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TODAY'S CLIMATE AND ENERGY HEADLINES

Briefing date 05.01.2023
MPs demand ‘war effort’ to insulate chilly homes and wean UK off fossil fuels

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News.

MPs demand 'war effort' to insulate chilly homes and wean UK off fossil fuels
The Daily Mirror Read Article

A “war effort” mobilisation is needed in the UK to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels, insulate homes and address rising energy costs, according to a new report by the Environmental Audit Committee covered by the Daily Mirror and many other national outlets. The cross-party group of MPs concludes that the UK has been left exposed to high energy prices because the UK remains dependent on oil, gas, and coal for 78% of its energy needs, the newspaper continues. It also adds that there are “significant gaps” in No 10’s energy security strategy, published following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. BBC News reports that the committee concludes a “window of opportunity” was missed last summer to get more homes insulated, and says more money should be spent on this with a target of 2.5m home upgrades each year by 2030. Other outlets, including the Daily Mail, also lead on the issue of the UK’s “draughty homes”. The committee recommended that money raised from a windfall tax on oil-and-gas companies should be directed towards this effort, with all homes upgraded to band C in energy efficiency, the newspaper notes. While the government has in theory committed to such a target, the report says this was “vague and unspecific” without “appropriate interim targets”, the i newspaper states. The Daily Telegraph leads its coverage of the report with the recommendation that the government “should consider cutting motorway speed limits to 64mph to reduce transport emissions and dependence on oil imports”. According to the Guardian, the report also “called for onshore windfarms to be rapidly rolled out, for solar panels to be required on new buildings and for the government to set a date to end the licensing of new oil and gas fields”. Despite the urgency stressed by MPs in the report, the Financial Times notes that “in his first big speech as prime minister on Wednesday, Rishi Sunak did not include tackling climate change in his five ‘people’s priorities’”.

US: California governor declares state of emergency ahead of winter storms
The Hill Read Article

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency yesterday as the Golden State braces for winter storms, reports the Hill. The declaration comes as weather forecasts indicate heavy rain and snow in coming days, the outlet says: “Late December and last weekend, the state saw two so-called atmospheric rivers, long, narrow corridors of vapour that bring high winds and flooding.” In a state of emergency, Newsom is able to mobilise the National Guard, the outlet says, while the state has “also secured equipment and personnel to quickly respond to disasters such as flash flooding, avalanches and mud flows”. Axios says the atmospheric river “associated with a bomb cyclone is producing heavy rains, damaging winds and a significant amount of mountain snowfall in California”. It adds that “multiple subsequent disturbances [are] set to spin up across the North Pacific in the coming weeks”. Storms have already left more than 76,000 customers in the San Francisco Bay Area and nearly 19,000 more along the Central Coast without power, reports Le Monde, which adds that “dozens of flights out of San Francisco were cancelled, and schools in one of the city’s suburbs preemptively cancelled Thursday classes”. State leaders are also telling people to stay off the roads, says Bloomberg. The New York Times reports that California is “facing questions about whether its approach to handling crippling storms is suited to 21st-century climate threats”. It says: “For decades, federal and state planners built dams and levees in California to store water and keep it at bay. But as climate change increases the risk of stronger and more destructive storms – like the one that was battering Northern California on Wednesday – experts and some policymakers are urging another approach: giving rivers room to overflow.” The Independent and Reuters also have the story.

