Concentration of CO2 in the Atmosphere
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Headline News:
- “New England’s Decades-Old Shrimp Fishery, A Victim Of Climate Change, To Remain Closed Indefinitely” • In New England, the shrimp business fell victim to warming waters in 2013 because of a moritorium by regulators. A healthy shimp population needs cold water. The moratorium will remain in place indefinitely, fishery regulators ruled. [ABC News]
- “COP28 Host UAE To Ramp Up National Oil Production” • United Arab Emirates, the country hosting COP28 climate talks aimed at cutting fossil fuel emissions is massively ramping up its own oil production, the BBC has learned. Should this surprise us? Sultan al-Jaber, the president of COP28, is also the chief executive of the UAE’s state oil firm Adnoc. [BBC]
- “Record-Low EV Battery Prices In 2023” • Thanks to a variety of factors, lithium-ion battery packs are at record low prices. After dropping 14%, they are down to $139/kWh. The steep price drop and record low average price come on the heels of price increases in 2022 that had brought battery prices back to 2020 levels. The world changes fast. [CleanTechnica]
- “Lower US CO₂ Emissions Due In Part To Shifts In Power Generation Sources” • A forecast by the US Energy Information Administration is for the US energy sector to emit about 4,790 million metric tons of CO₂ in 2023, a 3% decrease from 2022. Much of this decline results from lower electricity generation from coal-fired power plants. [CleanTechnica]
- “New Jersey Plans To Restart Offshore Wind In 2024 After ‘Bump In The Road’” • The Governor of New Jersey is looking to restart the state’s offshore wind programs reiterating that it is committed to offshore wind as a key component of its renewable energy program. The state is commitment to having 100% clean energy by 2035. [The Maritime Executive]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.
Headline News:
- “Vestas 15-MW Prototype Certified” • Vestas has received a type certificate for its V236-15MW offshore wind turbine. The turbine manufacturer installed the first prototype unit at the beginning of the year. After reaching it nominal power rating of 15 MW in April, the turbine broke the world record for power produced by one turbine in a 24-hour period – 363 MWh. [reNews]
 Vestas prototype turbine (Vestas image)
- “Why Hold UN Climate Talks 28 Times? Do The Talks Even Matter?” • The Conference of Parties process gives every nation in the world, whether rich or poor, large or small, a seat at the table to discuss how climate change is impacting them and how they believe the world should confront it. And ultimately, COP is the only game in town. [ABC News]
- “The Global Impact of Renewable Electricity On Energy Security and Economy” • According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, the adoption of renewable energy sources in 2022 resulted in a remarkable $521 billion saving, primarily by reducing the reliance on expensive fossil-fuel imports. [EnergyPortal.eu]
- “COP28: Poor Countries Win 30-Year Fight For Climate Cash” • In a surprise, COP28 delegates agreed to launch a long-awaited fund to pay for damage from storms and drought worsened by climate change. Such deals are normally sealed last minute after days of negotiations, but COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber put the decision on the floor on day one. [BBC]
- “Renewable Energy Power In China Reached Record High” • Installed capacity of China’s renewable energy power generation surpassed 1.4 billion kilowatts (1,400 GW) as of end-October, accounting for 49.9% of the country’s total, according to the National Energy Administration. This marks a year-on-year growth of 20.8%. [China Daily]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.
reprinted from Bloomberg Green – Bloomberg
By Victoria Cuming
With tens of thousands of delegates planning to attend this year’s UN climate summit in Dubai, there’s expected to be a flood of new pledges, projects and initiatives announced. It’ll be easy to lose focus on the most important task at hand: Nearly 200 countries have 13 days to reach a new, unanimous agreement on how to tackle climate change.
To help cut through the noise, BloombergNEF has identified 10 areaswhere governments need to make headway at COP28 in order to take a meaningful step toward the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Each area is scored out of 10 based on expected level of progress in Dubai and assigned a weighting based on importance and urgency. Overall, COP28 is expected to score just 3.9 out of 10, marking a slight increase (0.3 points) since BloombergNEF’s report published on Nov. 2.
 Top of the agenda this year will be the first formal “stocktake” on global progress toward the Paris targets. It’s pretty much a fait accompli that the technical assessment will make for depressing reading, as parties’ current targets are most likely not enough to limit the increase in global average temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels by end of the century. If countries achieve their existing climate plans, warming this century could be as much as 2.8C, based on the latest UN analysis. So the pressure is on for parties in Dubai to agree on bold, specific recommendations that drive governments to ratchet up their climate commitments by 2025. If history is anything to go by, the recommendations will probably be more tentative than bold, meaning BloombergNEF scores this part of the process just 1 out of 10.
Read More: What Is COP28 and Why Is It Important?
