Charlie Wilson travelled to Potsdam outside sunny Berlin for a symposium on how to achieve the 1.5°C climate target. The symposium brought together IPCC lead authors, scenario modelling experts, and policy stakeholders to identify integral elements of 1.5°C decarbonisation pathways and how climate policy ‘entry points’ can drive transformative change. Together with Felix Creutzig at […]
SILCI researcher, Charlie Wilson, is off to Barcelona to present his answer to this question at the international conference of APPAM – the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. The short version of the answer is yes (because of the potential emission reduction outcomes) but with strategies for ‘de-risking’ the disruptive aspects to reduce […]
Well … almost. The recent G20 ministerial meeting in Japan included the following in their final announcement: “We recognize the importance of quantitative analysis on better understanding future energy demand and the role of innovation driven by digitalization … and the sharing economy”. The SILCI team couldn’t agree more! The G20 added: “We encourage efforts […]
Mission Innovation is the global initiative to double clean energy research and development, launched alongside the the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in 2015. In May 2019, energy and climate change ministers from around the world gathered in Vancouver, Canada, to discuss progress so far. Collaborating with Research Institutes Sweden, SILCI researcher Charlie Wilson contributed […]
SILCI researcher, Charlie Wilson, was involved in a global scenario study published last year on how disruptive consumer innovations can help the world limit warming to 1.5°C. When presenting this work to policy, business, and academic stakeholders, the most common challenge was along the lines of … ‘this is all well and good, but where’s […]
Norway is an interesting test case for national energy transitions with an almost 100% zero-carbon electricity system (from hydro), the highest uptake of EVs anywhere in the world, and sizeable public resources for supporting energy innovation (largely accrued from fossil fuel rents!). Trondheim is the Norway’s answer to Silicon Valley, hosting a large and well […]
New research published in Nature Climate Change explains why 18 countries, mainly in the EU, have managed to peak and then decline their CO2 emissions from fossil fuels over the past decade. There are three main reasons why: a declining relevance for fossil fuels, a fall in energy demand, and strong national policy frameworks. To […]
Of the start ups showcasing their ideas at the Technoport 2019 conference in Trondheim, the tech capital of Norway, one stood out as offering both a potentially disruptive innovation and potential emission reductions. Invertapro breeds black soldier flies and mealworm beetles for use as protein substitutes in both human and animal food chains. Although they […]
Disruptive consumer innovations have to appeal to those buying or using them. But should public policy try and steer the disruption process? The CESAR project on low-carbon pathways for Canada argues that it should: “Looking forward to the next 30+ years of systems change, it is imperative to understand the implications of new technology, business […]
SILCI Bulletin on Disruptive Consumer Innovations and Climate Change December 2018 As the nations of the world gather in Poland for the latest round of climate change negotiations, the imperative to reduce emissions grows ever stronger. Disruptive consumer innovations have an essential part to play – from shared mobility and smarter homes to peer-to-peer […]