Global CO2 emissions to grow less than 1% this year thanks to renewables – IEA
News
Global CO2 emissions to grow less than 1% this year thanks to renewables – IEA
Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels will rise by less than 1% this year, Reuters reports, citing new analysis from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that points to rapid growth in renewables and electric vehicles. The nearly 300m tonne (MtCO2) increase “could have been much larger…[but] deployment of renewable energy and EVs have kept a lid on the rise in emissions”, the newswire says. It quotes IEA head Fatih Birol saying: “The global energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted a scramble by many countries to use other energy sources to replace the natural gas supplies that Russia has withheld from the market…The encouraging news is that solar and wind are filling much of the gap, with the uptick in coal appearing to be relatively small and temporary.” (Dave Jones of thinktank Ember notes on Twitter that the outlook for coal this year is “very uncertain”, with the potential for a decline in demand this year rather than the small uptick forecast by the IEA.) Meanwhile, a comment for the South China Morning Post says coal “seems to be making a comeback”.
Associated Press reports the IEA findings and adds: “A report published Wednesday by the environmental thinktank World Resources Institute (WRI) found countries’ current plans for cutting emissions would see them decline just 7% by 2030 from 2019 levels. The group said emissions would need to drop by 43% over that period to meet the Paris [1.5C] goal.” The Hill and the Independent also have the IEA story. Bloomberg reports on the WRI findings: “The international community needs to be six times more ambitious than it has been in the past year if it wants to avoid catastrophic climate change and keep global warming at 1.5C by the end of the century.” Reuters reports with the headline: “‘Massive gaps’ seen in countries’ plans to tackle climate change – study.”
Chad declares state of emergency as floods affect 1 million people
The president of Chad has declared a state of emergency over flooding affecting more than a million people, Reuters reports. It says: “Floods are not uncommon during Chad’s rainy season, which usually runs from May to October in its southern regions. But this year the rains came early and were the heaviest in decades.” Associated Press reports that recent floods in Pakistan caused $40bn in damages, according to the World Bank. It says: “The flooding, which experts say is made worse by climate change, has killed 1,719 people and affected 33 million since mid-June. The waters have damaged or washed away 2m homes.”
Elsewhere, Reuters reports that south-east Australia is facing warnings of “further flooding and forecasts of more rain”, under the headline: “Flood-weary Australia set for more wet weather as death toll rises.”
Small island states to propose ‘response fund’ for climate victims at COP27
Small island states will use the upcoming COP27 climate summit to call for a “response fund” for those affected by extreme weather, Climate Home News reports. It says the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) has “drawn up plans for a Loss and Damage Response Fund”, explaining that this is an “evolution of the ‘facility’ proposed by developing countries and opposed by wealthy ones at the COP26 Glasgow summit last year”. The outlet says AOSIS is “hoping to get broader backing [for the plan] from the group of 134 developing countries known as the G77”. Elsewhere, Associated Press reports: “Germany’s foreign minister says there’s no guarantee that this year’s United Nations climate talks will result in an agreement that’s backed by all sides.” Devex reports that British MPs “are concerned the UK’s foreign aid budget could plunge as low as 0.3% of gross national income, as the government grapples with turmoil and scrambles to get a grip on public finances”. It quotes Daniel Jones of NGO Global Justice Now, who says: “A reduction in aid spending to 0.3% would be a near-complete abandonment of the UK’s overseas development and climate commitments.”
