The current ETD is based on volume of fuels, rather than their energy content or impact on the environment. By default this favours fossil fuels. Instead, the revised ETD is based on the content of energy products.The revised ETD expands its regulatory scope to include aviation, shipping and fishing.The new proposal taxes polluting fuels more than cleaner fuels.
Working from home can reduce an individual’s overall greenhouse gas emissions and may carry other advantages such as improved work-life balance; However, in some cases, remote working can lead to feelings of isolation and the development of physical and mental health issues and so employees must be supported to create healthy workspace set-ups and stay connected with colleagues; Hybrid working policies may offer the advantages of increased flexibility, whilst alleviating feelings of isolation that may arise from working at home full-time, and can still result in a reduction in emissions.
This is the second in a three-part series on whether remote working is better for the environment than office-based working. The first article in the series discussed how remote working could reduce emissions from the daily commute. In this article, we weigh up this reduction in transport-related emissions, and any possible reduction in office-related emissions, with the increase in domestic-related emissions from heating and electricity that occurs as a result of working from home. The studies indicate that, on average, reduced emissions from commuting will outweigh increased domestic-related emissions, making remote working an environmentally friendly step to take [1,2]. However, in certain limited scenarios, travelling to work via less carbon-intensive modes of transport may result in lower emissions overall than working from home.
Remote working can have a positive impact on the environment through reducing transport-related emissions. Although these reductions are likely to represent only a small proportion of transport emissions as a whole, working from home could be one part of a package of policies aimed at reducing transport emissions.
The rise of global carbon emissions over the last decade has been contrasted by the decline in pricing for photovoltaics (PV). This article elaborates on how PV can become a major tool in the battle against climate change.
The decrease in price for electricity from renewable sources causes the investment in more renewables to stagnate. This article explains the mechanism behind it and how this issue could possibly be solved.
In this first article introducing a new article series breaking down how we can reach a low-carbon future, we briefly explore the energy sources that are at the heart of the low-carbon debate.
Paula Struthoff takes a look at the fossil fuel industry as one of the pivotal actors at the intersection of energy production and climate change mitigation.
Paula Struthoff assesses the value of supply-side policies as an effective way to reduce fossil fuel emissions.
This article is the second of a two-part series, focusing on the basics of energy demand.