Friday, May 22, 2020
Recycling Renewables and Sustainable Business 36
1 Google bans A.I. for oil and gas firms after Greenpeace study
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/20/google-ai-greenpeace-oil-gas.html
Google has pledged to stop building customized artificial intelligence (AI) tools that help oil and gas firms to extract fossil fuels worldwide.
The pledge came after a Greenpeace report on Tuesday highlighted how Google, Microsoft, and Amazon use AI and warehouse servers to help the likes of Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil to locate and retrieve oil and gas deposits from the earth.
A Google spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that the company “will not … build custom AI/ML algorithms to facilitate upstream extraction in the oil and gas industry.”
2 As the Covid-19 crisis hammers the auto industry, electric cars remain a bright spot
https://www.iea.org/commentaries/as-the-covid-19-crisis-hammers-the-auto-industry-electric-cars-remain-a-bright-spot
Electric cars have experienced a decade of rapid growth. Global sales grew by more than 60% every year over the past decade except for 2019, when growth slowed down to 6% as the regulatory environment changed in China and passenger car sales contracted in major markets. Even so, electric vehicle sales still reached 2.2 million last year, securing their highest ever share – 2.6% – of the global car market.
3 The EV Boom Could Accelerate Peak Oil Demand
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-EV-Boom-Could-Accelerate-Peak-Oil-Demand.html
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the short-term outlook for global vehicle manufacturing industry and sales, including sales of electric vehicles (EVs).
But policy actions to support decarbonization and lower-emission transportation in the post-virus world could accelerate the energy transition and displace larger volumes of oil demand for road transport to the point of bringing peak oil demand closer than previously anticipated.
4 Electric Vehicle Sales to Fall 18% in 2020 but Long-term Prospects Remain Undimmed
https://about.bnef.com/blog/electric-vehicle-sales-to-fall-18-in-2020-but-long-term-prospects-remain-undimmed/
The latest annual Long-Term Electric Vehicle Outlook, published today by research company BloombergNEF (BNEF), shows electric models accounting for 58% of new passenger car sales globally by 2040, and 31% of the whole car fleet. They will also make up 67% of all municipal buses on the road by that year, plus 47% of two-wheelers[1] and 24% of light commercial vehicles.
5 Renewable energy transition to accelerate on drop in power demand
https://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/5/20/renewable-energy-transition-to-accelerate-on-drop-in-power-demand
As economies struggle to recover, worldwide electricity consumption will decline 5% in 2020, the most in more than eight decades, according to the International Energy Agency. In the U.S. last week, government analysts projected the nation’s biggest drop on record. And in Europe, analysts say a full recovery could take years.
6 Denmark proposes two giant wind energy islands to meet climate targets
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-denmark-idUSKBN22W1NC
Denmark’s government on Wednesday proposed more than tripling its offshore wind capacity by building two energy islands linked to new wind farms in the Baltic and North seas to help meet ambitious climate change targets.
One of the two hubs, which would be the world’s first, will be located on the Danish Baltic island of Bornholm and the other on an artificial island in the North Sea. Each will have a capacity of at least 2 GW, enough to power four million of Denmark’s 5.8 million homes.
7 Europe Set To Unveil Its $500 Billion ‘Green Deal’
https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/Europe-Set-To-Unveil-Its-500-Billion-Green-Deal.html
As the world slips into a deep economic recession – and some indicators are as bad as the Great Depression – trillions of dollars are flowing in the form of government stimulus. To date, much of that has been aimed at re-inflating the pre-pandemic economy, particularly in the United States. In fact, the Trump administration has been going further, dealing out benefits to oil and gas while slapping feesretroactively on renewable energy.
8 EU ‘green’ recovery to target buildings, clean power, hydrogen: draft
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-eu-climate-idUSKBN22W2TO
European Union plans for an environmentally-friendly economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic will target building renovation, renewable energy and clean hydrogen fuel, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.
Green hydrogen is seen as crucial to deliver the Commission’s target to decarbonise the EU economy by 2050, by replacing fossil fuels in polluting industrial processes.
9 Australia backs technology in new carbon emissions plan
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-climatechange-idUSKBN22X04T
Australia’s conservative government on Thursday released a fresh plan to tackle climate change, targetting the use of gas, hydrogen, batteries and carbon capture, while avoiding the contentious issue of setting a carbon price.
