Flights in private jets are 10 times more polluting than commercial flights, according to T&E. It’s why, this summer, public anger grew over their use by celebrities and rich individuals, following the attention drawn to them by the Twitter account @CelebJets that tracks their use. Kylian Mbappe, Taylor Swift, Kylie Jenner, Elon Musk and many more: sports stars, pop stars, rich entrepreneurs, they were all named along with the very short … [Read more...]
Electrochemical CO2 removal: efficient, cheaper, first industrial client
Leda Zimmerman at MIT describes a method of removing CO2 electrochemically, now being taken forward by MIT spin-off company Verdox. Electrodes are coated with polyanthraquinone. When it is charged, CO2 sticks to it. When it’s time to store it away, the charge is reversed and the gas is expelled as a pure stream of CO2. The technology works in a wide range of CO2 concentrations, from the 20% or higher found in cement and steel industry exhaust … [Read more...]
China: decades of support for innovation is now delivering results
The evolution of China’s clean energy sector used to be based on a technology catch-up approach, which meant secondary innovation based on imported technologies. Daisy Chi at ECECP looks at the IEA’s recent report, “Tracking Clean Energy Innovation: Focus on China”, to conclude that the nation is now a major force in clean energy innovation. Decades of innovation-focussed policies, strong funding support, institutional reforms, big targets and … [Read more...]
Copenhagen will miss its 2025 net-zero target: a case study of how pledges fail
Copenhagen is going to miss its 2025 net-zero target. The reason can be taken as a template for other failing pledges we may soon see by governments and corporates. Kirstine Lund Christiansen at the University of Copenhagen and Inge-Merete Hougaard at Lund University explain that Copenhagen’s emissions overspill stems from an unrealistic dependence on technology when the promise was first made in 2012. As the target date got closer, other … [Read more...]
Europe’s decoupling of electricity and gas prices: the crisis is temporary, so why do it?
The debate is intensifying over how to decouple power prices from the extraordinarily high natural gas prices in Europe. Simona Benedettini and Carlo Stagnaro warn that the current problem of high prices is not caused by the mis-functioning of electricity markets, but by the exceptional trend in gas prices. So should the markets be re-designed at all? Will we lose the benefits of the current design, one being the reliable profits that renewables … [Read more...]
Veracity of corporate net-zero pledges and advertising is being challenged in court
Clean Energy Wire (CLEW) is putting the spotlight on corporate climate pledges, the advertising they use to win customers, and their claims of reducing their emissions. Here, Isabel Sutton at CLEW summarises the major landmark legal cases in multiple countries being brought against corporates by activists and other claimants. Companies under scrutiny include TotalEnergies, KLM, Drax, Shell, BP, Beiersdorf (personal care products), and more. … [Read more...]
Evaporation and Radiation cooling: no power required (but the aerogel must get cheaper)
It is well known that evaporation and radiation are two ways of keeping something cool. David Chandler at MIT explains how researchers there have created an experimental 3-layered cell that combines evaporation and radiation with an insulator to deliver cooling that needs no power. It can provide around 9°C of cooling from the ambient temperature, enough to permit safe food storage for about 40% longer under very humid conditions, and could … [Read more...]
New U.S. ‘Buy Clean’ plan earmarks billions for low-carbon cement, steel and other building materials
New guidance from the U.S. federal government, combined with historic Inflation Reduction Act investments, could turbocharge markets for low-carbon cement, steel, and other building materials. Victor Olgyay, Anish Tilak and Connor Usry at Rocky Mountain Institute explain how the new “Buy Clean” recommendations will mean the procurement of green building materials for federal building and transportation projects. That will lead to a boost in … [Read more...]
EU Solar has avoided 20bcm of gas imports and saved €29bn
Solar generation in the EU has avoided the import of 20bcm of gas that would have cost €29bn, explains Paweł Czyżak at Ember, writing for Carbon Brief. The new solar power added since 2021 alone avoided €6bn of gas imports. Record EU solar generation increased by 28% in the summer of 2022, compared with the same period a year earlier. And it’s growing very quickly, with a consistent 15% year-on-year increases in installed solar capacity – from … [Read more...]
$78tn net gain for compensated global Coal phase-out, when social benefits are added
Is replacing coal with renewables too expensive? No, it’s the opposite, explain Tobias Adrian at the International Monetary Fund, Patrick Bolton at Imperial College London and Alissa Kleinnijenhuis at the Oxford Martin School who summarise their paper. When the social benefits are added, the net gain globally is around $78tn under a conservative estimate. That’s equal to 1.2% of current world GDP every year until 2100 – these are real economic … [Read more...]
IEA: The Energy Sector is failing Women in employment, pay, career progression and gender equality
A comprehensive report by the IEA is warning that gender wage gaps are greater in the energy sector than in the non-energy sector. Furthermore, the energy sector has a relatively low percentage of female workers compared to other parts of the corporate sector. There is also a lack of career mobility and advancement for women compared to other sectors, which will affect both their attraction and retention. As a consequence, there will be fewer … [Read more...]
Buildings Renovation: city-wide comprehensive data management tools to transform each building
In the U.S. the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have created a free-to-use and (and develop) online data management tool – called SEED - that allows whole cities to collect details on thousands of buildings and use them to assess energy wastage at the single building level. Molly Rettig at NREL explains that hundreds of data points can be collected for each building. The tools, along with … [Read more...]
INTERVIEW: ANDREA STEGHER Vice President International Gas Union “We need every instrument at our disposal to fight climate change”
Energy Post's Matthew James talks to Andrea Stegher, Vice-President of the IGU about price caps, security of supply, CCUS, Markets and Renewable Gases ahead of our conference "The Future of Gas" tomorrow and Thursday online from 09:00 to 12:15 both days. You can REGISTER NOW. In the interview, Andrea talks about the importance of cooperation, innovation and above all a need to invest in all the instruments available to fight global warming - … [Read more...]
Is a Carbon Tax the best way to decarbonise the Grid?
Severin Borenstein at the Energy Institute at Haas and Ryan Kellogg at the University of Chicago question whether carbon pricing is the best way to decarbonise the electricity grid. The authors did an empirical analysis of all of the fossil plants in the US. It shows that a CES (clean electricity standard) or zero-emissions subsidies would close down fossil plants in almost the same order as a carbon tax. So using alternative policy tools can … [Read more...]
Carbon Capture is a risky decarbonisation pathway: 13 flagship projects reviewed
The debate around the effectiveness of carbon capture (you can register now for our CCUS session on Wednesday at 10.45 - Editor) has led to polarising views. Although the first implementations began 50 years ago, serious efforts to capture large volumes cost-effectively are in their infancy and unproven at scale. Is it, given time and support, a solution to excess emissions worldwide? Or is it a distraction that will allow fossils to be used yet … [Read more...]
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