A thousand billion dollars, this the kind of money we need to invest every year to keep the world from warming more than two degrees Celsius, according to the UN climate chief Christiana Figueres, quoting IEA figures. In an interview with the Guardian, she stated that investments in clean technologies have to at least triple …
Here is my latest article for Cleantechies, this time focusing on the quite disappointing move from the European Union to cut its emissions by 40 percent by 2030 ( compared to 1990 levels). Here is the introduction : ” The European Union has long been regarded as a leader on climate change. Now it appears to …
The energy transition from our model based on a huge majority of polluting fossil fuels to a model based on cleantech technologies such as energy efficiency and renewable energy sources will require a lot of money. Indeed, we have seen recently that up to a trillion dollar would be needed every year to do so. …
I had noted last year that cleantech investments had decreased from their peak of $317.9 billion in 2011 to reach $286.2 billion in 2012. 2013 was an even worse year as total investments reached only $254 billion. To Bloomberg New Energy Finance : ” The reduced volume of investment in 2013 reflected two influences, a continued sharp …
This was the big news of the week in the cleantech sphere, Google has bought Nest Labs for a massive $3.2 billion (2.34 billion euros). Nest is famous for its smart thermostat, which I wrote about in November 2011. Google is thus investing massively in the smart connected home market. As Cleantechies remarks, the company …
Here is my first 2014 article for Cleantechies, focusing on the slow growth of renewable energy in France. If wind power capacity is reaching 8,000 MW and solar PV is reaching 4,500 MW, progress has been slowing down considerably. Here is the introduction to the article : ” According to recent data from the French Ministry …
Renewable energies increased slowly in 2013 in France Read More »
Solar saw another record year in 2013, with as much around 35 GW of capacity installed according to IHS. China and Japan leaded the world in 2013 with 8.6 and 6.3 GW respectively. This is especially staggering once you know that in 2008 and 2009 yearly installations were below ten gigawatts. Solar photovoltaic is in …
The future is solar : 49 GW to be installed in 2014 Read More »
According to El Pais, Nicaragua and its six million inhabitants could get 90 % of its electricity from renewables by 2020. To date, the country is already getting 58 percent of its electricity from clean sources. Enjoying huge amounts of sun and wind it could also benefit from large reserves of geothermal energy. Indeed, if …
Nicaragua develops its renewable energy potential Read More »
For the past weeks I have collected quite an impressive amount of articles on Australia, as its recent elections have brought to power a Conservative Prime Minister, Tony Abbott. A climate denier backed by fossil fuels interests, Mr Abbott is willing to axe the country’s carbon tax. As the Guardian reported, this would cost the …
What do you get when energy efficiency meets a local renewable energy source ? You get great news from my home country. My latest Cleantechies article is focusing on how firewood is gaining traction in France in an interesting way. ” According to a recent study from the French ADEME, wood burning is more and …
More and more French households burn wood for heating Read More »
