The net impact of Internet use | Alan Pears for Renew Magazine

Alan Pears would like you to know that your Zoom meeting is not, in fact, going to destroy the planet. All the CO2 that’s already in the atmosphere, however...

I get a bit tired of repeated, breathless articles “exposing” how almost every action that helps our transformation towards a low-carbon, advanced global economy is actually a problem. Nothing is perfect, but a lot of changes are positive—if they are well-managed.

For example, I often hear expressions of concern about the carbon (and broader) environmental impacts of digitalisation. The International Energy Agency has looked at this issue and found that, overall, the net benefits of digitalisation (through energy savings and productivity improvements) usually far outweigh the impacts.

The graph here provides insights into the worst-case environmental impacts of some internet apps, but it doesn’t put them into context. For example, an hour spent on Zoom generates less CO2 than driving a car a kilometre. Avoiding a five-kilometre car trip cuts emissions by more than a two-hour, “worst case” Netflix video.

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What is a lumen, anyway | Alan Pears, Renew Economy

Alan Pears, AM, is one of Australia’s best-regarded sustainability experts.

He is a senior industry fellow at RMIT University, advises a number of industry and community organisations and works as a consultant. He writes a column in each issue of Renew magazine: you can buy an e-book of Alan’s columns from 1997 to 2016 at shop.renew.org.au.

In this issue: Alan Pears on mitigating adverse effects of going off gas, why energy companies don’t understand consumers, and communicating energy efficiency more... efficiently!

Fundamentally, people and businesses don’t want energy—or technology. What they want is services that offer them value—and that value is a matter of perception.

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The legacy of a godawful year | Alan Pears for Renew Magazine

Like all of us, Alan Pears is glad to show 2020 the door. But what does 2021 hold? A better approach to CO2 accounting, a warning from the IEA, and... learning from ants?

What a year!

2020 will be memorable for many reasons. It is a year that will reframe priorities, lives and economies as we face economic and social recovery from a global pandemic, and confront the early stages of global heating, and an increasingly uncertain global political context.

There have been tragedies, pain and economic challenges—and still we face much more. However, we have also seen staggering progress, much of which could underpin transition—if our leaders act in the public interest and rise above ideology and petty politics. Our multi-layered “competitive democracy” model does seem to be mobilising with some worthwhile initiatives from states, communities and business, despite fragmentation and limited coordination.

In writing this column, I read over my 2020 Renew columns, which address many relevant issues and suggest paths forward: there is some worthwhile summer reading in them!

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Virus-driven change in energy | Alan Pears and Renew Economy

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Looking back and forward - Pears Report # 150 by Alan Pears for Renew Economy

From micro-breweries to in-store bakeries to 3D printing—distributed, modular production is taking over. It’s all part of the shift to a low carbon future, says Alan Pears.

Click here for the full report

Alan Pears: The Politics of Confusion on Achieving the Paris Commitment | John Menadue