News and Views

Former ERDE Lab member Dr. Devyani Singh representing B.C. Green Party

We are excited to announce that former ERDE Lab member Dr. Devyani Singh is running as the B.C. Green Party representative for the Vancouver-Point Grey riding in BC’s 42nd Provincial General Election. Devyani’s past work has centered around science for the public good, inspired by the magnitude and importance of global climate change. We wish […]

Want citizens to care about climate change? Write them a cheque

  If citizens think they’ll personally and financially benefit from a carbon tax, maybe politicians would take action. Thomas Hafeneth/Unsplash Abhishek Kar, University of British Columbia and Hisham Zerriffi, University of British Columbia Climate scientists insist in a recent report that fundamental changes in how energy is consumed and supplied are urgently required to avoid […]

The uncertain future of U.S. coal communities

In this June 2017 photo, a coal barge is positioned as a backdrop behind U.S. President Donald Trump as he speaks during a rally in Cincinnati. A coal company executive said Trump personally promised to activate emergency legal authorities to keep dirty or economically uncompetitive coal plants from shutting down. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) Sandeep […]

Alberta oil communities need a transition plan, not new pipelines

  Protesters are seen outside an event Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was attending in Calgary on Nov. 22, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Sandeep Pai, University of British Columbia; Hisham Zerriffi, University of British Columbia, and Kathryn Harrison, University of British Columbia Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent visit to Calgary drew thousands of protesters frustrated […]

The twin imperatives of global energy transitions

The twin imperatives of global energy transitions

Globally, we are facing two different but simultaneous energy transformations. The imperatives driving these two changes are grounded in two different contexts. One is aimed towards a future global energy system that is carbon-free to deal with the climate change problem. The second, for areas without modern energy access primarily in rural parts of the […]

Tackling the social and political impacts of fossil fuel industry decline

(@paisandy) Energy is indispensable to human existence. It has played and will play a crucial role in shaping our society. In the pre-industrial era, biomass was the dominant energy source. However, its share in the energy mix fell after James Watt invented the coal-driven steam engine in 1769. The first widespread use of this efficient […]

The New ERDELab Blog

Hi all.  After a long hiatus, I’ve decided to start up a research oriented blog on my group’s website again.  You can expect to see regular posts from myself as well as the graduate students in the research group (and sometimes co-authored posts) covering topics such as energy access, energy transitions, technology adoption, policy and […]