At the other extreme, the most likely area to yield progress in Dubai is a package of commitments to further the energy transition. This is expected to include a pledge to triple global renewables capacity by 2030, though it could be watered down, as seen at the Group-of-20 summit. With over 60 countries now pushing for this target to be included in the COP28 decision, the score for this metric has risen to 8 out of 10 — two points more than in BloombergNEF’s Nov. 2 report.
In practice, tripling renewables by 2030 will be hard but achievable based on a recent BloombergNEF report. Meeting such a target would require a doubling of the rate of renewables investment to an average of $1.18 trillion per year through 2030, compared with $564 billion in 2022. It would also entail nearly three times as much power-grid investment in 2030 as was spent in 2022, and deploying 16.1 times as many batteries by the end of the decade as were installed at the end of last year.
 The most contentious topic at COP28 will likely be finance. Yet BNEF considers it relatively likely — 7 out of 10 — that developed nations will make good on their 2009 pledge to annually provide $100 billion in climate finance to developing economies. They may have missed the original 2020 deadline, but data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed that developed countries had provided $89.6 billion in 2021 and that the $100 billion goal looks likely to have been met last year. Delivering on this commitment should start to rebuild trust between developed and developing economies. Ultimately that trust could convince some burgeoning emitters to increase their climate targets.
One of the areas where parties are expected to make only modest progress in Dubai is the new global carbon offset mechanism known as “Article 6.4.” Article 6 of the Paris Agreement covers how parties can cooperate to achieve their climate commitments and is the only part of the pact that directly engages with the private sector. In particular, Article 6.4 establishes the market mechanism that enables governments and companies to trade carbon credits. Unlike voluntary CO2 markets, Article 6.4 will be overseen by a UN supervisory body comprising parties to the Paris Agreement and is meant to be more robust in terms of delivering actual environmental benefits.
It was a close call at COP27 as to whether negotiators would reach any form of agreement on Article 6.4. However, the eventual deal deferred many issues to COP28, and the supervisory body has made little headway in its meetings this year. As a result, there is a 3-out-of-10 chance that countries can resolve all the outstanding issues in Dubai for an environmentally robust mechanism to be ready to launch in early 2024.
To give an idea of how the talks are going, BloombergNEF will update the scores for the 10 areas throughout COP28 when there are significant developments. Then once the summit is over, we will assess to what extent parties were able to achieve meaningful progress, or whether it ends up being another damp squib as seen at climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh last year.
Read more of BloombergNEF’s analysis on this year’s climate summit via the COP28 theme page.
Some may say that books are a thing of the past, but at COVER, books are building community.
COVER has been fostering hope and building community for 25 years by bringing together volunteers and trained staff to complete urgent home repairs for low-income homeowners in the Upper Valley. COVER also operates a reuse store in downtown White River Junction that resells building materials and household goods at affordable prices, to help fund its home repair program.
Cover to COVER Books is COVER’s newest enterprise at 158 South Main Street in downtown White River Junction and will open its doors on Friday, December 1. Cover to COVER Books will accept and sell quality used and new books in a neighborhood that lacks a bookstore and town library.
More importantly, the bookstore will further COVER’s mission of “fostering hope and building community.” Although COVER’s home repair program is known for building and repairing ramps, porches and roofs, COVER’s mission is to foster hope and build community by strengthening community ties – between strangers who may meet on a repair jobsite or in the COVER store, and now at Cover to COVER Books. A bookstore can be an inviting space (books don’t judge!) where folks can linger without feeling rushed out the door. Everyone will be welcome regardless of their age, income or how they look to browse through a curated collection of books and perhaps find a book or two to take home.
Cover to COVER Books will be run primarily through volunteers who are devoted to books, different forms of literature and how reading can expand one’s world. Our volunteers are community members who perhaps were not able to or interested in volunteering on a home repair site, but found a sense of community through volunteering at Cover to COVER Books. If you would like to join this community of volunteers, qualifying and sorting donations or staffing the bookstore, please email Jen Roby at jen@coverhomerepair.org or visit https://coverhomerepair.org/volunteer/.
A Cover to COVER Books volunteer, Peter Money, who is also a publisher and library director shares: “Personally, volunteering at Cover to COVER Books offers a chance to be with my community in a way that is mutually supportive. Every village should have at least one used-book store, in my estimation…. I feel good about putting the best books we can find on the shelf for just the right reader. We know there’s going to be something for everyone to uncover at COVER!”
Ribbon cutting: Friday, December 1, at 11:00, at Cover to COVER Books, 158 South Main Street, White River Junction.
Media contact: Helen Hong at director@coverhomerepair.org or 802-296-7241 ext 5.
COP28: UN Climate Talks Have a Surprisingly Smooth Start
Notes from the ground
The COP28 climate summit could have hardly had a better start.
Delegates from nearly 200 countries agreed on details for running a new fund designed to help vulnerable countries deal with more extreme weather stoked by global warming. It’s a major breakthrough, coming just a year after countries first agreed to set up a loss and damage fund.
