It’s easy to get discouraged sometimes. Progress and success don’t always move in linear fashion.
Take the recent COP28 environmental summit. Some expressed happiness at enhanced goals for decarbonization in dramatic fashion, while many others were dismayed at the engagement of oil and gas firms present in the host United Arab Emirates.
Either way, this energy transition will take a long time to change the course of global energy emissions. But hopefully think of it as a persistent journey rather than a Titanic unable to shift course in time to miss the iceberg. Our goal is to actually save more icebergs, after all.
Discouragement can move in fast and take hold hard. Ukraine is locked in an existential battle with the invaders from neighboring Russia and, despite much success, the outcome is far from certain. Lisa Cohn details work on solar generators for the microgrids helping Ukraine maintain some energy security. Incredible work.
Also this week, I have a conversation with PXiSE Energy Solutions about the role of microgrids in green hydrogen success, while we note the global report that puts microgrid friendly University of Toronto at the top of rankings for the most sustainable campuses.
Picking the destination is easy, but when charting and navigating the new route there are bound to be setbacks and recalculations. Don’t ever lose hope. Whether it’s a nation fighting for survival or a university researching future gains for decarbonization, the world has a better outcome as long as we are willing to keep striving for it.