April 14, 2024
It’s hard to find good news in the world of climate change, so two pieces of good news is twice as good.
For one, according to the energy think tank Ember, Europe’s generation of 516.5 terawatt hours of renewable electricity in January and February satisfied 60% of overall power demand. This constituted a year-over-year gain of 12% from the same period in 2023, and coincided with a 12% year-over-year fall in the use of fossil fuels, with a 15% drop in energy from coal-fired power plants.
Meanwhile, India recently approved a massive subsidy program to help Indian households install rooftop solar panels in their homes and apartments, with the goal of providing 30 gigawatt hours of solar power to the nation’s inventory. The initiative, called PM-Surya Ghar, will provide free electricity to 10 million homes according to estimates, and the designing of a national portal—a sort of Healthcare.gov for solar panels—will streamline the process of installation and payment.
We have a long way to go. But a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.