It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by bad news about climate change. Even for those of us used to covering it every day as journalists, it can sometimes seem relentless.

Of course we are right to worry. This year will be the warmest twelve months in 125,000 years, scientists say, as its impacts hit home in every corner of the Earth.

But as UN climate talks conclude at COP28 in Dubai, there are some real reasons to be optimistic too. Here’s a look at some of them:

1 – The secret solar revolution

On streets and in estates all over the UK, there’s a silent solar insurgency going on.

Every month this year around 17,000 houses added solar panels right across Britain.

Even in parts of the UK not known for their sunny days, homeowners are sticking the silicon to their roofs; about 8% of homes on the Isle of Angelsey in north Wales are now powered by solar, in Aberdeenshire, it’s close to 6%.

Driving this boom is cost – solar is not just the cheapest form of electricity now, according to some it is the cheapest in history.

It’s not just people putting up panels in an orderly way, according to Jenny Chase, a solar expert from BloombergNEF, we’re seeing a growing amount of “balcony solar” as well.

Solar streetIMAGE SOURCE,POWER STATION
Image caption,

On this street in Walthamstow, around 15 homes have added solar in the past year

“You literally just put your solar module somewhere maybe on your balcony, maybe in your garden, and that can cover your house’s instantaneous demand when it’s sunny,” she told BBC News.

“It doesn’t go into the grid, it doesn’t store it, you don’t need to register it. It’s just shaving a little bit off your power use.”

The world is following suit. China has installed more solar this year than the US has in the past three decades.

There’s now real hope that power from the Sun will be the key to a safer Planet Earth.

line

More on the COP28 climate summit

line

2 – The EV that pays for itself

The right time to buy an electric car must rank as one of the most popular dinner conversations across the UK.

Sales are generally booming, with some 18% of new vehicles sold around the world in 2023 powered by batteries.

EVIMAGE SOURCE,MATT CARDY
Image caption,

EVs may soon be able to push energy to the national grid and your home when needed

But high costs and worries about the range of an electric vehicle are real deterrents at present.

However new technology is in the process of changing that perception and possibly making EVs more cost effective.

The idea is called Vehicle2Grid, or V2G and it’s essentially the kit needed to send and receive power from your car to your house and on to the national grid.

The idea is that if you can charge the car when energy is cheap, you can sell it back to the grid when it’s more expensive and turn a profit.

With cars spending 95% of their time parked up, they are perfectly suited to the role of buying and selling energy, like little four wheeled market traders.

This is critically important for the national grid which is in the process of adding more and more renewables like wind and solar, and needs somewhere to send that power when it’s too windy or sunny.

And imagine if you were charging your car with energy from your own solar panels – you could sell this free energy to the grid for a decent margin, trials have shown.

3 – Betting on big batteries

All across the UK, large scale battery farms are springing up at amazing speed – this one I visited in Buckinghamshire was completed in just 10 months.

It can power 300,000 homes for up to two hours and is one of the biggest in Europe.

battery storageIMAGE SOURCE,HARMONY ENERGY
Image caption,

A large scale battery storage installation in Buckinghamshire

Prices for storage on this scale continue to tumble, and experts estimate that by the end of this decade there will be enough batteries in place to power 18 million homes across the UK. That’s an astonishing rate of growth.

According to experts, batteries are the key link in the chain that will makes net zero achievable for electricity production.

“If you didn’t have storage, you could only have a certain amount of renewable energy,” Peter Kavanagh, chief executive of Harmony Energy, told BBC News. His company is installing large scale batteries across the UK and Europe.

“When you add storage into the mix, it makes it a lot easier to get to a majority share of renewable energy. So we can go much further to reach net zero and it makes a 100% renewables grid technically possible.”

4 – Here comes the judge

Clarity from the courts is another reason to be cheerful about climate change.

A number of major climate cases go before the judges in the next 12 months.

JudgesIMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,

Judges at the International Court of Justice will decide on a critical case brought by Pacific nation Vanuatu on climate change

Whatever way they rule, it will spell out exactly where the law stands on what’s legal and who’s responsible for rising temperatures.

One of the biggest climate suits in history is taking place in the US, where Oregon’s Multnomah County is making a $52bn damages claim against a range of oil and gas producers for causing a massive heatwave back in 2021.

