Kornelis Blok

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We zoeken nieuwe collega's bij Common Futures; werk mee aan mooie projecten om de energietransitie te versnellen.
www.commonfutures.com/nl/vacatures

(We're hiring; in Dutch ;)

Our annual deep dive on China’s climate transition is out! China’s CO₂ emissions are set to remain flat for a second year in 2025. Record additions of solar and wind, accelerating electrification, and declining construction-material demand are the main drivers.

Promotional image for a webinar titled "Technological innovation – universities' role and dilemmas in sustainability", scheduled for 9 December 2025. The event is part of the EUA webinar series on sustainability. The background shows a blurred image of trees, emphasizing the theme of sustainability.

Can universities lead on clean technologies?🌱⚡Join the next webinar in EUA’s ‘Spotlight on Sustainability’ series.
📅 09 Dec 2025 | 10.30 CET
🔗 Registrations will remain open until the webinar starts at https://bit.ly/3XcQ6hp
🗣️ Carlos Härtel, Stella Tsani, @kornelis.bsky.social

The costs of Direct Air Capture will not fall as much as hoped. "Efforts to reduce carbon emissions should therefore* continue at pace, says the research team."

*Therefore is problematic here, as it implies that if DACCS was cheap less reductions are needed. No, no, no.

ethz.ch/en/news-and-...

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I’m really surprised this isn’t bigger news. Just under 10 million people live in Tehran. Where can they go? Where else in Iran will have enough water? This will undoubtedly strain the country’s and the region’s politics, finances and governance capacity.

Promotional image for a webinar titled "Technological innovation – universities' role and dilemmas in sustainability", scheduled for 9 December 2025. The event is part of the EUA webinar series on sustainability. The background shows a blurred image of trees, emphasizing the theme of sustainability.

Can universities lead on clean technologies?🌱⚡Join the next webinar in EUA’s ‘Spotlight on Sustainability’ series.
📅 09 Dec 2025 | 10.30 CET
🔗 Registrations will remain open until the webinar starts at https://bit.ly/3XcQ6hp
🗣️ Carlos Härtel, Stella Tsani, @kornelis.bsky.social

Let there be warmth! The British churches putting their faith in heat pumps Ancient buildings and old bones aren’t getting in the way of decarbonisation

NEW: I wrote about British churches installing heat pumps, in some cases in 1,000-year-old buildings! Decarbonisation may not be easy, but many view it as an act of faith.

This is a special feature to mark The Reengineer’s first anniversary! Spread the word! 🥳

www.thereengineer.pro/p/let-there-...

Een gem. huishouden betaalt nu €1000/jr meer voor energie dan 5 jaar geleden; en nog in veelvoud indirect via inflatie. #grafiekvandedag
De stijging (+ inflatie) wordt mogelijk flink groter; ook voor 'gas-loos'. Zie mijn (gratis) column vandaag op Energiepodium.
www.energiepodium.nl/artikel/onze...

Very nice visualisation 👇

The fact the 75% can be electrified, doesn't mean that 75% of final energy use will be electricity. Electrification leads to a reduction of final energy use, typically by a factor 2,5 - 4. The share of electricity will then probably end up around 50%.

Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2 Second Public Consultation Explore the second draft of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2 with our digital consultation guide.

Science-Based Targets initiative has published a 2nd consultation draft of the new Corporate Net-Zero Standard. This is a core document in the family of standards. Any comments welcome! sciencebasedtargets.org/consultation...

Mooie analyse, dank!

SBTi: Number of firms with net zero goals triples in 18 months Poll of leading corporates finds vast majority are enjoying reputational and financial benefits from having a validated emissions target in place

Lots of anti-net zero noise, but a major new report from SBTI shows the number of companies with net zero targets has surged and those with goals in place are reporting multiple financial, operational, and reputational benefits. www.businessgreen.com/news/4521250...