Whitehaven coal mine: Friends of the Earth to launch legal fight
BBC News Read Article

The environmental NGO Friends of the Earth is set to take legal action against the UK government over its decision to approve the nation’s first major coal mine in more than 40 years, BBC News reports. They argue that levelling-up secretary Michael Gove “acted unlawfully” and “failed to account for the significant climate impacts” when he approved the project in Cumbria last month, the article continues. The move follows a report in the Times newspaper yesterday that local group the South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC) group is also considering legal action against the mine, as BusinessGreen notes. It says the group has written to Gove to seek more information about how planning permission was granted. The Daily Telegraph quotes Friends of the Earth lawyer Niall Toru, who says that as the mine is supposed to serve the steel industry, Gove had “failed to account for…how the much-needed move to green steelmaking will be impacted by its approval”. The Independent says that while backers of the project say it will create hundreds of jobs, Toru claims that “just as many jobs” could be secured through a local programme to insulate homes. The NGO’s case could also focus on the signal that the approval of the new coal mine could send to the rest of the world in terms of climate policy, as the Guardian’s coverage mentions.

Meanwhile, the Evening Standard reports that the UK government has been urged by Scottish Greens and environmental groups to stop “climate-wrecking” development plans for the new Rosebank oil field in the North Sea. Norwegian state-controlled company Equinor has submitted proposals to begin production and a final investment decision could be made this year, the Times says. Despite the claims of economic benefits for Scotland from the field, which is located northwest of Shetland, Scottish Greens now say it could hinder efforts to meet net-zero targets.

Finally, the Guardian has a piece titled “why 2023 will be a watershed year for climate litigation”. It says that the past 12 months have already seen some “groundbreaking rulings”, but “2023 could be even more important, with hearings and judgments across the world poised to throw light on the worst perpetrators, give victims a voice and force recalcitrant governments and companies into action”.

UK sales of electric cars overtake diesel for first time
Financial Times Read Article

The sale of new electric cars overtook diesel models in the UK for the first time in 2022, reports the Financial Times, while overall new car sales fell to their lowest level in three decades. According to the annual sales snapshot from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), 1.61m cars were registered in Britain last year, 2% down on 2021 and even lower than the 1.63m registered in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, the paper explains. Continued global supply chain disruption meant that carmakers were unable to meet demand, “leading to the worst year for UK sales since 1992”, it says. However, the car industry “got a boost as car owners continued to switch away in greater numbers from petrol and diesel in favour of battery electric vehicles”, reports the Guardian. It says: “Sales of electric vehicles reached their largest-ever monthly market share in December, accounting for almost a third of all new cars sold. Throughout 2022, electric cars represented almost 17% of sales, surpassing sales of new diesel cars for the first time.” Tesla was the “standout electric performer”, the paper notes, with the US company’s Model Y both the top-selling electric vehicle and in third place on the UK’s top 10 bestsellers list. However, the SMMT has warned that charging infrastructure is not increasing quickly enough to reach the government’s target of having 300,000 by 2030, reports BBC News. Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, tells the outlet: “To get to that 300,000, you need about 100 new charging points to be installed every day until 2030…Current rates, up until the end of quarter three, were about 23 a day. So the danger is the user experience gets worse before it gets better.” The Daily TelegraphIndependent and BusinessGreen all have the story.

Elsewhere, Reuters reports on a new public survey in the US that finds more consumers want to buy an electric vehicle, but are concerned about rising prices, while fewer aimed to purchase gasoline-powered vehicles.

UK: Warm winter set to send energy bills below £3,000 price cap
The Times Read Article

UK household energy bills are “forecast to be hundreds of pounds a year lower than expected in the second half of this year” after a sharp drop in wholesale prices, the Times reports. The newspaper notes that “unusually warm winter weather enabled Europe to maintain healthy levels of gas in storage, easing fears of supply shortages and blackouts”. City AM says that, according to energy analysts Cornwall Insight, household energy bills could drop to around £2,800 per year next winter if gas prices continue to fall. This is £200 per year below the £3,000 rate of the extended energy price guarantee announced by chancellor Jeremy Hunt last year, it continues. The article adds that “potential drop-off could require the government to reconsider how much support and at what level it would give to households”. The Daily Telegraph notes that as it stands the government would “no longer have to shell out billions of pounds on subsidising household bills”. The Financial Times quotes Martin Young of Investec bank, which has made its own forecast of future bills, cautioning that costs for British households would remain high compared to historical levels. “A year ago, a typical bill was £1,277 a year under the price cap,” the newspaper notes. Politico notes that it will be a while before changes in wholesale gas prices show on people’s bills.

