Welcome to the Pathways to Low-Energy Society VCC. The mission of the Low Energy VCC is the development of pathways to a low-energy society with high socio-ecological benefits ensuring the welfare of the people and safeguarding the Earth's life-support system. To achieve this goal, the CoP in the Low Energy VCC is developing a comprehensive metrics for ratio of socio-ecological benefit to energy usage accounting for all energy used include the primary solar energy usage. The metrics will be used to assess current technologies, methodologies and the resulting socio-ecological benefits. Pathways will be assessed based on social, economic, technological, and methodological scenarios.
[Apr. 19, 2026] Earth Energy Imbalance is Increasing Rapidly: Finally the extreme increase in the Earth Energy Imbalance (EEI) is slowly starting to make headlines - far too late, though. The article “ What are zettajoules – and what do they tell us about Earth’s energy imbalance?” by Jonathan Watts published in the Guardian explains some of the basics. Importantly, the EEI double within only 13 years. In another article by Watts also in the Guardian and titled “ Earth being ‘pushed beyond its limits’ as energy imbalance reaches record high” the author points out that the World Meteorological Organization warned that Earth is struggling with a record energy imbalance, which is warming the oceans to unprecedented levels, making weather more extreme and threatening health and food supplies. Considering that Earth is more like a pool house with a very large pool than a greenhouse, the ocean is only delaying the heating of the atmosphere but not preventing it.
