily (4), count (4), well (4), atmosphere (4), mauna (4), loa (4), past (4), mark (4), achieve (4), extreme (4), greenhouse (4), current (4), keep (4), plant (4), pliocene (4), three (4), needs (4), increasing (4), working (4), battery (4), bnef (4), outside (4), institutions (4), towards (4), wealthy (4), financial (4), others (4), low (4), across (4), example (4), transformation (4), strategy (4), emerging (4), live (4), simply (4), get (3), site (3), sign (3), account (3), create (3), stop (3), saudi (3), arabia (3), san (3), paris (3), nasa (3), imf (3), greenland (3), electric (3), dolphins (3), cyclone (3), china (3), antarctica (3), america (3), daniel (3), narrative (3), chatham (3), house (3), posts (3), search (3), director (3), james (3), four (3), them (3), warned (3), century (3), heat (3), between (3), production (3), recruitment (3), replacement (3), measured (3), seas (3), life (3), largest (3), heatwaves (3), scientists (3), rising (3), after (3), credit (3), campaign (3), oliver (3), start (3), reducing (3), hope (3), dramatically (3), above (3), projected (3), burning (3), understand (3), caused (3), governments (3), determined (3), frydenberg (3), millions (3), without (3), competitive (3), theguardian (3), apr (3), decisions (3), through (3), canavan (3), decision (3), mps (3), risk (3), 350ppm (3), fast (3), measure (3), trees (3), publish (3), term (3), tackle (3), day (3), revolution (3), parts (3), 400ppm (3), times (3), parliament (3), summer (3), ever (3), bill (3), average (3), avoid (3), evidence (3), enough (3), ago (3), often (3), work (3), increasingly (3), used (3), where (3), significant (3), cheaper (3), costs (3), cost (3), rapidly (3), even (3), getty (3), images (3), facing (3), existential (3), vision (3), deal (3), kind (3), mobility (3), require (3), companies (3), leaders (3), ambitious (3), requires (3), barclays (3), technology (3), class (3), issue (3), much (3), least (3), 200 (3), nation (3), activists (3), believe (3), unless (3), social (3), sectors (3), strategies (3), disruption (3), potential (3), conflict (3), development (3), particularly (3), morocco (3), collapse (2), view (2), reader (2), subscribed (2), subscribe (2), entries (2), meta (2), western (2), wave (2), volcanoes (2), vanuatu (2), nations (2), uncategorized (2), tzm (2), townsville (2), tesla (2), switzerland (2), sustainabilty (2), sport (2), kenya (2), impulse (2), snowball (2), snow (2), singapore (2), turtles (2), paulo (2), russia (2), rotterdam (2), religion (2), poverty (2), polar (2), vortex (2), philippines (2), perth (2), pakistan (2), oecd (2), acidification (2), yorker (2), netherlands (2), methane (2), media (2), mandurah (2), malaysia (2), mackay (2), limits (2), niña (2), kirabati (2), keeling (2), curve (2), japan (2), indonesia (2), india (2), haiku (2), germany (2), geoengineering (2), futurelearn (2), fremantle (2), france (2), food (2), flood (2), finland (2), fiji (2), europe (2), cars (2), nino (2), ecocide (2), drought (2), divest (2), delhi (2), deforestation (2), csiro (2), cricket (2), refugees (2), council (2), capture (2), sequestration (2), canada (2), calafornia (2), cairns (2), bushfire (2), britain (2), brazil (2), bom (2), biochar (2), artic (2), arctic (2), architecture (2), alice (2), agriculture (2), afforestation (2), categories (2), archives (2), fera (2), genocide (2), news (2), html (2), arc (2), centre (2), studies (2), experienced (2), decades (2), cause (2), big (2), fail (2), expert (2), panel (2), survive (2), risen (2), degree (2), middle (2), team (2), estimated (2), five (2), recover (2), isn (2), never (2), thought (2), affect (2), extent (2), author (2), study (2), supports (2), marine (2), compared (2), along (2), following (2), warm (2), bleached (2), home (2), unprecedented (2), swathes (2), successive (2), first (2), wreck (2), regrowth (2), climateemergency (2), information (2), please (2), happen (2), wonders (2), yates (2), kids (2), billion (2), jobs (2), according (2), decline (2), reaches (2), liberal (2), shown (2), environmental (2), assets (2), continue (2), exports (2), part (2), dollars (2), group (2), hands (2), death (2), sentence (2), warns (2), critical (2), australian (2), coalition (2), moves (2), under (2), trying (2), playing (2), down (2), split (2), matt (2), key (2), carmichael (2), his (2), face (2), action (2), scott (2), pressuring (2), help (2), putting (2), forecast (2), increases (2), strike (2), symbolic (2), lowest (2), each (2), begins (2), rather (2), alongside (2), 280ppm (2), crisis (2), longer (2), idea (2), katharine (2), ppm (2), hawaii (2), 2013 (2), highest (2), billions (2), air (2), rate (2), grew (2), civilisation (2), developed (2), wins (2), taxes (2), commitment (2), something (2), shadow (2), politicians (2), saying (2), mcguire (2), giant (2), changing (2), 2012 (2), reserves (2), lead (2), mean (2), far (2), say (2), quite (2), relatively (2), respond (2), catch (2), scenario (2), being (2), top (2), below (2), cover (2), summertime (2), different (2), presented (2), meeting (2), transport (2), upon (2), focused (2), trump (2), showing (2), president (2), actually (2), business (2), whether (2), catastrophe (2), doesn (2), turn (2), mocked (2), strong (2), applications (2), factor (2), declining (2), advantages (2), provide (2), bloomberg (2), reported (2), sun (2), hours (2), plunged (2), dispatchable (2), historically (2), everyone (2), run (2), same (2), released (2), markets (2), onshore (2), fallen (2), technologies (2), turbines (2), panels (2), palm (2), fundamental (2), together (2), goals (2), existing (2), intervention (2), democratic (2), public (2), ownership (2), spending (2), capital (2), merely (2), funds (2), private (2), corporations (2), industries (2), citizens (2), zero (2), huge (2), increase (2), boost (2), project (2), threat (2), saturday (2), point (2), access (2), prevent (2), uninhabitable (2), decarbonisation (2), incredibly (2), slightly (2), pointing (2), experiencing (2), remarkable (2), value (2), money (2), poorest (2), able (2), nearly (2), effects (2), lifestyle (2), consumption (2), globally (2), 100 (2), poor (2), chaos (2), momentum (2), opportunity (2), fear (2), lot (2), terms (2), developing (2), understanding (2), workforce (2), policymakers (2), makers (2), beginning (2), reshape (2), whole (2), employs (2), quickly (2), model (2), recently (2), potentially (2), severe (2), order (2), defence (2), patterns (2), shift (2), near (2), located (2), photo (2), majority (2), capacity (2), addition (2), exciting (2), responding (2), trade (2), base (2), away (2), producing (2), diversification (2), although (2), profound (2), concentrated (2), does (2), general (2), agency (2), adnan (2), amin (2), bhardwaj (2), ignored (2), started, design, website, name, email, write, loading, bar, manage, subscriptions, content, privacy, 437, subscribers, older, post, navigation, phys, disrupts, recovery, dead, don, babies, terry, hughes, excellence, cook, university, recorded, history, within, occurs, warmer, ambient, expel, tiny, photosynthetic, algae, draining, colour, until, experts, structures, celsius, fahrenheit, uniquely, sensitive, fluctuating, map, factfile, baby, fully, disturbance, andrew, baird, appeared, journal, nature, population, acropora, branching, thousands, tumbled, discovered, crash, adult, survived, 300, kilometre, 400, mile, northeast, coast, consecutive, summers, unusually, killed, numerous, less, acting, nurseries, fish, habitat, birds, sharks, porpoises, loss, living, structure, later, lower, historical, wrecked, ability, regrow, researchers, wednesday, highlighting, heritage, tiles, terracotta, deployed, quantify, devastating, coe, gergely, torda, patrick, galey, declare, oliveryates, frydenbergorgreatbarrierreef, call, adrian, dodd, 0401, 726, 476, click, involved, credentials, https, youtu, xldz8sjujpi, immediately, right, destroy, want, tourism, cut, special, intergovernmental, championed, mining, callous, disregard, protection, valuable, parties, threats, triggering, destruction, struggling, oceans, leading, decimate, former, treasurer, josh, giving, backed, tender, sacrificed, altar, independent, candidate, kooyong, thedrum, qanda, outrageous, considering, pushing, groundwater, eve, christian, slattery, conservation, foundation, statement, groups, rash, regarding, rushed, concerning, strict, rules, spokesman, cautioned, rushing, tony, burke, mcgrath, kept, inside, office, room, ground, plan, signed, soon, possible, making, melissa, internal, lnp, ignores, forced, play, amid, savethereef, prof, suitable, hansen, proposed, 2008, experiences, storms, droughts, depend, high, simple, northern, hemisphere, growing, season, dying, decay, reaching, comparisons, breathing, absorb, release, oxygen, grow, lowering, previous, comparison, baseline, manageable, activity, doing, reminding, problem, matters, encouraging, include, forecasts, fantastic, editor, chief, viner, letter, scharf, benchmark, page, paper, dawn, 280, 1958, measurements, reached, 315ppm, raced, 1986, several, hotter, metres, worse, tonnes, continues, pour, 66m, faster, pole, simplest, disrupting, stable, molecules, observatory, photograph, courtesy, noaa, damian, carrington, climb, reminder, scinate, labors, lining, deploy, tired, old, scare, campaigns, characterising, measures, angry, hottest, australians, sick, borat, interview, podcast, 2005, rock, solid, aspiration, nice, voters, agitated, issued, stark, warning, declaring, stalemate, shorten, victory, betray, next, murphy, reiterates, opposition, case, opening, xrblog, professor, emeritus, geophysical, hazards, ucl, waking, triggers, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic, eruptions, contributor, disasters, god, happens, worth, keeping, mind, ultimately, staggering, bring, furnace, intents, purposes, concerned, might, justifiably, appallingly, bad, stewardship, good, riddance, slow, certainly, words, whatever, actions, cannot, torn, apart, combination, catastrophically, remember, still, brought, control, inaction, concentrations, feasibly, 