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So the Energy Blog @ETH just turned 50 articles old! Writing for the win! To think that an idea that was sparked by an unexpected encounter of students Flo, Yael, Evan & Alejandro, in their early PhD years while at ETH Zurich, what a feat! Through the support of the ETH Energy Science Centre (ESC),…

Images of lush forests often carry notions of sustainability and eco-friendliness. But can planting trees be an effective instrument against climate change? Counterintuitively, there are many practical barriers rendering this question difficult to answer. This blog post calls for a public debate on afforestation/reforestation and carbon offsetting.

The Russian war on Ukraine has provoked skyrocketing gas prices. High gas prices can help the transition to a renewable energy system, but European decision makers must now consider policies to decrease the price volatility exposure of renewables to safeguard the transition. In an analysis recently published in Nature Energy, we show that such policies…

The deployment of clean and sustainable energy is regarded as a pillar of sustainable global development according to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Counter-intuitively, this goal can sometimes directly interfere with other developmental objectives. Based on a working paper by UN ESCAP about the energy landscape in North and Central Asia, I highlight one of…

Prominent policy initiatives all over the globe are polarizing society for how to govern an increasingly unaffordable building stock in the era of sustainability – even in the quaint city of Basel in traditionally neutral Switzerland. While our readership is primarily concerned with energy and CO₂, here I present an emerging conflict between social and…

Almost every second new car registered is categorized as a sport-utility-vehicle (SUV) or large car in Switzerland, Europe, China and the U.S. This leads to potential problems like increased greenhouse gas emissions and fatal accidents with pedestrians. What are sustainable alternatives and how can we make them appealing to these customers?

By the end of the United Nations (UN) COP26 climate conference, almost forty nations and finance institutions, the vast majority of which are North American or European, agreed to ban public financing for international fossil fuel projects by 2022. Notably, the agreement neglected to apply such measures to the signatory countries themselves. If acted upon,…

“I am dependent on my car!” is a statement widely heard in discussions about passenger transport in Germany. But: are you? Or are there some new options out there that could help you get around? Let us find out what these new options are, what they can do for your mobility, and what they can…

Um die Erderwärmung einzudämmen muss die Welt bis Mitte Jahrhundert aus der fossilen Energie aussteigen. Wir bewegen uns nun in die richtige Richtung. Nahezu alle neuen Investitionen im Energiesektor fliessen in erneuerbare Energiequellen. Batteriebetriebene Elektrofahrzeuge (BEV) werden immer beliebter. Und die meisten neuen Gebäude heizen nicht fossil. Klar gibt es Hürden. Das alles muss schneller…

To save the climate, the world needs to stop using fossil fuels by mid-century. We are finally headed in the right direction. Nearly all new power-sector investment is going into renewable energy sources. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are becoming popular. Most new buildings are being built with non-fossil heating systems. The pace of change needs…