GLOBAL GYPSUM:THE LAST WORD

摘要

The transition to net-zero CO2 living,apparently set to take place by 2050,will require a lot of changes to our way of life.We provide coverage to the many in-geneous technical solutions to CO2 in these pages,but researchers in Switzerland may have identified another useful method:Human laziness.1 In 2016,two Swiss energy providers changed their default electricity tariff to 100% renewable energy.This represented a 3-8% cost increase for residential consumers and up to 14% for businesses.All were made aware that they were completely free to switch back to a cheaper tariff that included fossil fuel-derived power.A phone call or email would have been enough,but after four years,80% of households have stuck with the renewable tariff.For small businesses the retention rate was 70%.Only 3% of consumers had actively sought out a renewable tariff before the change of the default option.