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Newsletter (copy 42)
Climate policies that work; Poland catches up
Happy Wednesday, dear reader.
Some good news to kick things off:
The Australian state of Victoria, home to Melbourne, has outlined plans to get to 95% renewable electricity by 2035.
In June, solar accounted for 44% of Lithuania's electricity output, according to data collated by Ember.
Australia has passed a law requiring corporates to report on climate impacts and risks.
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Nick Hedley
Editor, The Progress Playbook
With time running out to avoid catastrophic levels of climate change, a comprehensive new study has identified which government policies actually help to rein in planet-heating emissions.
Aided by machine learning tools, researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and other organisations looked at 1,500 climate policies implemented worldwide over the past 25 years — and found there were only 63 successful ones.
In most cases, combinations of policies delivered the best results.
- Read the full story here.
After getting off to a late start in the energy transition, Poland is making up for lost time.
Over the first seven months of 2024, renewables comprised 30.2% of the country’s electrical output — on par with the global average, and nearly double the levels seen just three years ago, according to data collated by research group Ember.
On the other hand, coal’s share declined to 57.6% over the seven-month period, with the dirtiest fossil fuel hitting a fresh monthly low of 53% in July. As recently as 2022, coal accounted 70% of Poland’s power generation.
The new government wants to get to at least 50% renewables by 2030, but grid constraints and other challenges could slow progress.
- Read the full story here.
Germany is now deploying more renewables than any other European peer.
- Here’s how it sped up approvals for wind and solar projects.
Polish renewable energy developer Green Capital has started installing beehives around some of its solar power plants, saying it’s a practical way to support local ecosystems.
- Read the full article here.
Uruguay recently ran on 100% renewable electricity for 10 straight months.
Ramón Méndez Galain, the country’s former national director of energy, explains how the South American country achieved this feat. He was speaking at The Progress Playbook’s Policies for the Planet conference.
- Watch his presentation here.
Other articles you might find interesting:
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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.
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