500ppm, dragging, clear, compatible, forget, widely, touted, vanished, poles, translates, 20m, completely, free, fossils, show, beech, maybe, conifers, continent, drastically, reduced, surrounded, scrubby, tundra, minus, seemingly, small, difference, drive, 21st, papers, similar, own, sense, comparable, similarity, ends, 412ppm, climbing, light, support, thesis, trajectory, unrecognisable, thrived, congregated, imperial, college, london, royal, meteorological, era, a3828fd843cb, amp, blind, desperately, understands, question, surpass, ensure, let, windmills, blow, television, darling, falsely, claiming, expensive, donald, republican, opponents, irreplaceable, finally, embrace, reflects, full, harm, health, livable, favor, volatile, whereas, sharply, moreover, tuesday, peakers, services, smoothing, ebbs, flows, grids, places, market, penetration, setting, store, shifted, midday, early, evening, provides, daytime, tandem, preferred, option, inefficient, instance, waves, turns, conditioning, soars, tens, means, paying, sits, idle, peaking, suisse, emphasized, trend, utility, peaker, compete, subsidy, delivered, grid, shines, blows, cheapest, sources, bulk, primary, explained, analyst, analysis, notice, drops, game, changers, offshore, respectively, 2010, lithium, ion, dropped, alone, analyzed, pricing, data, projects, span, photovoltaics, research, shows, afoot, unexpectedly, finance, dropping, upended, economics, significantly, powered, winds, front, kevork, djansezian, joe, romm, newstatesman, mobilisation, peacetime, undertaken, reorganisation, seem, utterly, utopian, reality, alternative, dramatic, controls, frowned, actively, prohibited, providing, collective, pension, reformed, democratised, members, seriously, act, activist, investor, using, quantitative, easing, buy, corporate, bonds, nationalised, outright, deliver, success, implementing, area, gdp, decarbonise, infrastructure, imposed, reform, constraints, publicly, owned, alternatives, dealing, radical, consider, institution, allow, protesters, targeting, attempting, heart, modern, financialised, firms, struggle, optimists, pessimists, decaying, banks, profit, distant, dream, argue, mission, impossible, averting, apocalyptic, laid, optimistic, ten, decade, itself, land, knowledge, brutally, demonstrated, idai, protect, sahel, region, desertified, lying, bangladesh, vulnerable, flooding, ravaged, bottom, wealthiest, always, grand, summits, bureaucrats, meet, decide, fate, return, plans, trading, schemes, stations, fond, telling, ideological, boundaries, save, killing, displacing, harvests, cycles, disrupted, norm, trends, degrees, systems, sustain, exactly, brexit, continued, dominate, headlines, sought, draw, attention, pressing, staged, protests, branches, financing, revealed, single, lender, demonstrate, grace, blakeley, break, chathamhouse, wholeheartedly, decarbonized, incentivizes, agreement, done, cross, coping, fit, involve, reskilling, present, thinking, electrification, supply, chain, conventional, vehicles, hundreds, begin, experience, innovative, models, emerged, spain, enable, arrangements, accommodate, spanish, workers, permeate, traditionally, dominated, seeing, discussion, correct, priority, achieved, milestones, considered, safeguarding, added, mitigate, wider, socio, stresses, shocks, improving, creating, local, promoting, sustainable, alleviating, competition, scarce, latest, urgent, steps, taken, decarbonize, pathways, rapid, deployment, doubling, efficiency, accounts, thirds, limit, maximum, irreversible, poses, serves, plays, essential, role, combating, confrontation, contested, hydrocarbon, east, diminish, generate, peace, dividend, marked, imprint, shifts, relative, importance, declines, frequency, location, occur, explain, detail, concerns, posed, fuelled, conflicts, gorgonio, pass, farm, gap, southern, mountains, facility, farms, especially, paradigm, chile, field, import, dependency, having, mix, extraordinary, achievement, installations, art, furthermore, really, things, happened, formed, asia, seeking, develop, rich, chance, players, leadership, geopolitics, fact, electrified, movements, borders, enormous, unprepared, possibilities, nigeria, angola, gabon, highly, dependent, situation, diversify, faces, immense, points, positive, direction, emergence, arab, emirates, place, calling, decarbonization, 2050, reliance, particular, resource, greatest, presents, adopt, diversified, anticipate, benefitted, dynamics, consequential, scarcity, abundance, independence, harness, created, geographically, allowed, exercise, distribution, extracted, compare, traditional, biomass, serious, impacts, undergoing, noor, csp, 20km, ouarzazate, designed, gîtiez, speaks, gitika, shifting, smh, federal, 20190404, p51atv, senate, inquiry, laws, incapable, stemming, animal, menu,
Text of the page (random words):
