After a record-scorching summer and no shortage of political turmoil on the British Isles, newly appointed Prime Minister Liz Truss seeks to prevent a chilling winter for United Kingdom residents during a crushing cost of living crisis. An expected 80% rise in energy costs—largely due to restrictions on Russian natural gas amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine—could leave millions unable to afford heat. 

The availability of renewable energy sources including solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, and biomass energy is expanding quickly because of technical developments that have lowered costs and enhanced efficiency. Solar energy use has accelerated recently, particularly when discussing sustainability.

Hydropower is essential as we transition toward a Net Zero future. As the largest renewable energy source worldwide, and the third largest energy source overall after coal and natural gas, hydropower has a crucial role to play.

Over the last 10,000 years, human activities have fundamentally changed biological, atmospheric, and geological processes on earth. In recent decades, humans have produced nearly 9 billion tons of plastic, farmed almost half of the globe’s habitable land, and threatened almost a quarter of the world’s species with extinction.

In 2020, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced a six-step approach to reduce climate-related human activity and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial temperatures by 2030. This requires us to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide by thirty gigatons every year by 2030.