If they win this case, it will have huge legal and financial implications, potentially leading to dozens more lawsuits against fossil fuel producers, similar to the court struggles that big tobacco endured in the past.

One of the lawyers in the case is Jeffrey Simon, who’s well known for winning a big money opioid civil suit in Texas.

He says that the courts are emerging as the most powerful lever for climate action, by hitting fossil fuel producers in their pockets.

“Getting the defendants to reduce their emissions is not within the reach of the civil justice system in the US, but holding them accountable for the harm they’ve caused, and the misrepresentations they’ve made, which has slowed adaptation to those problems, is definitely within their power,” he told BBC News.

5 – “When hope and history rhyme…”

My fifth reason to be cheerful about climate is history.

Looking at this challenge from a historical perspective really shows how much progress has been made in an incredibly short period of time.

Paris agreement

Just eight years ago, when the Paris climate agreement was signed, this remarkable document didn’t contain any mention of coal, oil and gas, which are the biggest sources of planet warming gases.

Now as negotiators from all over the world meet in Dubai for COP28, there’s a real hope that the parties will agree to finally end the use of these fuels in some shape or form this century.

Source

23 comments
  1. I used to be suggested this website by means of my cousin. I am no longer sure whether this put up is written by means of him as nobody else understand such certain approximately my trouble. You are incredible! Thanks!

  2. Hi I am so glad I found your weblog, I really found you by error, while I was browsing on Bing for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like to say many thanks for a remarkable post and a all round exciting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to go through it all at the moment but I have book-marked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read more, Please do keep up the superb job.

  3. You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be really something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and very broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post, I’ll try to get the hang of it!

  4. I have been surfing on-line greater than 3 hours these days, yet I by no means discovered any fascinating article like yours. It’s beautiful price sufficient for me. Personally, if all website owners and bloggers made just right content material as you did, the web can be a lot more useful than ever before.

  5. Howdy! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 3gs! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the outstanding work!

  6. Nice post. I used to be checking continuously this weblog and I’m inspired! Very useful information specifically the ultimate phase 🙂 I care for such information much. I used to be looking for this particular information for a long time. Thanks and best of luck.

  7. You could definitely see your enthusiasm in the work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. Always go after your heart.

  8. I have learn some excellent stuff here. Definitely price bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much attempt you place to make any such wonderful informative site.

  9. Thank you for another informative site. Where else could I get that kind of info written in such a perfect way? I have a project that I’m just now working on, and I’ve been on the look out for such information.

  10. That is very fascinating, You are an excessively professional blogger. I’ve joined your rss feed and look forward to searching for more of your great post. Additionally, I’ve shared your web site in my social networks!

  11. I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back down the road. Cheers

  12. This is the right blog for anyone who wants to find out about this topic. You realize so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just great!

  13. I have been surfing on-line more than three hours nowadays, but I never discovered any interesting article like yours. It is beautiful value sufficient for me. Personally, if all webmasters and bloggers made just right content as you did, the net shall be much more helpful than ever before.

  14. Having read this I thought it was very informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this article together. I once again find myself spending way to much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Can AI cut humans out of contract negotiations?

By Sean McManus Technology Reporter “Lawyers are tired. They’re bored a lot…

OpenAI staff demand board resign over Sam Altman sacking

By Chris Vallance, Annabelle Liang & Zoe Kleinman Technology and business reporters…

Black Women in Cybersecurity Initiative

About this event 1 hour Mobile eTicket Overview The Black Women in…

Nasa astronaut Frank Rubio has just returned from a record-breaking 371 days in space onboard the ISS, but the trip may have altered his muscles, brain and even the bacteria living in his gut.

With a few handshakes, a brief photoshoot and a wave, Nasa astronaut…

AI: EU agrees landmark deal on regulation of artificial intelligence

European Union officials have reached a provisional deal on the world’s first…

China and Australia: Frenemies who need each other

By Nick Marsh Asia Business Correspondent China and Australia are proof that…

The race to buy AI website addresses

By David Silverberg Technology reporter When tech entrepreneur Ian Leaman needed to…

Xi Jinping arrives in the US as his Chinese Dream sputters

By Tessa Wong Asia Digital Reporter, BBC News When Xi Jinping stepped…