s in a recent report the transition to renewables is said to be set to reduce the risk of energy fuelled conflicts and as such you recently said that renewable energy is the defence policy of the future can you explain this in more detail particularly given the increasing security concerns posed by climate change fossil fuels particularly oil have had a marked imprint on patterns of conflict over the last 100 years as the world shifts to renewables and the relative importance of fossil fuels declines a geopolitical shift in the frequency and location of conflict is likely to occur the risk of confrontation over contested hydrocarbon reserves such as in the middle east or in the south china sea may diminish to this extent the global energy transformation could generate a peace dividend climate change poses an existential security threat to humanity but renewable energy serves as a defence policy for the future as it plays an essential role in all strategies to combating climate change the latest ipcc report set out evidence of the need to limit global warming to a maximum of 1 5 c above pre industrial levels in order to prevent irreversible changes to the earth but unless urgent steps are taken to decarbonize the energy sector the world will remain way off this target this is because pathways to a low carbon economy require a rapid deployment of renewable energy and a doubling of energy efficiency given that the energy sector accounts for two thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions renewables have the added potential to mitigate against wider socio economic stresses and shocks that can lead to conflict too by improving access to energy to the 1 billion people who are energy poor by creating jobs reducing local pollution promoting sustainable development and alleviating competition over scarce natural resources the renewable energy sector has achieved a number of milestones and currently employs over 10 million people globally are there any challenges presented by the global energy transition that need to be considered for example safeguarding those currently working in fossil fuel industries there is a lot of discussion about the disruption of the energy transition which is correct that s why i think it should be a priority for policymakers and decision makers to understand how the transition to renewable energy will impact everyone if the energy transformation begins to permeate into industrial sectors that have traditionally been dominated by fossil fuel energy there could potentially be severe social disruption and we are currently seeing the fear of this disruption playing out in the coal industry however there are some innovative models like a model that has recently emerged in spain to enable a just transition in the coal sector social arrangements have been made to accommodate spanish coal workers in the future as the country moves towards its renewable energy transition but then if you think about how technology is beginning to reshape the global economy if we move rapidly into the renewable energy based electrification of the economy where major sectors like mobility become increasingly electric then you could see the whole supply chain of conventional vehicles that employs millions of people around the world with hundreds of billions of dollars of investment very quickly begin to experience significant challenges so there is a lot of work to be done in terms of developing a cross understanding of industrial policy and social policy for example understanding the scale of this energy transformation how it will affect significant sectors in the economy what kind of coping strategies there are and how we can create a workforce fit for the future which will involve reskilling the present workforce i believe this has to be at the centre of thinking for policymakers and decision makers today i wholeheartedly believe that we have the opportunity to move to a decarbonized society that can at least keep us below 2 c but unless we have the will at different levels of society from politics to industry that incentivizes investment in low carbon growth then i fear we may not achieve the goals of the paris agreement read on www chathamhouse org expert comment how global energy transition set disrupt geopolitical landscape posted in climate change on april 7 2019 by john 2 comments the only way to halt climatechange is to challenge the logic of capitalism auspol climatestrike extinctionrebellion stopadani we need a new narrative p we need to break with a system in which the value of everything is determined by how much money it can make for the wealthy by grace blakeley momentum activists demonstrate outside barclays bank on 30 march last saturday as brexit continued to dominate the headlines momentum activists sought to draw the nation s attention to a slightly more pressing issue the group staged protests outside bank branches across the uk to put pressure on financial institutions such as barclays to stop financing climate