ETH News

For Anthony Patt, Europe’s ambitious plans for a hydrogen economy may be too ambitious, tipping the scales towards the interests of the fossil fuel industry, rather than energy consumers and the climate. Switzerland should be careful before jumping fully on board, he argues.

To decarbonize our economy, electricity will replace oil and natural gas as the primary energy carrier. Where should that power come from? Many people argue that all of it should be produced domestically. Careful analysis suggests some share of it should be imported, says Anthony Patt.

While the economic impacts of climate policy are generally perceived as costs, Anthony Patt proposes the opposite perspective. For Switzerland, converting the energy system and reaching the net-zero target may net benefit the economy, he finds.

Anthony Patt has contributed to the new IPCC report on mitigation of climate change. Since the last report in 2014, the odds for phasing out fossil energy have changed; a net-zero world is achievable now, even if the way remains long.

Ambitions to make hydrogen a key energy carrier for a climate friendly future are misguided, says Anthony Patt. Wherever possible, including ground transportation and heating, we should replace fossil fuels with the direct use of renewable electricity.

Although measures taken to mitigate the effects of climate change are generally associated with energy levies and high costs, the opposite is actually true: the switch to renewable sources is set to reduce energy prices significantly.

For Switzerland to become climate neutral, there’s no way around electric mobility. But to get e-cars going, the public must push for charging stations where people live, argues Anthony Patt. 

The guiding principle for global climate policy is shifting from mistrust to collaboration, says Anthony Patt. Interestingly, nations' answer to the coronavirus can help to clarify how.

CO₂-neutral synthetic fuels are technically feasible today and the best promise for decarbonizing aviation. The right policy instruments could turn promise into reality, writes Anthony Patt.

To stop climate change, saving energy matters less than switching to renewable energy. Indeed, says Anthony Patt, it isn’t clear whether saving energy makes much of a difference at all.

Should road mobility become electric – or is it better to wait and see if other technologies come up? Electric cars are by far the most feasible technology to make driving CO₂ neutral; they are an inescapable element of a wider transition to clean energy, blogs Anthony Patt.

In terms of direct democracy, the US state of Massachusetts is similar to Switzerland. A recent statewide initiative dealing with animal welfare and sales regulation provides an interesting parallel to the past Swiss initiative for a green economy, and Swiss climate policy more generally.

It is natural to think that reducing our energy consumption is good for the climate. We can ride a bicycle instead of driving a car. And if we drive a car, we can drive a smaller, more fuel-efficient car. These things certainly help reduce urban noise, congestion, and air pollution. But do they really help to solve climate change?

After a long series of failed negotiations on binding emission reductions, the world is looking to the 21. Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris this December. Expectations are rising, and many believe that the fate of the planet depends on the outcome of these negotiations. But does solving climate change really hinge on the agreement in Paris?

In order to stop climate change, humanity needs to eliminate the emission of greenhouse gases. To do so, while maintaining acceptable living standards, will require new technologies for energy and industry. But how can we make sure that new technologies replace the old, rather than simply supplement them? Policy makers need to pay attention to two factors.

In order to halt climate change, we need to transform our transportation system. Although people have voiced doubts about whether plug-in electric cars will live up to their promise of convenient, CO₂-free transportation, the technology has already improved markedly and will continue to advance.

Many people claim that Switzerland cannot make much of a difference regarding climate change and the transformation of the global energy system, simply because it is so small. But this belief, and the associated passive stance towards energy policy, ignores the contribution that Switzerland can make as an innovation hub for institutional changes.

The IPCC has released the final installment of its three-volume report. The Working Group III component covers the technical, economic, and practical aspects of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The report offers three broad messages, which together paint a discouraging picture of the present, but offer room to hope for the future.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just released the Fifth Assessment Report of Working Group II, covering climate impacts and adaptation. Whereas the impacts have received a lot of attention in the international press, less is being said about the findings on adaptation strategies.

Since this is a new blog about sustainability, I think it is important to pose the question of whether the concept of sustainability itself makes any sense.

The first of three working group reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was made public last Friday. Previous reports served as guidepost for climate policy development. And yet some policies were clearly more effective than others.