Discover 6 opportunities in green energy

Most buildings around the world – residential, commercial or industrial – use a lot of energy during their lifetime, whether for lighting, heating, ventilation systems or plugged-in devices. In fact, buildings use about 40% of global energy, 25% of global water, 40% of global resources, and they emit approximately one third of greenhouse gases.

Based on all the available evidence, climate change is real and it is happening – the planet is experiencing rising temperatures, melting snow-caps, and increased numbers of floods, droughts, and wildfires. 2019 was the second warmest year ever and 2010-2019 was the warmest decade on the planet – ever. Limiting the global temperature rise to well below 2°C this century is one of the defining challenges from the Paris Agreement.

Although electric vehicles hold just 2.8% of the global market share of vehicle sales, they have the potential to change the world. As people are becoming more conscious of the global climate and how their action affects it, they are starting to scramble to do what they can to minimize their own impact. One way of doing so is to drive an electric vehicle, which produces far fewer emissions than a gasoline-powered vehicle.

Environmental engineers design structures and systems to protect the natural environment and promote sustainable living. They can also perform work to mitigate the environmental damage caused by large industrial operations such as pulp mills, mines, and oil-extraction sites. It is a discipline of engineering that can be studied at most engineering schools and can also be categorised as a sub-discipline of civil engineering.

The definition of sustainability is the ability to sustain change in a balanced way. It’s most commonly applied to keeping a harmony between the earth’s resources and our material needs. It’s a way of ensuring that the human race doesn’t exploit the environment and ecology of our planet into a state of irreversible decline. It also covers economic and social issues, and the development of systems and processes that enable future generations to continue meeting their material needs, without destroying the ecosystem. This is also sometimes referred to as sustainable development.

Pressure is mounting globally as climate change takes hold of our planet. The environment around us is evolving, which is driving the need for countries, governments, corporations and individuals to get more involved in the renewables and green energy sector.