chaos after a report revealed that the bank is the largest single lender to fossil fuel companies and chaos is exactly what we are facing on current trends the planet is set to warm by at least three degrees by 2030 at such temperatures the environmental systems that sustain human life would start to collapse harvests would fail water cycles would be disrupted and extreme weather events would become the norm huge swathes of the planet would become uninhabitable killing millions of people and displacing many more historically climate activists have often been fond of telling us that we re all in this together and that only by working across political and ideological boundaries can we hope to save the planet they have focused on grand international summits where politicians business leaders and bureaucrats meet to decide the fate of humanity and return to their nation states with plans for carbon taxes emissions trading schemes and nuclear power stations but climate change is and always has been a class issue it has been caused by the wealthy and its effects will fall on the poor just 100 companies are responsible for 70 per cent of all carbon emissions globally the wealthiest 10 per cent are responsible for 50 per cent of all lifestyle consumption emissions in the uk the top 10 per cent is responsible for nearly 25 per cent of lifestyle consumption emissions with the bottom 50 per cent responsible for just five and it is the poorest parts of the world that will be most ravaged by the effects of climate change low lying states like bangladesh are incredibly vulnerable to flooding as sea levels rise africa s sahel region home to nearly 200 million people will become desertified as temperatures increase as brutally demonstrated by cyclone idai the poorest states are also those least able to protect their citizens from extreme weather events and if climate change is a class issue then decarbonisation should be a class project the only way to halt climate change is to challenge the logic of capitalism itself that the value of everything land knowledge and even human life is determined by how much money it can make for the wealthy some argue that such a mission is impossible averting the apocalyptic scenario laid out in the recent ipcc report requires reducing global emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 an incredibly ambitious target others are slightly more optimistic pointing out that the world is currently experiencing something of a solar revolution costs have fallen by a factor of ten over the last decade and solar power generation is increasing at a remarkable rate of 30 40 per cent per year both the optimists and the pessimists have a point we do have the technology to prevent our planet from decaying into an uninhabitable hothouse earth but as long as corporations banks and even governments continue to profit from fossil fuels decarbonisation will remain a distant dream saturday s protesters understand this point all too well in targeting major financial institutions like barclays they were attempting to strike at the heart of modern financialised capitalism without access to financial markets most fossil fuel firms would struggle to survive but given the scale of the challenge we must be far more ambitious dealing with the existential threat humanity is facing requires the kind of radical state intervention that no liberal government would consider and no international institution would allow it requires a global green new deal citizens must pressure their political leaders into implementing a just transition towards a zero carbon economy this would mean a huge increase in state spending in the area of 30 per cent of gdp per year to decarbonise energy and transport infrastructure and boost investment in green technologies the costs of such a project should be imposed on the wealthy this will require tax reform constraints on capital mobility and the replacement of private financial institutions with green democratic publicly owned alternatives providing for green growth over the long term would also require increasing public and collective ownership over the most important economic assets pension funds must be reformed and democratised so their members can put pressure on private corporations to take climate change seriously the state should also start to act as an activist investor using the funds from quantitative easing to buy up corporate bonds and pressuring companies to reduce their emissions and some industries will need to be nationalised outright to deliver the levels of investment required to make the green new deal a success the green new deal must be global states must work together to achieve these goals but they will have to do so outside of existing international institutions the kind of state intervention required to tackle climate change democratic public ownership over most of the economy dramatic increases in state spending and the controls on capital mobility required to