Today the IEA publishes its new special report, “Net Zero by 2050: a Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector”, its deepest dive so far into what’s needed for a successful global transition. It analyses the options as well as the socio-economic, behavioural and environmental impacts they will have globally. Here, Laura Cozzi (Chief Energy Modeller) and Timur GĂĽl (Head of the Energy Technology Policy Division) at the IEA summarise the key principles … [Read more...]
The standard models overestimate the cost of the low carbon transition
Why have forecasts for new low-carbon energy consistently underestimated their cost reductions? The IEA has, famously, repeatedly had to raise its estimates for solar’s contribution every year since 2009, and now describes it as the “cheapest electricity in history”. Writing for Carbon Brief, Alexandra Poncia at Arup and Paul Drummond and Michael Grubb at University College London explain that standard models focus on “technology-push” policies, … [Read more...]
EU-India cooperation: how to tap the large potential for climate action
India is the world’s fifth largest economy, the second most populous, and over the next few decades is expected to see energy demand grow more than any other country. Ritu Ahuja and Mekhala Sastry at TERI, Abhishek Kaushik at the Centre for Global Environment Research, and Alexandra Deprez and Lola Vallejo at IDDRI look at India’s challenges and which areas show the most potential for partnership with the EU. They focus on five themes: energy, … [Read more...]
Aviation should be given target dates for zero-emissions. It’s working for cars and trucks
The French government’s decision to ban some short-haul flights if there is a rail alternative under two and a half hours is only symbolic, says Andrew Murphy at T&E. It would reduce French aviation emissions by only 0.8%. Expanded to rail journeys under five hours and it’s still only 4.5%. Long-haul flying is the much bigger problem, but the resulting emissions are outside of France’s current climate target. Instead of just talking about … [Read more...]
Solar “soiling”: energy loss from dust on panels can range from 7% to 50%
Dust and pollution particles on solar cells cut energy conversion, enough to cause big problems for investors let alone those depending on the generation. In parts of the U.S. energy loss can be as high as 7% and 50% in the Middle East. For assets supposed to deliver for 25 to 50 years this is hardly acceptable. Engineering solutions are struggling to keep up with the phenomenal take off of solar. Predicting the effects of “soiling” in your … [Read more...]
U.S. EV transition means major shake-up of car makers, hubs, jobs, dealerships, gas stations
General Motors (GM), in the past considered the measure of U.S. economic health, is retrenching to become an EV leader, writes Paddy Ryan at the Atlantic Council. CEO Mary Barra even wants people to think of GM as a tech company. Loss-making divisions have been shed and tech investments made. Rivals - from Tesla to pure start-ups - are forcing all car makers to face up to the electric future. But the disruption will go much further, explains … [Read more...]
Biden’s Leaders Summit: turning climate commitments into solutions
President Biden's Leaders Summit on Climate last month helped focus minds on making firm commitments to reducing global emissions. As we all know, targets are one thing, credible and realistic solutions are another. To understand the challenge better, Dolf Gielen, Ricardo Gorini and Gayathri Prakash at IRENA break down into themes those areas that need much more effort and, if dealt with successfully, can get us to net zero by 2050: structural … [Read more...]
Germany’s highest court rules climate laws are insufficient, violate rights, unfairly burden future generations
In an unexpected decision widely hailed as historic, Germany's highest court has ruled that the government's climate legislation is insufficient, and lacks detail on emission reduction targets beyond 2030. Sören Amelang, Kerstine Appunn, Charlotte Nijhuis and Julian Wettengel at Clean Energy Wire run through the background and the consequences of the case brought by youth activists and NGOs. Legal experts say the decision “significantly … [Read more...]
New U.S. Offshore Wind target: from standing start to 30GW by 2030
In March, the Biden administration announced a bold target to deploy 30GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. Until now, offshore wind’s rise has been driven almost exclusively by Europe and China. The U.S. accounts for just 0.1% of the world’s installed capacity (versus 17% for onshore wind). Why the hold up, given the U.S. could require up to 400GW of offshore wind by 2050? As Stephen Naimoli and Nikos Tsafos at CSIS explain, offshore costs … [Read more...]
China’s car sales target: 40% EVs by 2030 will cost CNY 100bn/year (€13bn, $15bn)
By the end of the 2020s China will phase out EV subsidies and instead rely on a mandate imposed on manufacturers to target 40% of car sales being electric by 2030. Nancy Stauffer at MIT reviews a study that estimates the new rules will result in 66m EVs sold in China in the next 10 years. That will move EVs well into the mainstream and have global consequences. According to the study, the total cost of that transition will be 100bn yuan/year … [Read more...]
What is making Denmark a decarbonisation success? Policy, society, geography
Denmark is proving itself to be a decarbonisation leader, happy to turn its back on its history of oil and gas production and heavy reliance on coal. Its ambitious goal of cutting GHG emissions by 70% by 2030 makes it a global policy frontrunner, second only to Finland which aims to be climate neutral by 2035. Thibault Menu references his report for IFRI that asks what makes Denmark special. It has a long tradition of  providing stability and … [Read more...]
Why expensive Buildings Renovations? By the time they’re done the grid will be emissions-free
The big budgets being talked about for the transition require us to decide how much to spend, and on what. Maximilian Auffhammer at the Energy Institute at Haas explains why he thinks a lot of the money being earmarked for buildings renovations would be better spent elsewhere. By the time the renovation wave has successfully “reached the shoreline” in the next few decades buildings will be powered overwhelmingly by clean grids (that’s the plan, … [Read more...]
How to ramp up Green Mortgages for climate-friendly house improvements
Green mortgages are used to finance climate-friendly house improvements. In the U.S. they already exist, but need to be made far more accessible and marketed widely. Greg Hopkins at RMI cites their report “Build Back Better Homes: How to Unlock America’s Single-Family Green Mortgage Market” to explain that the financial markets are looking increasingly favourably at lending that is certified as ESG (environmental, social, and governance). … [Read more...]
A circular economy for waste solar PV materials: what needs to be done to get it started
Solar is already in the vanguard of the energy transition, and can similarly lead the world’s transition to a circular economy. Decommissioned PV modules could total 1 million tons of waste in the U.S. by 2030. Yet there are virtually no incentives or regulations to promote its recycling or reuse. In fact, says NREL, most current regulations in the U.S. define it as solid waste, making it difficult to introduce it to a recycling value chain. In … [Read more...]
What is your nation’s “deforestation footprint”? When imports cut down trees somewhere else
Behaviour change is now inextricably linked to the transition and must be part of the world’s emissions reduction strategy, and there are many different types of relevant behaviour and ways to measure the impacts. One is to look at deforestation, caused by chopping down trees to meet our consumer needs. To grasp whose behaviour has to change we need to appreciate to what extent deforestation in places like Brazil, Canada, Liberia, Vietnam etc., … [Read more...]
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