Separately, the Press Association reports that Hunt has told business leaders that the current level of energy bill support for companies is “unsustainably expensive”, with a reduced support scheme set to be announced next week. The article notes that this comes “following calls from industry for urgent clarity after the government delayed setting out details that were originally due before the new year”. Reuters adds that the government still intends to provide some support to “avoid a cliff edge” as businesses transition to a “new higher price environment”.

Record warm winter in parts of Europe forces closure of ski slopes
The Guardian Read Article

Europe’s record-breaking warm winter weather has closed ski slopes and forced resorts to open summer trails or shut altogether, reports the Guardian, “as grass and mud replace seasonal snow from Chamonix in France to Innsbruck in Austria”. It continues: “Eight countries across the continent have recorded their warmest January day ever, with temperatures in parts of Switzerland and southern Germany exceeding 20C and 90 monitoring stations in France setting new records over new year. MeteoSwiss, Switzerland’s national weather and climate service, said a mild south-westerly wind combined with a Foehn effect were producing temperatures on the north side of the Alps that were ‘worthy of June’. The Swiss resort of Adelboden, which this weekend hosts a skiing World Cup event on its classic Chuenisbärgli course, has said almost all of this year’s race will be run on artificial snow, with temperatures above freezing even at 2,000 metres (6,500ft).” Reuters also reports on how “snowless slopes” are “spoil[ing] holiday skiing in Switzerland”, while Forbes says that the lack of snow is “leaving many worried about short-term holiday plans and long-term economic impacts in mountainous regions”. The New York TimesIndependent and Reuters all carry reporting of the record-breaking high temperatures across Europe in recent days, while BBC News says that the Met Office has confirmed that 2022 was the UK’s warmest year on record.

Last December India’s warmest in 122 years: IMD
Hindustan Times Read Article

Last month, India recorded its warmest December in 122 years according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Hindustan Times reported. The country’s east, north-east and central regions reported “exceptionally high” December temperatures, in a year where a brutal spring heatwave in March also breached records. IMD experts told Hindustan Times that high winter temperatures in a La Niña year are “unusual”, and that “climate change definitely has a role to play. Climate scientist M Rajeevan said that “global warming has weakened the impact of La Niña” and while “we need to analyse what caused the spike, overall records can be linked to climate change most certainly.”

Meanwhile, in energy news, India’s union cabinet approved its National Green Hydrogen Mission, Down to Earth reports. The mission, approved with an initial financial outlay of ₹19,744cr (£1.9m), aims to “develop green hydrogen production capacity of at least five million metric tonnes (MT)” per annum, add 125GW to India’s installed renewable energy capacity and abate emissions by 50MT of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, said the story. According to the Indian government’s statement, the mission “will result in…cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports over” ₹1 trillion (around £10bn), with a goal of making “India a global hub for production, utilisation and export of green hydrogen and its derivatives”. According to union minister Anurag Thakur, “two types of incentives will be given: on electrolyser manufacturing for five years and incentives on production of green hydrogen”, CNBC reported.

Separately, Reuters reports that India’s electricity regulator ordered that “Indian power plants that rely on imported coal should be fully compensated when forced to supply electricity”. This order, the story says, would “pave the way” for companies like Tata and Adani to “recover losses” and retain a “reasonable profit margin” from an emergency directive issued last year that “forced them to keep operating to avert a power crisis in the country”.

