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TODAY'S CLIMATE AND ENERGY HEADLINES

Briefing date 28.03.2023
Australia takes historic step towards making big polluters accountable for emissions

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News.

Australia takes historic step towards making big polluters accountable for emissions
The Independent Read Article

Australia has made progress towards implementing new reforms to its “safeguard mechanism”, which would “force” the country’s 215 largest polluting facilities to decarbonise over time, the Independent reports. According to the online newspaper, the mechanism is “essential to Australia reaching its target of reducing its emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by the end of the decade”. Climate Home News says the reforms passed Australia’s lower house on Monday after the Labor party stuck a “key deal” with the Greens party. The outlet continues: “Weeks of talks with the Greens Party, whose support is needed in the upper house Senate, yielded changes including a hard total emissions cap, ministerial review for projects that raise total emissions and compulsory disclosures for polluters that rely heavily on carbon offsets to meet their targets. The updated legislation requires all new gas projects in the Beetaloo Basin to have net-zero carbon emissions and new gas fields supplying existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants to have net zero reservoir emissions, imposing new costs. This does not include the emissions from customers burning the gas.” The Guardian reports that Greens leader Adam Band took credit for “a big hit on coal and gas”, saying that the reforms could “effectively block” half of 116 proposed new fossil fuel projects. The Conversation says that, under the hard emissions cap, Australia’s energy minister will decide whether to permit new fossil fuel projects using advice from the Climate Change Authority on projected gross emissions. But it adds that the deal “falls short of the main concession the Greens originally demanded from Labor – an outright ban on new gas and coal projects”. The Daily Mail adds: “The government is seeking to pass the mechanism through parliament this week so the reforms can be in place by July.” The Sydney Morning Herald also covers the story.

In comment, Adam Morton, the Guardian’s climate and environment editor for Australia, says the deal is “not perfect”, but is “an improvement”. He says the deal will implement a “five-year rolling limit” on CO2 emissions from the country’s 215 biggest polluting sites – meaning that “annual targets cannot be met by companies collectively increasing pollution and then relying on offsets”. But he calls Bandt’s claim that the measure could stop half of the 116 possible fossil fuel developments “a stretch”, because “quite a lot of those projects were unlikely to go ahead anyway as they would not be economically viable”. He adds that several measures in the bill will “require action from the climate change minister of the day”. For example, he says: “For new fossil fuel developments, there is also a specific requirement that if a project that emits more than 100,000 tonnes a year is approved under environment laws, the climate minister will have to assess whether it is consistent with the goal of bringing down industrial emissions under the safeguard.” He continues: “On offsets, there are still no limits on how companies meet their goals. The deal requires companies that use carbon credits equivalent to more than 30% of their emissions limit to give a statement on why they have not made more onsite cuts. It also demands that forest regeneration projects not be allowed to generate more carbon credits until they have been checked and have complied with the methodology.” And Guardian Australia reporter Paul Karp says the mechanism gives both Labor and the Greens a win: “Expect to hear these lines all the way to the election: ‘we tried to stop new coal and gas and they wouldn’t let us’ from the Greens; ‘Labor has caved to the Greens, hobbled our industries and hurt households’ from the Coalition. In the meantime, a deal is a win for the government, which somehow continues to find a way on climate change despite sky-high demands.”

In other Australian news, the Guardian reports that the president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions will make a speech today calling on the government to provide retraining, redeployment and compensation programmes for workers exiting the fossil fuel sector.

EU countries poised to approve 2035 phaseout of CO2-emitting cars
Reuters Read Article

EU energy ministers are “set to give final approval [today] to the bloc’s law to end sales of new CO2-emitting cars in 2035”, Reuters reports. The newswire notes that the vote comes three weeks later than planned, after Germany’s transport ministry lodged a last-minute opposition. It adds: “​​The European Commission struck a deal with Germany over the weekend to resolve the row, by offering assurances that combustion engine cars that only run on e-fuels will be exempted from the 2035 ban.” Separately, the outlet says the exemption “was criticised by climate campaigners”, while carmakers say it is “too costly, rushed and unnecessary”. Bloomberg also covers the story.

In other European news, Reuters reports that the EU has reached a provisional deal on “the deployment of more service stations for cars running on electricity and alternative fuels”. Elsewhere, the newswire says the EU “plans to conduct early carbon market auctions, starting from July, to raise extra funds to help countries quit Russian gas and cut emissions”. Separately, Bloomberg reports that the EU “is targeting a way to let member states have the option to effectively ban Russian shipments of liquefied natural gas without implementing new energy sanctions”.

Finally, Reuters reports on the first-ever climate case to be put before the European Court of Human Rights, in which more than 2,000 “elderly women” are suing the Swiss government for their “climate lockdown”. It says: “The submission, set to be followed by two more this year, could result in an emissions cut order that goes beyond even the 2015 Paris Agreement commitments, setting an important precedent.” Separately, the newswire says: “In a sign of its importance, eight other governments (Romania, Latvia, Austria, Slovakia, Norway, Italy, Portugal and Ireland) have joined the case.”

