Newsletter (copy 40)

View this email in your browser

Happy Wednesday, dear reader.

Some good news to kick things off:

• In the first seven months of 2024, renewables accounted for 83% of Portugal's electricity generation, according to the grid operator.

• China’s carbon dioxide emissions fell 1% in the second quarter and the world’s biggest polluter remains on track for a decline in annual emissions this year, according to CarbonBrief.

A quick announcement: Our mission is to promote evidence-based policymaking that places the world on a more sustainable trajectory. If you want to help us grow and maximise our reach and impact, you can now support us via a voluntary monthly subscription facilitated by Google.

Know anyone else who’d be interested in signing up to this free newsletter? They can do so here.

Thanks for reading.

Nick Hedley

Editor, The Progress Playbook

How Chile engineered the developing world’s fastest coal phaseout

Chile is phasing out coal faster than any other developing nation thanks in part to regulations that bolstered environmental standards and gave investors the right signals, says former environment minister Marcelo Mena-Carrasco.

In the first half of 2024, coal accounted for just 17.5% of Chile’s electricity output, data collated by research group Ember shows. That’s down from 43.6% in 2016.

- Read the full story here.

More than half of all cars sold in China in July were electric

More than half of all vehicles sold in China in July were electric, according to the nation’s passenger car association (CPCA).

- Read the full story here.

How this English community built its own wind turbine

The residents of Lawrence Weston housing estate, on the outskirts of Bristol, southwest England, are the proud owners of the country’s tallest wind turbine. In fact – amid a decade-long, de facto ban on onshore wind power – theirs was the only turbine commissioned on English soil in 2023.

- Read the full story here.

‘Win-win’: Octopus Energy will give free solar-covered storage sheds to French farmers

London-based Octopus Energy says its solar projects on French farms will come with free storage sheds in what it describes as a ‘win-win’ arrangement.

- Read the full article here.

Study shows how axing parking mandates benefited this American city

After the college city of Champaign, Illinois, abolished minimum parking requirements, it saw a meaningful decline in development costs and an increase in both housing density and municipal revenue, a study has found.

- Read the full article here.

Other articles you might find interesting:

• How oil-rich Texas became a clean energy titan

• The pace of the global energy transition has been vastly underestimated, RMI analysis shows

• Copenhagen now rewards ‘climate-friendly’ tourists by giving them free experiences

• How off-grid solar financing schemes are expanding energy access in Kenya

• Two-wheelers drive East Africa’s EV revolution

Help us grow and maximise our impact via a voluntary monthly subscription facilitated by Google.

Have any tips, ideas or feedback for us?

Please contact [email protected].

Subscribe to The Progress Playbook (it’s free)

Follow The Progress Playbook on social media:

Copyright (C) 2023, The Progress Playbook. All rights reserved.Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to subscribe yourself.Want to change how you receive these emails?You can unsubscribe

Thanks in part to their ambitious renewable energy programmes, Denmark and Estonia are the world leaders in climate action, a recent assessment by a group of non-profit researchers has found.

Both countries aim to complete the transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2030, notes the 2024 Climate Change Performance Index, which was complied by Germanwatch, the NewClimate Institute, and the Climate Action Network.

Denmark is well on its way, with renewables comprising 88% of its electricity mix in 2023, according to data collated by Ember. Estonia has more work to do, but the share of renewables in its electricity system has surged from 16% to 44% in just five years.

- Read the full story here.