Energy Post

Daily reports on the European and Global energy transition

Paris Agreement “Global Stocktake” should focus on individual nations too

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It’s time for national governments to focus on the short-term domestic actions needed to meet their 1.5°C goals, argue Anna PĂ©rez CatalĂ , Henri Waisman, Marta Torres Gunfaus and Ariadna Anisimov at IDDRI. Analyses of emissions gaps at a collective and global level won’t be enough, the current purpose of the Global Stocktake (GST) of the Paris Agreement. The first GST runs from 2021 to 2023 and the process will be repeated every 5 years. The … [Read more...]

COP26 and the Glasgow Pact: a summary of achievements, and shortfalls

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Experts from around the world summarise their reaction to the outcomes of this year’s UN climate summit, COP26, including the Glasgow Climate Pact agreed by all 197 countries attending the talks. Each expert covers their area of interest: overall targets, greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel finance, nature conservation, transportation, cities and buildings, energy sector transitions, science and innovation, and gender equality. The overall … [Read more...]

Vehicle charge zones: too high, and driver detours can increase emissions

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Vehicle congestion charge zones are a way of taxing drivers for the emissions they create. They have great potential to steer polluters towards shorter and/or fewer journeys, and towards cleaner fuels. But it's full potential that has gone mostly untapped. Most “cordon zones” found in big cities like London, Stockholm, Milan and Singapore keep the rules very simple. Journey length is rarely, if ever, taken into account. Importantly, no one is … [Read more...]

Fulfilling the Global Methane Pledge: “polluter pays”, more electrification, less gas

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At COP26 the U.S. and the EU led a global pledge to slash methane emission by 30% by 2030. Methane makes up at least one-quarter of all greenhouse gases, and is more than 80 times more damaging than CO2 over a 20-year period. Success in cutting these emissions would be a major step towards meeting our 1.5°C goals. But far from declining, 2020 saw methane emissions grow at the fastest rate in 40 years. The increased use of natural gas (mostly made … [Read more...]

Behaviour Change: strategies and case studies for reaching net-zero by 2050

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Technological solutions on their own are unlikely to deliver emissions reductions at the speed and scale required to reach net zero by 2050. Daniel Crow, Insa Handschuch, Gabriel Saive and Leonie Staas at the IEA look at a suite of policy-driven citizen “behaviour changes” that should be used to bridge the gap. The impact will be greatest in advanced economies where energy intensity is highest. Meanwhile, in emerging economies the good habits put … [Read more...]

Will COP26 set right the booming Carbon Offset Market

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Carbon offsetting is when a company, rather than cut its own emissions, pays someone else somewhere else to cut their emissions. It has always been controversial because it has two main problems. Buying carbon credits means you aren’t putting the effort in to cut emissions yourself. And the risk of double-counting: when the company reports it has cut emissions, and so does the “someone else”. A third problem exists too: measuring whether the … [Read more...]

UNEP 2021 Emissions Gap report: only 11 countries have net-zero targets enshrined in law

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Zeke Hausfather at Carbon Brief summarises the UNEP 2021 Emissions Gap report, released last week. It explores the impact of the net-zero emissions pledges of nations, and the “gap” between them and the Paris targets. As COP26 gets started, 136 countries either have some form of commitment to a net-zero target or are considering it. Of those, 49 plus the EU have a firm net-zero commitment. But only 11 countries have targets enshrined in law. … [Read more...]

How much Carbon Capture will Germany need? Both nature-based and technological

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Yet more studies have been published that show Germany needs carbon removal to meet its emissions targets. Simon Göss and Hendrik Schuldt at cr.hub add two, from the German Energy Agency and the Ariadne report (funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research), to those that already exist to shine more light on a carbon capture pathway. The main observation is that nature-based solutions (LULUCF: land use, land use change and forestry) … [Read more...]

PET: a toolkit to make existing Coal plants more efficient

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Many nations are struggling to phase out coal. Some, like China, are heavily dependent on it, and have more plants in the pipeline to ensure energy security and keep prices low. In other words, a lot of coal will remain in operation for the medium term. Given that, it makes sense to make them more efficient while they are in use. Daisy Chi at ECECP looks at a new set of tools – the Plant Efficiency Toolbox (PET) - that can analyse and optimise a … [Read more...]

Aviation, Steel, Shipping CEOs ask COP26 to back their decarbonisation pathways

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The seven “hardest to abate” industries together account for 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. They are aviation, steel, shipping, cement, aluminium, trucking and chemicals. John Matson at RMI explains how a growing number of sector-leading corporates in aviation, steel and shipping are now openly backing net-zero pathways. He quotes CEOs and top executives (ArcelorMittal, United Airlines, Trafigura) on what they say they are determined to … [Read more...]

China’s energy crisis: the problems with coal exit, emissions targets, and a command economy

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China is also suffering from an energy crisis. Major industries have had to restrict production, and reports abound of candle-lit dinners, traffic lights failing and people getting trapped in elevators. Its effect has also been global, with Apple, Tesla, Microsoft and Dell saying it’s hitting their supply chains. As Jun Du at Aston University explains, China’s drive to cut coal has collided with post-Covid resurgent demand and an unusually hot … [Read more...]

IEA WEO 2021 message to COP26: 40% of clean energy goals will cut costs

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The IEA’s latest World Energy Outlook was published on Wednesday. This year’s WEO-2021 is released earlier than usual to inform COP26 and, for the first time, is available for free to ensure the widest possible audience. Simon Evans at Carbon Brief offers his summary of the 386-page report, quoting relevant numbers and charts. He first points to the new scenario, Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE), as the IEA’s recognition that this is what … [Read more...]

Energy professionals: do you understand how the media works?

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We energy professionals spend most of our time talking to each other. But, more than ever, climate change and the energy transition are headline news. That’s not just in the mainstream media but also within our industry journals and the policy-maker press. So, we need to understand how the media works. More specifically for many, we need to know how to handle our PR providers. Sean Crowley says it’s up to us to work more effectively with the … [Read more...]

Next German government’s climate and energy plans: what will Olaf Scholz do?

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Olaf Scholz led Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) to an unexpected win in the 2021 elections held in September. He now needs to finalise a coalition with the Green Party and the pro-business FDP before forming a government and becoming chancellor. Like his predecessor Angela Merkel, Scholz has said he wants to become a "climate chancellor". Kerstine Appunn and Benjamin Wehrmann at Clean Energy Wire try to understand what his climate and energy … [Read more...]

Appliances and Equipment Efficiency Standards: energy savings rival total Wind & Solar generation

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Don’t underestimate the effect of Energy Efficiency Standards and Labelling (EES&L) programmes for appliances and equipment, says the IEA. In other words, the gradual tightening of efficiency rules for things like refrigerators, ACs, TVs, washing machines, cookers, vending machines and other electronics. In the nine countries and regions measured (including the U.S., the EU and China), EES&L programmes reduced electricity consumption by … [Read more...]