UK: Miliband fears ‘boulevard of broken dreams’ from government’s ‘Green Day’ plans
The Independent Read Article

Ahead of “green day” – a series of government announcements on energy security that are expected on Thursday – the Independent reports that shadow net-zero secretary Ed Miliband has urged the government to “scrap the ban on onshore wind farms and invest in making Britain’s homes more energy efficient”. The newspaper says that Miliband has also “called for more support from the environmental movement for specific clean energy projects”. The Daily Telegraph reports that Labour “has pledged to copy Joe Biden’s green plan through a new policy package that will involve huge public spending”. It adds that Miliband “sought to defend the US president’s controversial Inflation Reduction Act as he prepared to unveil Labour’s British version of the package”. According to the paper, Miliband is expected to give a speech on Wednesday, when he will say: “As the US and Europe speed off into the distance in the global race for green industry, we are sitting back in the changing rooms moaning about the rules.” The Guardian reports that, in the speech, Miliband is expected to urge the government to “stop moaning” about the IRA. It adds that he “will set out how the party’s green prosperity plan will deliver a multi-billion investment by government and businesses to drive jobs in green industries”. Meanwhile, CityAM reports that Miliband “has backed a campaign to scrap environmental impact assessments,” which includes a bid to build wind turbines and solar panels alongside a full-scale deployment of small modular reactors.

Elsewhere, the Guardian reports that UK energy firms forcibly installed 94,000 prepayment meters into peoples’ homes last year. Scottish Power, British Gas and Ovo responsible for 70% of forced installations, the Daily Mail adds. The Daily Telegraph reports that Scottish Power was the “worst offender”. Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph reports that the Energy Bill, which is set to appear in the House of Lords on Tuesday, grants gas distribution networks the same powers of entry used to force-fit prepayment meters. It adds: “A peer who helped draft the UK’s Climate Change Act has described forcing households to accept hydrogen boilers as a ‘potentially dangerous and expensive experiment’ amid a mounting Lords rebellion over the plans.”

In other UK news, BBC News covers a new report which finds that investment in North Sea oil and gas is falling, thanks to “the energy windfall tax, political uncertainty and increased costs”. And Reuters reports that “windfall taxes mean oil and gas producers in the British North Sea will likely leave 500m barrels of oil equivalent in the ground over the next decade”. 

Saudi Aramco boosts China investment with two refinery deals
Reuters Read Article

Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s largest oil companies, has “raised its multi-billion dollar investment” in China by “finalising and upgrading a planned joint venture in northeast China” and “acquiring an expanded stake in a privately controlled petrochemical group”, reports Reuters. The two deals, announced “separately” over the past two days, the newswire adds, would see Aramco “supplying the two Chinese companies with a combined 690,000 barrels a day of crude oil, bolstering its rank as China’s top provider of the commodity”. Aramco says it has “agreed to acquire a 10% stake in privately controlled Rongsheng Petrochemical Co for about $3.6bn”, the outlet notes. The company adds that the deal includes the “supply of 480,000 bpd of crude oil to Rongsheng-controlled Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp (ZPC) for 20 years”, the article adds. Caixin Global, the Financial Times and Bloomberg also cover the news. Bloomberg opinion columnist Javier Blaus writes: “Beijing keeps saying it will hit peak consumption in 2030. But Aramco deals may mean the apex will be many more millions of tons than predicted.” Separately, Reuters writes that China Energy Engineering, a state-owned energy conglomerate, has “proposed the construction of a 1,000MW (megawatts) floating solar plant” on Zimbabwe’s Kariba dam “at a cost of nearly $1bn”.

Meanwhile, China Dialogue has an article by Zhang Shuwei, the chief economist at Draworld Environment Research Center (Beijing). He writes: “In China, a significant part of new generation capacity is not connected to the local grid so does not substitute for existing generation. Quite a lot of China’s wind and solar expansion through its new energy bases is in the country’s western regions, which are less populated, less economically developed, and have less demand for power.” He continues: “Renewable generation is bundled with new or existing coal power and sent via dedicated ultra-high-voltage (UHV) transmission lines to eastern coastal provinces. Provisions for renewable energy development in the 14th five year plan, China’s policy blueprint for 2021-25, required that renewables account for no less than 50% of the ‘hydro, wind, solar and coal’ mix.” He concludes: “Those arrangements meant investment in renewables triggered a net expansion in coal power; in other words, without that wind and solar investment, the associated coal power construction and generation would not have happened.”

