Hello there! Welcome to another edition of Climate Focus.
I had been meaning to introduce some changes to my weekly newsletter. As with most things that require the delicate act of balancing your already finite time, I spent a lot of time planning for it over the last few weeks. And I am happy to say that I have made significant progress.
By that I obviously mean I am still at the same place I started.
Good people tell me that the best way to get things done is to say it out loud. So, here it goes.
I will be making some changes to my newsletter format starting next week.
(Phew/ Eek)
This week’s edition is going to be short: in part because it is a transition week and in part because the new format involves some content curation.
I am going to leave you with recommendations for a few interesting reads from non-paywalled sources.
I will be back again next week with the new and improved version of Living In A Greenhouse.
It’s happening, y’all.
Climate News That Caught My Eye
1. Lithium price surge might derail global EV transition ambitions
[…] while a range of factors were at play in creating the situation – including a labour shortage at key mine sites in Western Australia as a result of the pandemic and supply chain issues – it was surging demand for EVs in China that was the main driver
2. Artificial snow at Winter Olympics stands out in striking satellite image
In the new report, the researchers estimate that the Beijing Games will use at least 42.4 million cubic feet (1.2 million cubic meters) of artificial snow, which, in turn, will require around 59 million gallons (223 million liters) of water to make. To make that much snow, organizers have installed 300 snow cannons powered by 130 generators that are supplied by eight water cooling towers and three pumping stations.
China has claimed that the Winter Olympics will be powered using 100% renewable energy, according to the BBC.
(Do not miss this. Here’s a defence of artificial snow from Global Times, an English-language Chinese newspaper. I genuinely do not know what I have just read. Let me know if you do. Seriously.)
3. France plans new nuclear reactors as part of climate goals
French electricity giant EDF, which is over 80% owned by the French state, has submitted a plan to build six of the pressurized water reactors for an estimated 50 billion euros ($57 billion).
Nuclear energy currently provides about 70% of French electricity, more than in any other country.
4. EU Taxonomy: labelling Gas “green” is a gift to Putin
(I found this opinion piece to be a bit polarising for my taste and I don’t agree with the rather binary view of things. What it does do well is speak to the fragility in the politics and economics of natural gas. And you know what they say - appreciate good arguments even in those that you don’t fully agree with. I am positive someone famous said that).
In reality, gas is the Achilles’ heel of the European energy transition. Anglo-Dutch production is declining sharply. At the same time gas demand in Europe has risen since the 2013-14 Ukraine crisis. Despite the Green Deal’s ambitions on building efficiency the IEA thinks EU demand will rise further. As the European Climate Foundation’s (ECF) Laurence Tubiana wrote this week, the EU needs a much better plan to drastically and rapidly cut gas usage in heating (half of EU gas consumption) or we’ll end up more dependent on imports.
Above all, the EU needs to avoid creating new demand.
5. Climate pledges from top companies crumble under scrutiny
[…] an analysis of publicly available corporate documents, such as annual sustainability reports, shows that 25 of those companies — which together are responsible for about 5% of global emissions — are actually making much less of a commitment.
Just 3 of the 25 companies — the Danish shipping giant Maersk, the UK communications firm Vodafone and the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom — have clearly committed to deep decarbonisation, according to the NewClimate Institute.
Google, Amazon, Ikea, Apple and Nestle are among those failing to change quickly enough, the study alleges.