UK government wins vote in parliament on fracking
The UK government has won a vote in parliament against a Labour opposition motion that would have banned fracking for shale gas, Reuters reports. Bloomberg explains that the vote had been billed as a “confidence” issue, meaning government MPs failing to back the party line would be “kicked out”. Nevertheless, 37 Conservative MPs did not back the government, reports Conservative Home. It says they included former chancellor and energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, COP26 president Alok Sharma and Chris Skidmore, who is leading a government review of how to meet the UK’s net-zero target. The Guardian quotes Skidmore saying: “As the former energy minister who signed net-zero into law, for the sake of our environment and climate I cannot personally vote tonight to support fracking and undermine the pledges I made at the 2019 general election.” ITV News notes that, ahead of the vote, climate minister Graham Stuart had said it “is not a confidence vote”. But BBC News reports Downing Street later saying MPs were “fully aware” it was regarded as a confidence vote and so they “can expect proportionate disciplinary action” for not voting with the government. The Guardian coverage is headlined: “Crunch Commons vote on fracking descends into farce.” The Times reports: “A vote on fracking descended into chaos last night after furious Tory MPs were left unclear about whether opposing the government would lead to a general election.” It says: “Labour’s attempts to ban fracking were ultimately defeated 228-319 after the government U-turned twice in the space of minutes on whether the opposition motion counted as a confidence vote.” It adds: “Earlier, in a fractious debate, [government] backbenchers spoke of their ‘despair, frustration and infuriation’ at the government’s handling of fracking.” The Independent reports: “Labour MP calls for probe after MPs ‘bullied’ during fracking vote.” Another Independent article says business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg “insisted communities will have a ‘veto’ on fracking in their area, as he sought to limit a Tory rebellion”. BusinessGreen also has the story.
Meanwhile, Press Association reports: “Fuel poverty set to hit almost 11m households from April – campaigners.” Another Press Association article reports that Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon “will chair the second summit with energy industry leaders in less than two months on Thursday”.
Netherlands joins Spain and Poland in move to quit energy treaty
There is continuing coverage of the news that the Netherlands has, says the Financial Times, become the third country to announce plans to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty. The paper reports: “Rebellion has mounted among EU countries over an international energy treaty that gives multinationals the power to sue governments…Campaigners say the pact…has become an obstacle to curbing the greenhouse gases produced by coal, oil and gas projects. Investors may sue governments [under the pact] if they believe their assets are under threat from legislation or policy changes. The treaty covers more than 50 countries, including the EU as a bloc.” It continues: “A process to ‘modernise’ the pact has been under way since 2018, and campaigners have said the revised text must end protections for fossil fuel investments. An agreement in principle was reached in June, but the text, which is yet to be ratified, would continue to protect coal, oil and gas investments in the EU and UK for 10 years after it comes into force. It would also protect new fossil fuel investments made before August 2023.” Reuters also has the story.
EU gas price cap still elusive as leaders meet again over energy crunch
EU leaders will meet later today for the second time in a fortnight “to try to bring down energy prices”, Reuters reports, adding that “persistent divisions between them mean the bloc is unlikely for now to put a ceiling on what it pays for gas”. Another Reuters article reports that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said a price cap on gas used for power “merits to be considered”, but that “there are still questions to be answered”. Reuters says Germany will “cap electricity prices by taxing excess profits”. The Financial Times has a “big read” on whether the energy crisis will “crush European industry”. Energy Monitor looks at the potential for industrial electrification, which it says “could avoid EU gas rationing”, citing a new report.
China scrambles to secure adequate energy supplies during winter
The Global Times writes that China is “gearing up to secure adequate supplies of natural gas and coal to meet rising market demands during the coming winter season”. The state-run newspaper says that in response to government “calls to secure energy supplies”, domestic energy companies are “stepping up land and sea exploration and development of oil and gas”. According to a statement by China’s “largest” offshore oil and gas producer, CNOOC, the company’s “around 10bn cubic metres (bcm) of domestic gas will be supplied during the coming winter and spring next year”, the article adds. Additionally, the state-run industry newspaper China Energy News has published an article by Li Zehong – deputy general manager of the State Grid, a Chinese state-owned electric utility corporation – who writes about how China can strengthen its energy security.
Meanwhile, Caixin Global reports that China’s “preowned home market” has “shown signs of stabilising amid an easing of property measures”, with transactions in “15 surveyed cities rising 40% year-on-year to 1.9m square metres” during the first two weeks in October, according to data “compiled by brokerage Cinda Securities”.