Australia, one of the world’s biggest carbon emitters per capita, has struggled for more than a decade to formulate a long-term plan for a low carbon economy amid a politically charged debate between fossil fuel supporters and opponents.
10 Plastics Crisis: Quantifying Data for Transparency
https://www.cleantech.com/plastics-crisis-quantifying-data-for-transparency/
By 2050, the weight of all the plastic in our oceans could exceed the weight of all its fish, according to estimates made by The Ellen MacArthur Foundation. In 2017, only 14% of plastic packaging was recycled, representing $80–120 billion in lost value. These hold-your-head-in-your hands figures tell us that corporates, governments and consumers are in the dark about a number of questions. Where is all the plastic waste? How much of it, exactly, is there? What happens to it? And most importantly, what is being done about it?
11 Italian homeowners can now install PV systems for free
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/05/22/italian-homeowners-can-now-install-pv-systems-for-free/
The Italian government has allocated €55 billion ($60 billion) in stimulus perks through the Relaunch Decree on Economic Stimulus Measures to help revive the country’s economy as it slowly exits its Covid-19 lockdown.
The measures include an increase in the so-called “eco-bonus” for building-renovation projects from 65% to 110% and a jump in support for PV installations and storage systems associated with such renovation projects, from 50% of costs to 110%.
12 Mexico ready to negotiate over power market shake-up
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-energy-idUSKBN22X2M1
Mexico’s president on Thursday said he was ready to negotiate over changes to the electricity market that angered firms and foreign allies, opening the door to a potential compromise that could ease tensions over energy policy.
Measures taken by the government in recent weeks to reduce the influence of private energy producers provoked protests from the European Union, Canada and Mexico’s most powerful business associations.
13 Emerging opportunities in industrial sustainability
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/reimagining-industrial-operations
Ever since the steam engine helped launch the Industrial Revolution, large-scale operations have boosted living standards, provided richer choices than our ancestors dreamed of—and generated unintended consequences, including pollution. The COVID-19 pandemic presents an unforeseen challenge to industrial operators as they face the immediate impact of plummeting demand for many products, as well as pressing needs to ensure the safety of employees. Yet even as industries grapple with structural changes, and as societies and economies pivot to the “next normal,” companies themselves have a window of opportunity to adapt their operations to help reduce the disruption that climate change will ultimately bring. In this compilation, McKinsey experts and corporate leaders describe emerging opportunities for industrial operators to help lead the way to a lower-carbon future.
14 Will climate change decrease the food security of the world’s breadbaskets?
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/will-the-worlds-breadbaskets-become-less-reliable
Climate change could affect food production through both continuous environmental changes—for example, increasing temperatures and changes to precipitation patterns—and more frequent episodes of acute stress, such as drought, heat waves, and excessive precipitation. The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing weaknesses in the global food system which we find is already vulnerable to climate change as a growing population depends on four key crops with high geographic concentration of production.
15 Renewable energy should be at the heart of virus recovery plans: IEA
https://www.solardaily.com/reports/Renewable_energy_should_be_at_the_heart_of_virus_recovery_plans_IEA_999.html
The agency, which had expected 2020 to be a bumper year for green energy, slashed its two-year forecast for growth in renewable capacity by nearly 10 percent.
It cited supply chain disruptions, construction delays, social distancing measures and financing challenges.
While sectors supplying electricity — solar, wind and hydropower — would be largely resilient in the crisis, it said, the market for biofuels used mainly in transport would be “radically” altered as global travel is frozen and oil prices plummet.
16 EU Plans To Reduce Pesticides By 50%
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davekeating/2020/05/20/eu-plans-to-reduce-pesticides-by-50/
The plan includes a target of reducing the use of pesticides by 50% in the next decade. The plan would also reduce sales of antimicrobials for farmed animals by 50%, and the use of fertilizers by 20%, by 2030. The share of organic farming would also be increased by 25% by 2030 – up from the current 8%.
17 Climate change is turning parts of Antarctica green, say scientists
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/20/climate-change-turning-parts-antarctica-green-say-scientists-algae
Scientists have mapped “the beginning of a new ecosystem” on the Antarctic peninsula as microscopic algae bloom across the surface of the melting snow, tinting the surface green and potentially creating a source of nutrition for other species.
