The good news is that it has been estimated that we could generate enough sustainable energy to meet demand as can be seen in the bar graph below. In fact we could produce almost double the energy demand by 2050 with solar and wind. It just needs the political will to prioritise sustainable energy over fossil fuels.
The National Grid projects that Britain will need 900 TWh in 2050 and the UK’s Department For Industrial Strategy says 1250 TWh so the numbers in the bar graph above are conservative. It has been suggested that the gap between supply and demand would leave room for the production of cultivated meats, direct air capture, or intensive manufacturing and hydrogen production. We would need some land and ocean to do this and a summary of these sources can be seen in the table below.
For more details see the source of this information: Can solar and wind power Britain? An update of David MacKay’s numbers.
Good News
- Former fracking site could lead UK’s renewable revolution. Final testing being done in a project to give the North Yorkshire site new life as a source of geothermal energy.
- UK museums agree to collective action to tackle the climate crisis. UK Museum Cop held at Tate Modern says the sector has a ‘responsibility to speak out about climate and biodiversity crisis’
- A treasure beneath our feet’: How the Dutch went down the toilet looking for heat . Sewage waste is now being seen as a reliable heat source for millions of homes in the Netherlands.
Not so Good News
- The climate crisis is making gender inequality in developing coastal communities worse
- Why surging sales of large electric vehicles raises environmental red flags
- Extreme weather may help invasive species outcompete native animals – new study
- Boom in space tourism threatens to boost the amounts of space junk and climate emissions
- Coca-Cola, Danone and Nestle accused of ‘misleading’ shoppers over bottle recycling claims. Campaigners have long targeted plastic bottles because they tend to be used just once. A new complaint takes aim at claims all the plastic in a drinks bottle is recycled.
- Don’t look there: how politicians divert our attention from climate protesters’ claims
- How to know if a country is serious about net zero: look at its plans for extracting fossil fuels
- How global warming shakes the Earth: Seismic data show ocean waves gaining strength as the planet warms
- Luminous ‘mother-of-pearl’ clouds explain why climate models miss so much Arctic and Antarctic warming
- Sunak’s climate shift is out of touch with the demands of the UK’s workforce – here’s why
- Offering oil and gas licences every year distracts from the challenge of winding down UK North Sea
- More people not having children due to climate breakdown fears, finds research. Analysis finds concerns about the environment a key factor in having fewer or no children – but reasons differ around the world.
Bad News
- Beef, soy and palm oil products linked to deforestation still imported into UK. Campaigners accuse the government of failing to stick to promises made at the Cop26 climate summit in 2021.
- Global heat: Extreme autumn sets up 2023 to break records. It is now “virtually certain” that 2023 – a year of deadly heat waves, floods and fires – will be the warmest on record, new data suggests.
- Human-caused heating behind extreme droughts in Syria, Iraq and Iran, study finds. Millions of people’s lives are wrecked by droughts that used to happen once every 250 years but are now expected once a decade.
- Major fossil fuel producing countries risk blowing climate targets, UN says. United Nations analysis suggests countries like India, Saudi Arabia and the United States will pump far more fossil fuels in 2030 than they are supposed to if they are to limit warming to goals they signed up to under the Paris Agreement.
- UK forests face catastrophic ecosystem collapse within 50 years, study says. ‘Alarming’ new research warns of risk to British woodlands from disease, extreme weather and wildfires, unless ‘call to action’ is heeded now.
- UK ill-prepared for havoc future storms could wreak, scientists warn. Government not putting enough effort into flood resilience despite likelihood of more frequent and severe storms, experts say.
Upcoming Events
Project Climate Vote canvassing in Marple 18th November 10.00-13.00 hours. Please click here for training and to register if you want to take part.
Other Media News
- This week ‘Just Have a Think’ is also about energy but at the global scale. See this 14 minute video for details . Global Energy Transition. Are we winning?
- The King’s Speech we needed to hear at the opening of Parliament is on this link https://twitter.com/i/status/1721452413079502869
- To finish on a positive note here is ‘How Listeners to the Climate Question Stay Positive on Climate’ from the BBC World Service podcast.