The South China Morning Post reports that on a list of 30 companies assessed by global NGO coalition Insure Our Future, Chinese insurers rank “at the bottom” of industry’s progress in phasing out support for fossil fuels. A separate article published in the outlet – titled “Coal seems to be making a comeback, despite the Glasgow climate pact” – says that China is increasing its coal production to cope with a rise in electricity demand due to the recent heatwaves. Finally, Reuters writes that “only 20%” of people in China, the world’s “biggest polluter”, say they “believe” that climate change is a “very serious threat”, down “three percentage points” from the previous poll in 2019, citing a survey by Gallup World Risk Poll.
India to raise climate finance issue at COP27
Climate finance for renewable energy projects is an issue India is likely to raise at COP27 in Egypt after it updated its climate pledge in August to increase their share in the country’s energy mix, Hindustan Times reports. According to an environment ministry official, India’s focus at COP27 would include “a multilaterally agreed definition of finance; a decision on the new collective goal on finance beyond 2025; an assessment of commitment made by the developed countries to provide $100bn/year of climate finance by 2020” and “making…public and private finance flows consistent with a pathway that supports low-emission technologies”. Meanwhile, UN secretary general António Guterres who is currently visiting the country reportedly urged India to “take a leadership role at COP27 for a balanced outcome on finance, adaptation and loss and damage”. The UN chief welcomed the establishment of Just Energy Transition Partnerships and is quoted as saying “I have asked emerging economies to take an extra step to close the mitigation gap. But they can only do this with the financial and technical support of developed countries. We also need to make serious progress on loss and damage in Cairo”. According to the story, while India has been developing a long-term strategy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070, “officials said it has not been decided when LTS will be ready for submission” to UN Climate Change. Separately, Guterres and Narendra Modi launched the prime minister’s Mission LIFE (Lifestyle for Environment) campaign aimed at individual responsibility for climate change this morning, Hindustan Times reports in another story. “Some people prefer dropping AC [air-conditioning] temperatures to 17C, this creates a negative impact on the environment… Our glaciers are melting, rivers are drying up… Mission LIFE will help in fighting climate crisis,” the outlet quotes Modi as saying.
Study: Gas crisis triggers $73bn investment in green hydrogen projects
High gas prices have triggered a surge of investment in “green” hydrogen produced from electricity, BusinessGreen reports, citing analysis from thinktank Carbon Tracker. It says $73bn of investment in green hydrogen “could leave projects that produce hydrogen from fossil gas stranded”, according to the report. Reuters also covers the findings: “Soaring natural gas prices have made hydrogen produced from fossil fuels increasingly uneconomic and spurred more than $70 billion of new investment in hydrogen from renewables since war broke out in Ukraine, a report said on Thursday.” Politico reports on “The EU’s massively expanding hydrogen bet.” (For more on hydrogen, see Carbon Brief‘s explainer.)
Germany to spend €6.3bn on push for electric car charging points
The German government will spend €6.43bn over three years to “rapidly scale up the number of charging stations for electric vehicles”, Reuters reports, saying the plan is “part of its push towards net-zero emissions”. The newswire says the plan “envisages a 14-fold increase in the number of charging stations” from 70,000 today to 1m by 2030, with the number of EVs on German roads set to reach 15m by the same date. Associated Press also has the story, noting that EVs now make up 15% of new car sales in the country. Separately, the Financial Times reports that German carmaker Volkswagen “faces legal action over climate change lobbying activities”. The paper reports: “Five Swedish and Danish public pension funds and the Church of England Pensions Board said they were concerned that while VW was ‘publicly championing the green transition’, it may be lobbying against stricter climate rules.” Bloomberg reports that Shell has closed its UK hydrogen filling stations “as EVs dominate”.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that the Biden administration has awarded $2.8bn in grants “to boost US production of electric vehicle batteries and the minerals used to build them, part of a bid to wean the country off supplies from China”. The New York Times reports the news with the headline: “EV bonanza flows to red states that denounced Biden climate policies.”
