[I will soon send out some of my thoughts post-election that I’ve been posting on LinkedIn, but thought everyone could use some good news. Here were 2 clean-tech transition stories I posted right before the election.]
EU Emissions Dropped 8% in 2023
EU Emissions Down 37% since 1990
Cynicism is very chic in sustainability circles right now. I know that it likely comes from a place of (well-earned) panic about emissions continuing to rise and the accelerating biodiversity crisis. There’s plenty of bad news all the time (my heart breaks for the people of beautiful Valencia).
But saying that nothing has happened or everything is failing just isn’t true.
A major region reducing emissions is good news, full stop.
Let’s celebrate some wins every now and then.
(Lots of LinkedIn discussion on this one)
At risk of being accused of being too darn positive (about clean tech), here’s another data point for you.
In China, over half of the vehicles sold are now electric or hybrid. As of mid-2023, that share had reached upper 30s in just a few years. Now it’s over half.
I know all the negatives that people like to cite. We should have more public transportation, not just more EVs. And EVs have a footprint, including higher up-front energy costs and the mining of rare earth metals. Yes, EVs are a big product and not magic. But this is a large part of how we get to systems change in the transportation part of the climate fight. Eliminate the mobile emissions, then continue to move the grid to clean energy as well. A clean tech transportation system will use vastly less material and energy than a fossil fuel based one.
This is good news, which I know I desperately need right now.
(Image, istock, NirutiStock)
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