achieve this are not merely frowned upon by the world bank and the imf they are actively prohibited such a mass mobilisation of society s resources would be unprecedented during peacetime and it has to be undertaken alongside a fundamental reorganisation of the international system were the planet not facing an existential catastrophe this vision would seem utterly utopian but the reality is that there is no alternative read on www newstatesman com politics economy 2019 04 only way halt climate change challenge logic capitalism posted in climate change on april 6 2019 by john 3 comments renewables have won the race against coal and are starting to beat natural gas thinkprogress auspol stopadani leichhardtvotes for a clean energy future coralnotcoal elidafaith renewables have won the race against coal and are starting to beat natural gas thinkprogress by joe romm giant wind turbines are powered by strong winds in front of solar panels on march 27 2013 in palm springs california credit kevork djansezian getty images the rapidly dropping cost of renewable energy has upended energy economics in recent years with new solar and wind plants now significantly cheaper than coal power but new research shows another major change is afoot the cost of batteries has been declining so unexpectedly rapidly that renewables plus battery storage are now cheaper than even natural gas plants in many applications according to a report released this week by bloomberg new energy finance bnef bnef analyzed pricing data from almost 7 000 power projects in 46 countries that span 20 energy technologies including coal gas nuclear battery storage solar photovoltaics pv and wind they report that electricity prices for onshore wind solar pv and offshore wind have fallen by 49 percent 84 percent and 56 percent respectively since 2010 costs for lithium ion battery storage have dropped 76 percent since 2012 and plunged 35 percent in the past year alone these price drops have been global game changers new analysis of solar and wind should put the natural gas industry on notice solar pv and onshore wind have won the race to be the cheapest sources of bulk or primary power generation in most countries explained a bnef energy analyst but as bnef reports batteries plus solar and wind are starting to compete in many markets and without subsidy with natural gas plants used for dispatchable power that can be delivered on demand when the grid needs it rather than only when the sun shines or wind blows the investment bank credit suisse emphasized the same trend in a report released last december utility scale solar plus storage is already cheaper than gas peaker plants they reported at the time historically relatively inefficient natural gas plants have been used to provide peak power for instance during summer heat waves when everyone turns on the air conditioning and electricity demand soars but those peaking power plants often run only tens of hours a year which means you are paying for a power plant that sits idle more than 90 percent of the time solar power however already provides most of its electricity during peak times which are daytime and summertime so as batteries and solar power have plunged in price the two working in tandem have increasingly become the preferred option for dispatchable peak power in places like california where solar power has made significant market penetration peak demand has actually shifted from midday to early evening when the sun is setting solar with batteries that can store power for up to four hours can now also cover that new peak moreover as bloomberg reported on tuesday solar plus storage has other advantages over gas peakers it can provide other services when the battery isn t being used for peak power such as smoothing out ebbs and flows of power on grids another economic factor working in favor of renewables is that natural gas prices are very volatile whereas the prices of both batteries and solar power are projected to keep declining sharply finally renewables plus storage will become increasingly competitive with natural gas in more applications as an increasing number of countries embrace a price on carbon pollution that reflects its full harm to human health and a livable climate republican opponents of clean energy often say fossil fuels are irreplaceable because renewable power doesn t work all the time just last week president donald trump mocked wind power saying let s put up some windmills when the wind doesn t blow just turn off the television darling please he mocked solar power as well falsely claiming it s not strong enough and it s very very expensive trump is blind to the clean energy revolution showing how desperately the country needs a president who actually understands both the science of climate change and the business of clean energy the question is not whether renewables will surpass natural gas but whether governments will help ensure that they do so fast enough to avoid climate catas...
|