Finally, Associated Press reports: “Senior French and German officials warned [yesterday] that recent measures by the Biden administration to address climate change and boost the American economy could upend the ‘level playing field’ on trade between the European Union and the US.”
Comment
Greta Thunberg: ‘Our politicians will not come to the rescue of planet Earth’
Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg pens an article for a special issue of the New Statesman, which she guest edits, writing that the UK, as the crucible of the industrial revolution, “has a special responsibility to lead on the climate crisis. But it prefers to deny, delay and distract.” Thunberg writes: “We should abandon the illusion that our politicians will come to the rescue of planet Earth, especially those who delight in calling themselves climate leaders…But we cannot despair…For hope begins when we open our eyes and swap the impotence of words for the power of collective action.” Other articles in the issue include Thunberg in conversation with singer Björk, writer Rebecca Solnit on “Why climate despair is a luxury” and writer Margaret Atwood on “Why I write dystopias”.
‘Put up or shut up’: can Big Oil prove the case for carbon capture?
Justin Jacobs, Financial Times
A Financial Times “big read” says “lavish US tax breaks are transforming the case for technology that traps and stores carbon dioxide. Critics say it is still a green boondoggle.” The piece continues: “Other parts of the world will be watching the US experience closely as they consider their own CCS plans. The IEA estimates more than 200 projects are in the works around the world, although relatively few have fully committed to construction. In the UK more than a dozen projects have been proposed, but have struggled to get off the ground.”
A message to Jacob Rees-Mogg: The Conservatives are waging a war on nature – it must stop
Stanley Johnson, The Independent
In a comment for the Independent, Stanley Johnson, father of former prime minister Boris Johnson and international ambassador of the Conservative Environment Network, calls on the UK government to scrap the Retained EU Law Bill “or, at the very least, to kick it into the long grass”. Johnson backs calls from more than 70 chief executives of “the UK’s most prominent nature conservation organisations” to oppose the bill, which he says could “put paid to the chances of meeting legally binding climate and nature targets” and “shatter the long-term sustainability of our economy”. Elsewhere, the Independent carries analysis by environment correspondent Harry Cockburn asking: “Will Jeremy Hunt put the environment at the core of his economic policy?”
Science
Ocean currents break up a tabular iceberg
The breakup of the giant iceberg A68a was triggered by “the shear of ocean currents”, which is “a new breakup mechanism not previously reported”, new research suggests. In December 2020, A68a “broke up in open ocean much deeper than its keel, indicating that the breakage was not immediately caused by collision with the seafloor”, the authors say. Large tabular icebergs “are not represented in current climate models”, they note, and the study introduces methods to include them. These methods “open opportunities to explore the interactions between icebergs and other components of the climate system and will improve the fidelity of global climate simulations”, the authors say.
Other stories
- UN chief calls for renewables revolution to fight climate change (Bloomberg)
- Oceans are warming faster than ever. Here’s what could come next. (The Washington Post)
- India to pitch for global biofuels alliance at G20 – oil minister (Reuters)
- After raising hope, Biden still lacks climate migration plan (Associated Press)
- New Zealand farmers hit streets to protest cow-burp tax plan (Associated Press)
- Italian economy faces threat from climate change – central bank (Reuters)
- Can floating turbines harvest the world’s wind? (BBC News)
- Climate pressures force businesses to count true cost of water (Financial Times)
- ‘Climate justice is bigger than public opinion’: are Just Stop Oil’s tactics right? (The Guardian)
- Bill Gates-led fund makes green jet fuel as cheap as oil-based competitor (Bloomberg)
- Justin Trudeau defends Canada’s minuscule climate progress (Bloomberg)
- Comment: The Shepparton floods have revealed cracks in our emergency response systems (The Guardian)
- Comment: The Coalition is seeing red (meat) over the methane pledge – but it’s not just about burping cattle (The Guardian)
- London Mayor Sadiq Khan lectures Londoners on going green despite racking up 361,146 air miles during time in office (The Sun)