Glencore shareholders demand more clarity on coal plans
Financial Times Read Article

Investors in mining giant Glencore have moved to force greater disclosure on its coal production plans, reports the Financial Times, “as the world’s most profitable miner of the fossil fuel faces questions over its climate impact”. The paper continues: “A group of shareholders including Legal & General Investment Management and HSBC Asset Management has filed a resolution calling for detail on the matter, which will go to vote at Glencore’s annual meeting in May. The resolution asks for ‘disclosure of how the company’s projected thermal coal production aligns with the Paris agreement’s objective . . . to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5C’, and requests information about capital expenditure on coal mines. Glencore is the world’s most profitable listed miner of thermal coal. However, it has adopted climate targets that will eventually curb its coal operations.” Dror Elkayam, global ESG analyst at LGIM, which holds about 1.5% of Glencore’s outstanding shares, tells the FT that the resolution was important to help investors assess risk. He said: “We want to really be able to look under the hood, and evaluate how the company is positioned in the low-carbon environment…We believe there is not sufficient evidence that Glencore’s thermal coal production plans are aligned with the goals of the Paris agreement.“ The Times and Reuters also have the story.

Meanwhile, applying pressure in a different direction, the US state of Kentucky has threatened to divest any shares in 11 financial firms it said had imposed “boycotts” on energy producers and vowed to stop working with them once contracts lapsed, reports the Times. Allison Ball, Kentucky’s Republican state treasurer, said it “doesn’t want to do business” with firms on the list, which includes HSBC, Schroders, BlackRock, Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase, the paper reports. “This is personal,” she said, adding that ditching fossil fuels is “harmful to our economy”.

Comment.

Brazil’s Lula can only succeed through pragmatism
Editorial, Financial Times Read Article

A Financial Times editorial reflects on the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for a third term as Brazilian president after his “remarkable political resurrection”. Lula “inherits a deeply divided and heavily indebted country facing global economic headwinds”, the paper says, and “he is unlikely to benefit from a commodity boom like the one which lifted the economy in his first two terms from 2003-10”. However, “many of Lula’s early moves have been encouraging”, it says: “His determination to restore Brazil’s reputation as a global environmental leader by halting deforestation in the Amazon and protecting its indigenous peoples will be warmly welcomed. So will his commitment to social and racial justice in a highly unequal country.” However, “Lula’s return has not been universally welcomed”, the paper notes: “Financial markets have tumbled as investors fret that the veteran leftist will prove more interventionist and less fiscally responsible than hoped. His dismissal of a constitutional spending cap as a ‘stupidity’ may prove rash. Pledges to use the state-controlled oil company, Petrobras, and the national development bank as engines of economic development recall past failures.” The editorial concludes: “If he is to reconcile the imperatives of social justice, environmental protection and sustainable growth, Lula’s best bet is to harness the power of international investment and foreign trade to unlock Brazil’s considerable economic potential. That would open the way for a truly historic third term.”

In related news, Reuters reports the comments of Brazil’s new environment minister Marina Silva yesterday, who said that Brazil will not shy away from playing a leading role in addressing climate change and the impending emergency the world is facing. Silva “announced the creation of an extraordinary secretary to end deforestation and plans to set up a climate authority within the administration of President Lula da Silva”, the newswire says. In her speech, Silva said: “It won’t happen by magic. We will place the pillars, but we will need resources and partnerships.” Climate Home News reports that, in his first day of office, Lula “signed a package of seven executive orders aimed at controlling deforestation in the Amazon and re-building the country’s environmental institutions”.

Science.

Cost-effective mitigation of nitrogen pollution from global croplands
Nature Read Article

The world can boost crop production while cutting nitrogen pollution a third by taking measures to minimise wastage, a new study finds. The research uses more than 1,500 field observations worldwide to come up with “11 key measures” that can reduce nitrogen losses from cropland by 30-70%, while increasing crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency by 10-30% and 10-80%, respectively. The authors say: “These changes could gain a global societal benefit of $476bn for food supply, human health, ecosystems and climate, with net mitigation costs of only $19bn, of which $15bn fertiliser saving offsets 44% of the gross mitigation cost.”

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