Prof. Blok met honderden wetenschappers begonnen aan nieuw IPCC-klimaatrapport: ‘2 graden opwarming nog steeds haalbaar’ - Change Inc. Het klimaatdoel van 1,5 graad opwarming gaat de wereld niet meer halen, maar 2 graden is nog steeds mogelijk, betoogt Em. Prof. Dr. Kornelis Blok. De komende drie jaar is hij voor de vierde keer hoofd...

"Keeping global temperature rise below 2 degree ˚C is surely feasible". Interview related to the next IPCC report (in Dutch).
www.change.inc/klimaatveran...

The Most Efficient Traveler Isn’t a Bird or a Fish—It’s You on a Bike A famous graphic, now updated, compares locomotion in the animal kingdom

A famous graphic, now updated, compares locomotion in the animal kingdom

Indonesia starts construction of 92 megawatt floating solar plant Indonesia's state utility firm Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has started constructing a 92-megawatt-peak floating solar power plant in the West Java province as part of the country's renewable energy drive, it said on Friday.

Indonesia starts construction of 92 megawatt floating solar plant reut.rs/4pXLGbI

I'd wager anyone in that room is more qualified to be Secretary of Defence, and better understands the threat multiplier implications of climate change. Security think tanks have been thinking about it since the 1970s, & the Pentagon formally since the 1990s.

Indonesia is up to 20% new car sales are EVs, in the space of a few years...

Some of the most interesting trends in electric car sales are in developing countries, here Indonesia.

When price parity is reached & energy security is a concern, EVs will take off in the developing world.

Check some charts here (mainly developed countries) robbieandrew.github.io/carsales/

Opinion | Turns Out Air Pollution Was Good for Something

Balanced perspective on solar geo-engineering:
by @hausfath.bsky.social, www.nytimes.com/2025/09/21/o...

Xi Jinping announced China's new climate targets personally, a positive gesture, but the targets brought little clarity on China’s future emission pathway. Targeting a 7-10% emission reduction by 2035 from an undefined "peak level" undersells China's current clean energy boom.

Important message from Xi 👇
Hopefully they "will do - a lot - better".

The basic dilemma for China's leaders is: you have to cut either the clean energy industry or the coal industry down to size; both can't continue to grow like they have. These targets just show they still haven't made up their minds, balking at the economic fallout from either.

Natural gas imported from the US to the Netherlands causes 40% higher greenhouse gas emissions than the gas we used to extract from the Groningen field.
Contribution to the "Climate Helpdesk" (in Dutch): www.klimaathelpdesk.org/answers/wat-...

Despite Trump, the World Isn’t Slowing on Climate, E.U. Official Says

"The world isn't slowing down on climate".
I think EU Commissioner Hoekstra is right and that is good news. The bad news is that we are not accelerating.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/c...

I keep telling y’all that your voice and wallet are more powerful than you think, so maybe we should stop listening to the doomers and accelerationists who think things are hopeless — because things are only hopeless if we all give up.

👇 Thread on "the most significant climate announcement of the year"

YouTube video by Christian Breyer Feasibility of 100% Renewable Energy Systems

Podcast on Feasibility of 100% Renewable Energy Systems youtu.be/GXadcmYfWGY for this paper from 2018 doi.org/10.1016/j.rs...
@lut.fi @nworbmot.bsky.social @kornelis.bsky.social @brianvad.bsky.social

The 1.5˚C target remains a critical objective - even if we are on the way to exceed it. Important paper by Rogelj and Rajamani: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Great thread on yesterdays ruling on climate by the International Court of Justice:

Serieuze subsidie voor 602 MW aan groene waterstofproductie De Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO) heeft ruim €700 mln subsidie toegekend aan 11 elektrolyseprojecten in Nederland. Als alle intenties tot een investeringsbeslissing komen, levert dat …

De kans op daadwerkelijke conversie van Powerpoints naar operationele waterstoffabrieken groeit. En dat werd tijd, dus dat is mooi.

www.wattisduurzaam.nl/49462/energi...

Explainer: How human-caused aerosols are ‘masking’ global warming - Carbon Brief Carbon Brief unpacks the climate effects of aerosols, how their emissions have changed over time and how they could impact the pace of future warming

Very good overview of the role of aerosols in (masking) global warming: www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-ho...