Energy is at heart of matter and it is all that matters. Where it comes from and how we use it. No longer must we draw on the dirty fossil fuels that have damaged our planet, most likely beyond repair.  Extreme weather events are causing untold damage to people, property and the environment. It has been on the cards. It will get worse before it gets better.

We start our campaign – Energy 2020 Asia – because we genuinely feel not enough has been done by multi-national agencies like the UN and the Asian Development Bank  – with their Energy for All campaigns – to highlight the necessity of a clean energy fix for Asia. The imperative is to turn quickly away from fossil fuels. So we urge Asia – just as Europe has led before – to set a target for 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020. Cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in the same time frame. And to add to the collective effort, head for 20% improvement in energy efficiency. Every country, city and business in Asia could do it. Let’s commit to collaborate, communicate and co-operate – starting in the Year of the Horse – to achieve what is not a pipe dream but a glaringly-obvious necessity.

Get in the saddle and ride – not into the sunset but into the sunrise. A clean energy, low carbon future. It is the only way to go.  Bring on the horses!  Read more

Horse Power

Energy is at heart of matter and it is all that matters. Where is comes from and how we use it. No longer must we draw on the dirty fossil fuels that have damaged our planet, most likely beyond repair.

The world knows what has brought about the situation we have now – more CO2 in the atmosphere than in living memory. Higher temperatures – and lower temperatures – than we can tolerate. Extreme weather events causing untold damage to people, property and the environment. It has been on the cards. It will get worse before it gets better.

There are many scientists who can say “I told you so”. Yet there are many people – leaders, governments, businesses -  who still want to extract and burn more of the dangerous stuff. Shale gas is there so let’s get it out – says the US and the UK – so we can be more “energy secure”, even if the fracking process itself is inherently harmful.

I watched a BBC Horizon programme which focussed on carbon capture and storage. Technically feasible to bury the CO2, but it is such a complicated and expensive process. Far better –it doesn’t take a brain scientist to work out – to leave the stuff in the ground. We have unlimited energy sources that are freely available to tap. Sun, wind, tide, wave, bio-mass, waste.

Sane scientists, reliable researchers and enlightened engineers all say that solar will be the predominant energy resource for planet earth before the end of this century. Why not make it happen sooner than that?

We start our campaign – Energy 2020 Asia – because we genuinely feel not enough has been done by multi-national agencies like the UN and the Asian Development Bank – with their Energy for All campaigns – to highlight the necessity of renewables.

The imperative is to turn quickly away from fossil fuels. So we urge Asia – just as Europe has led before – to fix a target for 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020. Cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in the same time frame. And to add to the collective effort, head for 20% improvement in energy efficiency.

Every country, city, and business in Asia could do it. Where there’s a will there’s a way.  Will it be enough to get the world where it needs to be? It’s a lot better than what’s happening now and once a city, for example, makes a start, it will come to realise it can save money – even make money – by going even beyond 20%.

Look at Denmark. It has a target of generating 50% of its electricity from wind power by 2020. It is past the 23% mark already.  Germany and Spain produce more than 20% of energy from renewables. The Europeans have committed to expand their target to a 40% reduction in emissions by 2030 and a 27% target for renewables by then. More work is being done on energy efficiency targets.

Let’s commit to collaborate, communicate and co-operate – starting in the Year of the Horse – to achieve what is not a pipe dream but a glaringly obvious necessity.  Get in the saddle and ride – not into the sunset but into the sunrise. A clean energy, low carbon future. It is the only way to go.  Bring on the horses! – Ken Hickson