Shopping Cart
RSS FeedEnergy and Climate Change Program
 |
 |
 |
 |
Worldwatch Institute's Energy and Climate Change Program is dedicated to achieving a substantial reduction in the combustion of fossil fuels and a transformation of the global energy system in order to stabilize the climate and increase energy security.
Strong scientific evidence now indicates that the world will need to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the decades ahead in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. Although many still argue that such a transition will be enormously expensive and difficult, Worldwatch research has shown that it would open up vast economic opportunities, spur innovation and job creation, and assist efforts to reduce poverty.
Worldwatch's Energy and Climate Change Program aims to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon energy system based on sustainable use of renewable sources of energy, including wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass, together with major improvements in energy efficiency. The Institute will develop and communicate a strategy for achieving a tipping point at which renewables are less expensive than fossil energy-allowing economic momentum to accelerate the transition.
Achieving the needed energy transformation will require:
- Profound changes in government policies;
- Strengthened global governance in the form of a new international climate agreement; and
- Mobilization of the private sector to develop and deploy a host of new technologies.
Worldwatch's energy and climate program is aimed at all three of these decision-maker audiences, with a particular focus on Brazil, China, Europe, India, and the United States, which together account for 60 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
As the world moves toward a new climate agreement in 2009, Worldwatch is working to inform decision makers of the potential for a low-carbon future and to develop and communicate policies and strategies that can best achieve that goal. The Institute's second major focus is to work with developing countries to increase their capacity to respond to the challenges presented by climate change and to pursue a more viable energy development path.
Focus: India
Worldwatch has long recognized India as an environmental giant that is key to tackling the global climate crisis. To learn about key climate-related developments in India, click here.
Featured Publications:
State of the World 2009: Into a Warming World
REN21 Renewables Global Status Report 2009
Smart Choices for Biofuels, a Sierra Club/Worldwatch report
"Building a Low-Carbon Economy" - Chapter 6, State of the World 2008: Innovations for a Sustainable Global Economy
Powering China's Development: The Role of Renewable Energy
Climate and Energy Magazine Articles
- Sea Power
- Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Comparing the CO2 Impacts
- Antarctica and Climate Change
- Energy Efficiency, Rediscovered
- Ocean Motion Power
- James Hansen Talks About Climate Change
- (Space)Ship of Fuels
- Hot Times for Solar Energy
- Our First Response to Climate Change
- The Heat Was On
- The Importance of Connections
- Tar Sands Fever
- Carbon Offsets 101
- Green Tags
- Essay - Carbon on Credit: Global Warming and the Derivatives Markets
- Editorial: Carbon Crimes
- Coal Rush
- China and Her Coal
- Portraits in Carbon
- Missing in Action: Iceland's Hydrogen Economy
- Editorial: Beyond Kyoto
- Capturing The Sun: The Future Of China's Solar Power
- Brave Nuclear World? Second Of Two Parts
- Commentary - Nuclear Revival: Don't Bet On It!
- E-Wasted
- Brave Nuclearworld? - First Of Two Parts
- Living With Climate Change In The Arctic
- Solar Power, Lakota Empowerment
- Diesels Versus Hybrids
- The Irony of Climate
To stay up-to-date on the latest energy and climate program news and analysis, please sign up for one of our e-newsletters or subscribe to our RSS feed.
