Jochen Markard

Does AI already have human-level intelligence? The evidence is clear The vision of human-level machine intelligence laid out by Alan Turing in the 1950s is now a reality. Eyes unclouded by dread or hype will help us to prepare for what comes next.

must read
"For the first time in human history, we are no longer alone in the space of general intelligence ... both remarkable and concerning ... we ... witness what is perhaps the most significant scientific and technological revolution in human history..."
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Less than 3 weeks to submit your abstract - Don't miss March 6th !!

Quasi-Bans: enhancing political feasibility while advancing phase-outs Swiss heating shows quasi-bans speed phase-outs and boost feasibility by nudging the middle and pairing subsidies with alternatives.

Climate policy is often framed as incentives or bans.

But evidence from Switzerland’s heating sector points to a smarter middle path: quasi-bans.

New piece from @paoyanguas.bsky.social & @jmarkard.bsky.social sets out what can be gained from this approach👇

www.sussex.ac.uk/research/pro...

Beyond the ban: lessons from Switzerland’s experiences with quasi-bans By: Paola Yanguas Parra and Jochen Markard The debate on fossil heating bans (or any other technology ban) often treats them as a binary question: should we prohibit or not? In a recent commentary, Ed...

Take a look at this recent article, where @jmarkard.bsky.social and I reflect on quasi-bans and their potential for overcoming political deadlocks on banning carbon-intensive technologies👇

www.linkedin.com/pulse/beyond...

Your comments and ideas about bans and quasi-bans are welcome 🤓

New report out on new nuclear power in Switzerland. 3 key lessons: Even if all processes go smoothly, a new plant will not come online until around 2050. Integration into EU-electricity infrastructure critical for back-up. Substantial financial state support needed.
lnkd.in/efSSVtKa German & French

20 years ago almost a quarter of Finland's electricity came from coal.

This week Finland's last active coal-fired power and heat plant shut down.

www.reuters.com/business/ene...

Stop autobesity! Jenny Jones speaking now at the House of Lords launch of the alliance for safer fairer streets to reverse the spread of heavier, higher and wider SUVs... See the 5pt plan here 👇🏼

www.suv-alliance.org.uk
@adfreecities.bsky.social @badvertising.bsky.social @responsiblesci.bsky.social

With the world heating up, why are more SUVs being sold? Despite dire predictions of climate breakdown, more Sports Utility Vehicles are being spotted on, and off, the roads.

Over half of all new cars sold globally are SUVs.

These planet-wrecking vehicles consume 20% more fuel than a midsize car, and more critical minerals if they're electric.

They're also making our streets more dangerous...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
🧪🧵 (1/2)

Thanks again to our presenters, discussants and online participants in last week's workshop on #sector-coupling and #multi-system dynamics in sustainability #transitions. Also, many thanks to SNSF, STRN and ZHAW-INE for their financial support.
More info: tinyurl.com/5t3a9hvz

Today is the 2nd day of our international workshop on sector-coupling and multi-system dynamics in sustainability transitions

3rd International Workshop on Multi-System Dynamics in Sustainability Transitions | Sustainability Transitions Research Network The 3rd International Workshop on Multi-System Dynamics in Sustainability Transitions will take place on March 6-7, 2025, at ZHAW (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) in Winterthur, Switzerland. Th...

How do #transitions in different systems (e.g., electricity, transport, industry) influence each other? How can we facilitate #sector-coupling?

This week, we host an international group of scholars for a 2-day workshop on "Multi-system Dynamics" in Winterthur at ZHAW.
tinyurl.com/5t3a9hvz

Why Trump’s Clean Energy Rollbacks Could Derail a Factory Boom With the Trump administration reversing support for low-carbon power, the business case for making wind, solar and electric vehicle parts gets weaker.

Why Trump’s Clean Energy Rollbacks Could Derail a Factory Boom www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/b...

Third phase: Acceleration
incl. rapid diffusion and decline

Second phase: Take-off

I use these slides to explain the phases in the energy #transition - with the example of electricity in Germany.
Updated yesterday with the latest figures: renewables above 60%

First phase: Pre-development

The decline of polluting technologies is critical for fighting climate change. No decline, no lower emissions

However, research focuses on innovation, leaving questions about decline open

Our new paper explores how technologies like nuclear and ICE cars decline—and why it’s never a straight line 🧵

Title page of the paper: "Decline processes in technological innovation systems: Lessons from energy technologies"

Thanks for reading! Want the full breakdown?

Our study lays out four key processes of decline and how they can be applied to study different techs.

📖 Read it open-access in Research Policy: doi.org/10.1016/j.re...

If you find it interesting, please share it and let me know your thoughts!

Electricity 2025 - Analysis - IEA

Electricity 2025 is out now! ⚡️

It shows the world’s power consumption is forecast to rise at its fastest pace in recent years, driven by growing use for industry, air conditioning, electrification & data centres.

Explore the analysis ⬇️ https://iea.li/4hYxuKE

Good news! After years of moderate growth, Germany seems back on track to meet its onshore #windpower target of 115 GW for 2030.

Sources (German): t.ly/jGemJ, Goal100.org

High time for some positive news.
New study by @ember-energy.org shows the progress of the energy #transition in the EU. Renewables cover almost 50% of electricity generation.
Steep rise of #wind and #solar, decline of #coal, #nuclear, and (more recently) #gas.

ember-energy.org/latest-insig...

Research specialist position at Chalmers University — POLET POLET is recruiting a Research specialist in quantitative methods of technology and policy change. Applications should be received by January 31st, 2025.

I'm recruiting a Research specialist in quantitative methods of technology and policy change. Come join a fantastic team! www.polet.network/blog/researc...

Picture of the SusTec research group at ETH Zurich with all its members standing in front of the Geneva lake on a sunny summer afternoon. There is text saying: We're hiring! 1 PhD student: Modelling net-zero supply chains.

We are hiring 1 PhD in energy modeling!

The PhD investigates policies to accelerate supply chain development for net-zero technologies like hydrogen through agent-based and energy system modeling.

Details: emea2.softfactors.com/job-opening/...

Apply until 31.01.2025.

Please share!

YouTube video by Enterprise for Society Center (E4S) Just transitions: exploring the global implications of sufficiency - Paola Yanguas, Michaël Aklin

The #Showcase2030 conference talks are available now on YouTube. Take a look ⬇️
youtube.com/playlist?lis...

In my talk with Michaël Aklin, we explore the challenges and opportunities of sufficiency & transitions in the global North and South 🗺️ and much more🪴👩‍👩‍👧‍👦⚖️.

👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=18ZQ...

How much will foreign students have to pay for Zurich’s top university? In September, Swiss MPs approved the move by the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich to triple the tuition for international students.

Early X-mas present: ETH triples fees for foreign students (i.e. those without Swiss high school degree) - a move that suits the political landscape these days.
www.thelocal.ch/20241206/how...