Friday, April 24, 2020
Recycling Renewables and Sustainable Business 32
1 Why Plastic Waste Is a C-Suite Issue
https://hbr.org/2020/04/why-plastic-waste-is-a-c-suite-issue?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hbr
Since its invention and widespread introduction into the economy some 70 years ago, plastic has become a valuable part of business and daily life. So much so, in fact, that we have created more than 8.3 billion metric tons of it around the world. If we were able to take all of that plastic and turn it into a single grocery bag, it could hold the entire planet. If business continues as usual, 30 years from now projections say we will have produced enough plastic waste to double-bag the Earth.
2 Coca-Cola and Pepsi falling short on pledges over plastic
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/22/coca-cola-pepsi-falling-short-pledges-over-plastic-tearfund-report
Coca-Cola and Pepsi are not doing enough to reduce their plastic waste footprint globally, according to a report.
The charity Tearfund has compiled a league table of how the companies, and Unilever and Nestlé, are faring in their commitments set against a three-point plan.
3 Earth Day 2020: How Chemical Recycling Is Building Sustainable Solutions
https://www.plasticstoday.com/recycling/earth-day-2020-how-chemical-recycling-building-sustainable-solutions/67150771162866
Chemical recycling, aka “advanced recycling,” provides a way to rid the world of difficult-to-recycle plastics and produce many valuable end products. According to information supplied by Eastman Chemical (Kingsport, TN), chemical recycling alters the physical form of used plastics, either by dissolving the plastics with chemicals or using heat to break down polymers into their original components (monomers), resulting in a purified form of plastic or chemical products and feedstocks used to create new plastics, fuels, or other products.
4 New study examines impacts of sourcing metals for EV batteries and renewables
https://www.offshore-energy.biz/new-study-examines-impacts-of-sourcing-metals-for-ev-batteries-and-renewables/
The study commissioned by DeepGreen examines how we can source the massive amount of mineral resources required for a wholesale move away from fossil fuels with the least amount of damage to the planet.
As calls for a transition to renewable energy and electric transport grow louder in the face of increasing global climate chaos, demand for certain EV battery metals is projected to increase by 11 times the current level by 2050, according to the World Bank, and shortages in nickel, cobalt and copper have been predicted to emerge as soon as 2025.
5 BlackRock says sustainability reports might slide during pandemic
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-blackrock-idUSKCN2241JP
Top asset manager BlackRock Inc, which has vowed to put more focus on climate issues, said that companies might give a lower priority to sustainability reports as they struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a stewardship document provided by a BlackRock (BLK.N) spokesman late on Tuesday, the firm suggested it would tolerate the change. BlackRock also took a neutral stance on the question of whether companies should continue to pay dividends or buy back shares, and said it expected companies to provide shareholders the chance for “meaningful participation” when they move annual meetings to cyberspace.
6 New Study Reveals Just How Much Cleaner EVs Are
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/New-Study-Reveals-Just-How-Much-Cleaner-EVs-Are.html
Amid a global transport industry crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, a study from clean energy nonprofit Transport and Environment has added strength to the argument that EVs emit far less CO2 than internal combustion engine vehicles do over their lifetimes.
The UK nonprofit said in its report that it had taken into account all relevant factors, including the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the production of the electricity that feeds an EV as well as the emissions that accompany the extraction of mineral resources that go into EV batteries. They even factored in the costs of building a power plant.
7 EV charging: how will US power grids manage the demand?
https://blogs.platts.com/2020/04/24/ev-charging-power-grid-demand/
Depending on the region, S&P Global Platts Analytics forecasts plug-in electric vehicles to reach total cost of ownership parity with internal combustion engine vehicles over the next 10 years.
Market fundamentals will begin to drive plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales to a greater degree as consumers become aware of the savings associated with reduced operational costs.
8 Could Microsoft’s climate crisis ‘moonshot’ plan really work?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/23/microsoft-climate-crisis-moonshot-plan
Microsoft drew widespread praise in January this year after Brad Smith, the company’s president, announced their climate “moonshot”.
While other corporate giants, such as Amazon and Walmart, were pledging to go carbon neutral, Microsoft vowed to go carbon negative by 2030, meaning they would be removing more carbon from the atmosphere than they produced.
9 US offshore wind will make major contribution to economic recovery say speakers in IPF Virtual Conference
https://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/wind/us-offshore-wind-will-make-major-contribution-20200424
Attendees from across the globe, including Europe, China, Mexico, Canada, and the US, heard 30 expert speakers and provided feedback on time-sensitive information affecting the offshore wind industry.
The Network’s IPF Virtual (also known as the International Partnering Forum), featured leading government regulators seeking input from the industry. Jim Bennett, chief, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) told participants that the overall demand for offshore wind energy is high and growing, and that the industry is mostly on course to maintain its rapid development.
