As the Paris Olympics begins, Mark Charlton at De Montfort University tells us how sport is being affected by climate change. Rising temperatures and weather events like flooding and droughts are impacting sports including athletics, football, cricket, golf, skiing and more. And it’s not just about the direct effect on the athletes. Kit design is moving away from pure streamlining to creating garments that wick sweat away and keep body heat down. … [Read more...]
Biden’s tariffs on Chinese e-bikes goes against U.S. climate policy
The Biden administration has reintroduced Trump’s tariffs on e-bikes from China. That’s 25% tariffs on imported e-bikes and bike components made in China. An additional 25% tariff on Chinese-made battery packs used by e-bikes comes into effect in 2026. Nearly 100% of bicycles sold in the U.S. are manufactured abroad, with the vast majority coming from China. It’s all part of the U.S. policy to counteract unfair subsidies in China and develop … [Read more...]
Better than Microbes: using Electron-Bifurcating Enzymes to produce fuels and chemicals from Biofeedstocks
Producing sustainable e-fuels like ethanol and butanol requires the processing of biofeedstocks. Using microbes to chew their way through them is well known. Justin Rickard at NREL describes research there that has found a much more efficient way, using electron-bifurcating enzymes. Flavin-based bifurcating enzymes are biocatalysts that have evolved to perform efficient metabolic reactions in harsh environments with low nutrients. The researchers … [Read more...]
Renewable Carbon must replace fossil feedstocks for e-fuels, fertilisers + more. Will supply match demand?
The world needs a large supply of renewable carbon to replace fossil feedstocks for hard-to-abate sectors like aviation, shipping, chemicals, food and beverage. Arno van den Bos, Karan Kochhar, Luis Janeiro and Francisco Boshell at IRENA present the results of their study to estimate demand, and whether supply can match it through to 2050. The main sources of supply come from alcoholic fermentation, biogas, pulp & paper, and biomass. Each has … [Read more...]
EU ETS2 for Buildings, Road Transport: what must firms already be doing to comply with the full launch in 2027?
The new EU Emissions Trading System, ETS 2, covers emissions from buildings, road transport, and additional sectors such as fuel use in small industrial installations. It’s designed to reduce emissions by 42% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. Florian Schlennert, Simon Göss and Hendrik Schuldt at carboneer describe how it works, and what firms must do to comply. Comprehensive monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) must be implemented at the … [Read more...]
EVs made of 40% Green Steel will add just €57 to the price of a new car
There are three big reasons why Europe’s auto industry should be given binding targets to increase the green steel content of their cars through to 2040. First, conventional steel production is a high-emissions activity, and both users and producers are struggling to bring it down. Second, emerging green steel producers need to secure major guaranteed users (the auto industry is steel’s second biggest customer) as this is their greatest … [Read more...]
EU ETS: what happens when rising Carbon Prices start to hurt low income groups?
The main purpose of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is to put a price on emissions and generate revenues from companies buying allowances for creating those emissions. Right now energy, manufacturing and aviation are covered. From 2027, maritime transport will be added to the existing EU ETS, while buildings and road transport will be regulated in the upcoming ETS2. From then, nearly 80% of total EU emissions will be under the ETS and … [Read more...]
XanoGrass: a perennial, marginal land, all-climate, Biofuel feedstock substitute for wood, food crops, fossils
Biofuel producers are always looking for low carbon intensity feedstocks. Corn stover (the waste from harvested corn) is typical, but harvesting is seasonal. Jeffrey Wolf at NREL explains how research has led to the development of XanoGrass. It is a perennial, so can be harvested all year round. It can be grown on marginal or even “unfarmable” lands, so existing food crops won’t be displaced. No special farming equipment is needed, so existing … [Read more...]
The world needs to triple Renewables by 2030. We’re 30% off-target but it can be done
To reach the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, the world needs to triple renewable power capacity by 2030. Here, the IEA summarises its report “COP28 Tripling Renewable Capacity Pledge: Tracking countries’ ambitions and identifying policies to bridge the gap”. The report looks at almost 150 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) which set out each country’s plans, and also looks at actual progress (which in many … [Read more...]
Can the UK’s new state-owned GB Energy become a role model for others?
The newly elected Labour government in the UK is promising to create a state-owned entity, GB Energy, to drive forward its energy transition. Robert Johnston at CGEP explains what it is, and how it could be a model for other nations. Up until now, the policy toolkit of high-income OECD countries has primarily been the use of subsidies, tax credits, government procurement, R&D grants, trade policy and the like. GB Energy will directly invest … [Read more...]
Excessive cross-border accumulation of subsidies can endanger the EU energy transition
EU Member States have inadvertently supported with their own subsidies the renewable energy targets of other Member States, a practice that violates EU internal market rules, explains Kim Talus at UEF Law School. He looks at how Denmark subsidised Danish biomethane producers who exported to Sweden, where Swedish consumers were benefitting from subsidies already. This promoted Danish biomethane producers at the expense of rivals. In December 2022 … [Read more...]
Biden vs Trump: will the economics of Oil sway the U.S. presidential election?
Donald Trump has always backed oil and gas, and U.S. industry giants donated $7.3m to his campaign, three times more than for his 2020 run. Joe Biden has introduced green energy policies and other transition legislation, though he has also overseen an increase in domestic oil production and promised motorists he will keep petrol prices low. Both candidates know that U.S. voters are particularly sensitive to the price of their gasoline, in a land … [Read more...]
World’s biggest plane to carry Offshore-Wind sized blades to “inaccessible” onshore destinations for first time
It looks brilliantly simple. Why are onshore wind turbines smaller than offshore ones? Because you have to move them to their location by road, over bridges, through tunnels and around curves. That limits their size. As Michael Purton, writing for WEF, explains it’s why the company Radia is building the world’s biggest aeroplane called WindRunner (12 times the volume of a Boeing 747), big enough to carry turbine blades over 100m long. And the … [Read more...]
Basic energy access reverses for first time in a decade, after good progress since 2015
After good progress globally since 2015, basic energy access reversed in recent years for the first time in a decade, says the IEA. The 2024 edition of “Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report” measures progress on “strategic development goals” that include universal access to electricity and clean cooking, doubling historic levels of efficiency improvements, and substantially increasing the share of renewables in the global energy mix. The … [Read more...]
Germany, Italy + 10 others not on track to meet their 2030 climate targets, costing them €billions in carbon credits
12 EU countries are on track to miss their 2030 national climate targets by a large margin, according to a study by T&E. That means they will have to buy carbon credits on such a large scale there will be few left for others to buy their way out of missing their own targets (leaving them facing court cases). Germany and Italy are the two worst performing countries, with France on track by a very close margin. Germany will have to pay … [Read more...]
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