Countries almost immediately began pledging money to start the program. COP28 host, the United Arab Emirates, said it would contribute $100 million, alongside an identical offering from Germany, $50 million from the United Kingdom and $10 million from Japan. The US also said it would provide $17.5 million to the fund — which, interestingly, has yet to get a proper name.
One major hurdle still remains, however. Developed countries have called on high emitting, yet not fully developed, nations — chiefly China and Saudi Arabia — to also contribute. The UAE’s pledge toward the fund may be seen as a symbolic acknowledgement that the divide between the developed and developing world is very different from when the COP process started three decades ago.
The first day at COP28 also managed to avoid a fight over the agenda for the two weeks of negotiations, which frequently mars such summits. The EU dropped its push to get an item on aligning all financial flows to the goals of the Paris Agreement. In return, Brazil, China, South Africa and India abandoned their call to debate unilateral trade measures like the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism.
The most heated point today may have been an exchange between Russia and the US over the George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and the National Democratic Institute. A delegate for Russia accused the NGOs of interfering with the affairs of sovereign states and said their presence at COP harmed negotiations. John Kerry, US special presidential envoy for climate, responded by saying that there was no basis to question the climate credentials of the two non-profits.
And of course, key challenges remain: getting nearly 200 countries to agree on how to slash emissions by nearly 50% this decade, which includes consensus on the phase out of fossil fuels. At the end of the summit, that’s how the COP Presidency will be judged.
Headline News:
- “US Discovers Lithium Bonanza For EV Batteries Right In Its Own Backyard” • The DOE released the results of an analysis of Salton Sea lithium resources by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Direct Lithium Extraction technology could lead to production of more than 3,400 kilotons of lithium, enough for over 375 million EV batteries. [CleanTechnica]
 Mudpots at the southeastern end of the Salton Sea (Deborah Bergfeld, USGS)
- “GOP Bill Would Pull Farmland Tax Credits From Farmers Hosting Solar Power Installations” • Farm fields with solar PVs would no longer qualify for state tax credits under a Republican bill. GOP lawmakers claim it’s about protecting farmland from “nonsense” renewable projects, and Wisconsin should pursue nuclear energy instead. [Wisconsin Public Radio]
- “‘One Of The World’s Largest’: Battery Farm To Be The First Project Funded By Victoria’s Resurrected Electricity Agency” • A battery farm that can power 200,000 homes was announced as the first project funded by the Victorian government’s State Electricity Commission. The project’s 600 MW of capacity will be in three battery components. [The Guardian]
- “’Ghost Forests’ Threaten New Jersey’s Water, Ecosystem” • Acres of “ghost forests” have been popping up in southern New Jersey, as an increase of saltwater in the soil has been killing what remains of the Atlantic white cedar trees that populate the area. Climate change events and logging created a situation where the soil lost its fresh water, experts say. [ABC News]
- “Fervo Energy Revs Up Its First Geothermal Generating Station” • Fervo Energy is using the horizontal drilling perfected by the oil and gas industry to access regions where it is hot enough to make superheated steam for generating electricity. The drilling can be expensive, but once a heat source is tapped, free energy can be had for years. [CleanTechnica]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.
Headline News:
- “New Biden Rule Requires States To Track CO₂ Emissions” • Last week, the Biden administration finalized a rule requiring states to track greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. The new rule requires each state’s DOT to establish declining carbon emissions targets using fuel sales, fuel efficiency, and vehicle-miles-traveled data. [CleanTechnica]
 Tractor-trailer (Daphne Fecheyr, Unsplash)
- “Vermont Environmentalists Push For More Aggressive Clean-Energy Goals ” • Climate activists gathered at the Vermont Statehouse to push lawmakers to require utilities to get more of their power from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Members of 350Vermont argued that Vermont’s renewable energy is lagging behind other states’. [Seven Days]
- “Governor Hochul Announces More Than Two Gigawatts Of Community Solar Has Been Installed In New York” • Governor Kathy Hochul announced that more than 2 GW of community solar has been installed in New York, enough to serve 393,000 homes, reaffirming the State’s position as the top community solar market in the US. [Governor Kathy Hochul]
- “Groundbreaking Transatlantic Flight Using Greener Fuel Lands” • The first transatlantic flight by a large passenger plane powered only by alternative fuels has landed. Operated by Virgin Atlantic, it flew from London’s Heathrow to New York’s JFK airport. It would be challenging for similar commercial flights to happen because of lack of fuel. [BBC]
- “Beam Global Is Ramping Up Rollout Of Its Off-Grid Solar-Powered EV Charging Infrastructure” • Beam Global came into being because a charging station can have big enough power needs that new power lines have to be put in, even where utility power are nearby. It can be cheaper to put in a battery system for a solar-powered charging station. [CleanTechnica]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.