10 COVID Shows Need For Clean Air And Cheap Energy. Utilities Can Get Both Via “All-Source Procurement.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2020/04/23/covid-shows-need-for-clean-air-and-cheap-energy-utilities-can-get-both-via-all-source-procurement/
COVID-19 has reminded Americans of the importance of cheap electricity and clean air – consumers and businesses are looking for ways to save money, and people who breathe dirty air suffer higher mortality rates from the virus. One of the quickest ways to overcome both challenges, at least in the U.S. power sector, has been replacing fossil fuel generation with renewable energy.
11 Earth Day at 50: A look to the past offers hope for the planet’s future
https://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/environment-and-safety/earth-day-at-50-a-look-to-the-past-offers-hope-for-the-planets-future-251731/
Fifty years ago, on April 22, 1970, millions of people took to the streets in cities and towns across the United States, giving voice to an emerging consciousness of humanity’s impact on Earth. Protesters shut down 5th Avenue in New York City, students in Boston staged a “die-in” at Logan airport and demonstrators in Chicago called for an end to the internal combustion engine.
12 Insect numbers down 25% since 1990, global study finds
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/23/insect-numbers-down-25-since-1990-global-study-finds
The biggest assessment of global insect abundances to date shows a worrying drop of almost 25% in the last 30 years, with accelerating declines in Europe that shocked scientists.
The analysis combined 166 long-term surveys from almost 1,700 sites and found that some species were bucking the overall downward trend. In particular, freshwater insects have been increasing by 11% each decade following action to clean up polluted rivers and lakes. However, this group represent only about 10% of insect species and do not pollinate crops.
13 Sweden becomes third European country to complete coal plant phaseout
https://ieefa.org/sweden-becomes-third-european-country-to-complete-coal-plant-phaseout/
Sweden has become the third European country to complete its phase out of coal power, after last week confirming the closure of Stockholm Exergi AB’s Värtaverket plant.
The news came in the same week as Austria shuttered its last coal plant and sees the two countries join Belgium in having completely removed coal power from their grids.
14 Wind, solar help push grid emissions to record low, prices to four year low
https://reneweconomy.com.au/wind-solar-help-push-grid-emissions-to-record-low-prices-to-four-year-low-61945/
The Australian Energy Market Operator – in its latest Quarterly Energy Dynamics report – describes a volatile first quarter of 2020 for the main grid, which experienced days of huge demand and volatility, record temperatures, bushfires, several transmission failures that caused separations of state grids, then a spate of unusually mild weather that caused record demand lows, and finally the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, including a crash in the international oil market.
15 ‘It’ll cause a water war’: divisions run deep as filling of Nile dam nears
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/apr/23/itll-cause-a-water-war-divisions-run-deep-as-filling-of-nile-dam-nears
From his office in central Khartoum, Ahmed al-Mufti prepares every day for what he believes is the water war to come.
This conviction led Mufti, a prominent human rights lawyer and water expert, to quit the Sudanese delegation that is negotiating Nile water issues with Egypt and Ethiopia.
16 Impact of Covid-19 on the global energy sector – pv magazine International
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/04/24/impact-of-covid-19-on-the-global-energy-sector/
The energy sector has already felt the impact of Covid-19. The outbreak has contributed to a dampened demand for oil, resulting in plummeting prices and declining production, especially in the wake of the Russia-OPEC price war. According to the IEA Oil Market Report – April 2020, global oil demand is expected to fall by a record 9.3 mb/d year-on-year in 2020. Demand in April is estimated to be 29 mb/d lower than a year ago, down to a level last seen in 1995. Covid-19 has also accelerated the continued drop of gas prices.
17 How Working From Home Will Impact Oil Demand Forever
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/How-Working-From-Home-Will-Impact-Oil-Demand-Forever.html
It’s day 33 for me. I leave the house to walk the dog and occasionally swing by the corner store. But that’s about it. I haven’t ridden in a car since March 20th, nor a bus or any form of transportation other than my bicycle. I’m sure I’m not alone, and it’s got me thinking. How exactly has this lockdown impacted oil demand? And perhaps more importantly, will this way of life become somewhat of a new normal?
18 Siemens Gamesa Turbines Begin Transatlantic Journey
https://www.offshorewind.biz/2020/04/22/siemens-gamesa-turbines-begin-transatlantic-journey/
The turbine components for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project have begun their journey from Denmark to North America.
The components for the two 6 MW Siemens Gamesa turbines were loaded in Esbjerg, before the vessel embarked in mid-April on the approximately two-week transatlantic journey to Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada.
19 Cross currents: Big oil and the energy transition
https://blogs.platts.com/2020/04/21/big-oil-energy-transition-power-plays/
Well before the oil price rout caused by the coronavirus pandemic, commentators and shareholders were calling on Big Oil to make step-out energy transition acquisitions.
Now, with economies in lockdown and corporates fighting to survive, the oil sector’s incremental move into new energy looks over-cautious.
