Hi, I’m Azeem Azhar. I convene Exponential View to help us understand how our societies and political economy will change under the force of rapidly accelerating technologies. My book Exponential tackles these themes at length (for UK Kindle-owners, the book is available for 99p).

DEPARTMENT OF FOSSIL TRANSITION

The methane pledge

With COP26 coming to a close this week, the most exciting developments have come from the sidelines. The global pledge to curb methane is one such development. The promise is a collective commitment signed by more than 80 countries to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030. This could shave 0.2ºC from global warming. Via Bloomberg

Cities versus climate change

Cities are at the forefront of the climate battle for many reasons, including more efficient self-government and nimble legislative processes (in some cases). As this chart shows, urban density has a positive effect on the energy footprint of transport. Cities are climate change mitigation, in some sense. Via TUMI

Vorschrpung durch elektrik

Even in Germany, the birthplace of the first modern car, electric powertrains are, metaphorically, up in top gear. Based on our experience of the shift to almost fully electric vehicles in Norway, we might see adoption rates of EVs approach 90% or higher within as little as five years. Data from the UK suggests that the country is also reaching a tipping point. For more charts on Norway’s transition see COTW #42. Via Clean Technica

DEPARTMENT OF MEGAWEALTH