Community Energy Literature Review

Introduction A popular book on climate science published in 2021 pointed to the limitations of computer simulations of the Earth’s climate and suggested that the faster computers needed to give satisfactory results in reasonable run times would not be available for two or three decades. This post outlines some recent advances in climate modelling, preceded by notes on earlier work. Early simulations of climate Although climate models using computers existed in the 1950s, the period from 1970 to 2007 described by Hausfather et al. (2019) makes a useful introduction. The authors analysed the projections of change in global mean surface temperature (GMST) made by several generations of past models. Simple energy balance models were made in the early 1970s, based mainly on CO2 concentrations. They have been “gradually sidelined” in favour of general circulation models first published in the late 1980s. The two main factors which influence long-term performance are the accuracy of...

Three aspects of climate change denial will be discussed: the psychology of denial, the beliefs of political elites, and climate misinformation. The section on psychology cites a 2020 paper about motivated denial – knowing the facts but denying them – and briefly refers to information processing and the links between emotion and cognition in two later papers. The section on political elites is based on a 2026 survey of elected officials, staffers, regulators, lobbyists, and policy professionals in the United States. The final section cites two recent papers, one on the spread and persistence of climate misinformation, the other predicting its future development. Psychology of denial “Action on climate change is currently minimal, and woefully inadequate for steering away from the worst trajectories and impacts.” These were the opening words of a 2020 paper entitled Understanding and Countering the Motivated Roots of Climate Change Denial . By motivated denial, the authors meant “kn...

Some positive views on progress in combatting climate change will be considered in this post. They concern what has been achieved so far; public support for climate action; our understanding of climate change; new technology; global action; and individual rewards. Achievements In a 2014 report the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) set out four scenarios for future warming based on different levels of emissions. The recent removal of the worst case, highest emissions scenario from the group of four has attracted considerable media comment. This scenario, known as RPC8.5 assumed continuing emissions with increased use of fossil fuels, resulting in a temperature rise of 4.5°C by 2100. (The notation refers to a level of radiative forcing of 8.5 watts per square metre). An article in The Conversation (2026) notes that climate change predictions must be revised in the light of new information and that RPC8.5 was removed because “climate action is starting to work”. Positi...

Three different approaches to the impacts of climate change are briefly described in this post. The first focussed on public views about five climate issues of wide interest in the UK. The second presented to a UK audience the views of a panel of experts on a wider range of climate issues, with the aim of stimulating interest and action. The third concentrated on the ways in which the benefits from climate mitigation tend to be overlooked in the European context, and how this might be remedied. Citizens’ Panel A recent publication by the Climate Change Committee (CCC) described the work of a Citizens’ Panel on climate adaptation in the UK. The aim of the project was to understand public views on the subject, and so to guide the CCC’s future advice to the UK Government (CCC, 2026). There were two key questions: “Which of the impacts of climate change are you most concerned about and why?” and “What do you think should be done to adapt to these impacts?” The panel worked on five aspe...

This post will draw on three papers published this year which are all concerned with the role of locally based energy projects in the transition towards net zero. The first discusses the situation in the UK; the second addresses the wider European picture; and the third concentrates on community energy in Portugal. Each paper covers a range of issues, but here the focus will be on the importance of community engagement and how to promote and evaluate it. UK energy projects Gupta, Zahiri and Gregg (2026) consider three kinds of project in the UK: community energy, local energy, and smart local energy systems; their study suggests ways in which the effectiveness of such projects can be improved. The differences between projects described by the terms community energy, local energy, and smart local energy systems can be loosely summed up as follows. Community energy projects are typically owned and controlled by members of a local community and aim to benefit the community. They oft...

Introduction During a recent online forum about the UK’s Warm Homes Plan, a question was asked about the role of air-to-air heat pumps in low-carbon heating policy. The UK plan will be briefly outlined below, followed by a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of air-to-air heat pumps compared to air-to-water heat pumps, based on an EIRO publication. The Warm Homes Plan 2026 The plan is discussed in relation to the housing sector in an article from the Carbon Literacy Project (CLP, 2026). “Homes and buildings account for roughly one-fifth of UK emissions” and £15 billion is to be invested with the aim of upgrading five million homes by 2030. The existing Boiler Upgrade Scheme will continue to offer grants of up to £7,500 per property for installation of heat pumps and a “£2,500 grant per property will also be available for air to air (as opposed to air to water) heat pumps which can also provide cooling.” The UK Warm Homes Plan (DESNZ, 2026) notes the increase in sales...