Today is Giving Tuesday – a critical chance to support people and organizations working to improve our world. With your support, we can make our planet cleaner and our communities healthier. Please support GREEN ENERGY TIMES today by making a donation – and know that a gift of $1,000, $100, or $25 can make a difference! Thank you for you kind generosity.
Headline News:
- “Moving energy” • The renewable energy future starts with the political leadership. Once a leader in New England in the energy transition off of fossil fuels, Vermont is now the only state in the region to not have updated its renewables requirement in the last eight years as the reality of the costs of the climate crisis have sunk in. [Rutland Herald]
- “Lightning And Hailstorms Kill 24 In Western India” • At least 24 people have been killed by lightning, hailstorms, and intense rain in the Indian state of Gujarat, officials said. Such storms are unusual in the state during winter. Scientists have been warning that rising global temperatures are fuelling a surge in extreme weather events. [BBC]
- “YouTube’s Loaded With EV Disinformation” • YouTube seems to be full of anti-EV material. One popular channel has several very similar videos about different manufacturers supposedly giving up entirely on EVs. There was a number of straight out lies and blatant misinformation in the video. And it is not the only channel like this. [CleanTechnica]
- “How Morocco Became Europe’s Clean Energy Supplier” • Morocco is quickly positioning itself as a potential supplier of renewable energy to energy-hungry Europe. Although Morocco is not as well endowed with oil and gas as its neighbors, it has managed to develop a vibrant solar energy sector by taking advantage of year-round sunshine. [Oil Price]
- “City Of Boston Announces Community Choice Electricity Rates” • The City of Boston encouraged all customers to choose BCCE as their electricity supplier. New rates will be in effect from December 2023 to December 2025 using Direct Energy as the contracted supplier. The renewable energy cost less than Basic Service Rate from Eversource. [Boston.gov]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.
Report: U.S. energy sector reaches turning point on transmission
Report from Troutman Pepper law firm identifies alignment of federal planning and state siting and permitting processes as key to solving age-old transmission problem.
FERC reforms and DOE funding opportunities also promise incremental gains.
Market actors call for greater efficiency in interconnection and permitting processes, as well as support to address skills gaps, supply chain shortages, and consumer costs.
New York, USA, 27th November 2023 – The stars may finally be aligning to enable the build out of significant new transmission capacity in the U.S. energy market, according to the latest industry insight report from law firm Troutman Pepper.
The report, Unlocking U.S. Transmission Upgrades – Are We On The Cusp of Real Progress?, launched today, reflects upon the views of a range of market actors seeking to plan, build or benefit from new transmission infrastructure. It argues that recent legislative reforms, funding opportunities, and improved state-federal coordination have created an opportunity for energy companies and regulators to converge on solutions and remove long-standing roadblocks to new transmission.
Chris Jones, Partner at Troutman Pepper, explained: “The traditional gap between federal planning standards and state siting and permitting processes has unquestionably impeded efforts to upgrade U.S. transmission infrastructure. But there are signs these previously divergent processes can begin pulling in the same direction. If the energy sector and its regulators are able to seize the moment, we could see a step change in building out the low carbon grid the U.S. so urgently needs.”
Having interviewed transmission experts tasked with delivering transmission upgrades, as well as energy companies dependent upon their success, the report finds four major obstacles to progress:
- Planning: The unpredictability of interconnection queues remains a severe headache for project developers. But transmission planners also suffer from the uncertainty created by speculative generation projects.
- Permitting: Without a major streamlining of processes across state and federal jurisdictions, grid upgrades simply take too long to permit.
- Practicalities: A shortage of skilled people and essential equipment threaten to present future pinch points unless addressed today.
- Paying for upgrades: The build-out of new transmission capacity is capital-intensive and the industry will need to clearly communicate the benefits while passing a fair proportion of cost to consumer bills.
Despite these obstacles, the report finds that recent and ongoing regulatory reforms paint a compelling case for optimism:
- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is seeking to increase certainty for transmission planners, most notably through its recent rule, Order No.2023.
- Federal Government is looking to boost FERC’s leadership role, with the notion of one agency in overall charge being well supported on Capitol Hill.
- The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act have both provided legislative vehicles to stimulate multi-agency coordination, backed up by a raft of new programs, initiatives, and grants from DOE.
- FERC has begun to engage with state policymakers and regulators, most notably through the ‘Joint Federal-State Task Force on Electric Transmission’.
Bridging the traditional gap between planning and permitting holds the key to unlocking U.S. transmission upgrades. Having found this to be well underway, the report concludes that, with a continued commitment to coordination from all parties, the prospects for a low carbon U.S. grid may never have been higher.
Unlocking U.S. Transmission Upgrades: Are We On The Cusp of Real Progress? can be downloaded here.
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