In other news, the Hong Kong-based Asia Times has published a comment piece by Zhongxiang Zhang, director of the China Academy of Energy, Environmental and Industrial Economics at Tianjin University. He writes: “China and the international community will need to work together toward the shared goal of global decarbonisation. By ensuring countries stick to the commitments made in the Paris Agreement and unlocking financial resources to advance the transition to renewable energy and carbon-free technologies, China, in concert with the international community, can help ensure that the Paris Agreement’s goals remain within reach.” S&P Global Commodity Insights carries a comment piece by Anupam Chatterjee and Pritish Raj. They write: “China’s growing energy needs on the back of a post-Covid economic recovery has put the spotlight on coal, but whether it will come from higher imports or a more aggressive domestic production remains debatable.” They add: “While some analysts believe that rising domestic output will be sufficient to cater to the coal requirements this year, others think that an increase in imports is inevitable.” Finally, Australia’s Sky News promotes the views of serial climate-sceptic commentator Andrew Bolt, who tries to claim that global warming is China’s “secret weapon” to “dominate” the west.

UK: Company behind Poole oil leak has a long record of leaks and pollution incidents
The i newspaper Read Article

There is continuing UK media coverage of Sunday’s oil spill in Dorset’s Poole Harbour which released around 200 barrels of reservoir fluid. The i newspaper reveals that Perenco – the oil and gas company responsible for the leak – has a history of at least three pollution incidents spanning ten years. The outlet says: “In March 2013, the plant discharged around 560kg of gas and 13,600 litres of crude oil and produced water as a spray. The incident covered 10,800 square metres of land. According to an Environment Agency report, seen by i, the leak occurred after an electrical fault of incorrectly installed equipment, and an inadequate risk assessment, led to a build-up of pressure.” It adds that the plant was meant to be shut in 2016, but Peremco gained an extension until 2037. BBC News covers warnings from environmental charities and experts that the oil spill “could have a long-term impact on nature reserves in the area”. The Independent reports that, according to the RSPB, “oiled birds” were spotted around Poole harbour. The Times says the timing of the spill “is worrying for conservationists because birds are gathering for breeding”. Meanwhile, the Financial Times says the UK government has promised a “full investigation” into the causes of the spill. It adds that environment minister Rebecca Pow has promised MPs that the government is taking the incident “extremely seriously”. The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mirror are among other outlets covering the story.

Comment.

COP veteran: Three suggestions for the new Loss and Damage fund
Saleemul Huq, Climate Home News Read Article

Saleemul Huq, the director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development, has given three suggestions for how to develop a fund on loss and damage. He notes that the Transitional Committee on funding loss and damage “will have its first meeting in March in Egypt”, adding that it will meet three times before COP28 in Dubai in December. Huq’s first suggestion is to not operate on “UNFCC time”, but instead to act with “urgency”. He adds: “Do not make ‘perfect’ the enemy of ‘good enough’! An imperfect fund that starts to operate quickly is better than waiting years for the first dollar to be delivered.” His second suggestion is to partner with “experienced actors”, such as the Red Cross or World Food Programme. And the third is for the Transitional Committee to “become the main voice and explainer of what loss and damage entails”.

In other comment, climate campaigning veteran Bill McKibben has penned an opinion piece in the Guardian under the headline: “Older people like me need to start protesting for our planet.” He says last week’s IPCC report “didn’t have the effect it should have had, or that its authors clearly intended” and suggests that the reason is “a disconnect between the dire words of the report and the actions most people feel they can effectively take”. He adds: “I’m proud to be part of Third Act, a climate activist organisation for people over the age of 60.” Elsewhere, the Daily Telegraph has published an editorial under the headline: “The foolishness of the energy windfall tax has now been proven.” It argues that, in pursuit of net-zero, successive governments have “deliberately presided over the decline in North Sea extraction in order to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions while switching to renewables”, even though oil and gas are “still needed”. It concludes: “Even though Labour has denounced the government for not taxing the sector enough, the overall rate imposed on North Sea operators has almost doubled from 40% to 75% in just 10 months. The windfall tax will remain in place until 2028 – even as prices drop. Moreover, a Labour government would backdate and raise the tax, remove most allowances and restrict further exploration. The short-sightedness of this approach is breathtaking.”

Science.

Trophic rewilding can expand natural climate solutions
Nature Climate Change Read Article

A new “perspective” paper argues that the role animals play in controlling the carbon cycle is “undervalued” in the assessment of natural climate solutions. The researchers “present scientific evidence showing that protecting and restoring wild animals and their functional roles can enhance natural carbon capture and storage”. For example, animals with medium-to-large bodies have a range of functional roles, the authors say, including “seed dispersal that supports the germination of large-seeded trees with carbon-dense wood, herbivory that reduces plant competition and the enhancement of soil nutrient supply and organic carbon storage”. The authors “call for new thinking that includes the restoration and conservation of wild animals and their ecosystem roles as a key component of natural climate solutions that can enhance the ability to prevent climate warming beyond 1.5C”.

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