by Robert Kelly | Aug 28, 2020 | Theory of change
Prediction is difficult, especially when it relates to the future. We make predictions all the time. And, outside of some simple, deterministic systems – the motions of the planets being an obvious example – we fail miserably. Consider a single, solitary wind turbine...
by Robert Kelly | Jul 31, 2020 | Estimating emission reductions
Black is the new blue. Blue sky thinking applies innovative solutions to difficult problems. Black sky thinking, a phrase borrowed from the space industry, goes even further in terms of imagination, speculation and conjecture. And where better to start than with...
by Robert Kelly | Nov 11, 2019 | Supergrids
Renewable supergrids had their moment in the sun – sadly, more metaphorically than literally – in the early 2000s, when Desertec fever was at its height. The notion of a network of long-distance, high-voltage lines ferrying renewable electricity far and wide – from...
by Robert Kelly | Nov 1, 2019 | Geocarbon
There exists a fascinating, if admittedly niche, strand of scientific enquiry that attempts to answer the counterfactual question: what would the surface of the Earth look like if life – plants, animals, humans – did not exist? Would weathering and erosion rates be...
by Robert Kelly | Oct 23, 2019 | Inventory
The sources of greenhouse gas emissions are well understood and can be dissected in a number of ways. Thinking about them sectorally, and decomposing them into sub-sectors, sub-sub-sectors and so on, offers one way of identifying mitigation opportunities. This is the...
