Friday, July 31, 2020
Recycling Renewables and Sustainable Business 46
1 Citi, Bank of America join Morgan Stanley in carbon-disclosure group
https://www.bankingdive.com/news/citi-bank-of-america-morgan-stanley-carbon-disclosure-group/582592/
Bank of America and Citi have joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), a consortium that intends to standardize the way banks measure and reduce their climate impact, the banks announced separately Wednesday.
Citi also pledged $250 billion over the next five years to finance and facilitate low-carbon solutions in the areas of renewable energy, clean technology, water quality and conservation, sustainable transportation, green buildings, energy efficiency, and sustainable agriculture and land use.
2 Deglobalization gains pace in lithium battery supply chain
https://blogs.platts.com/2020/07/30/deglobalization-lithium-battery-supply-chain/
The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated concerns across the lithium-ion battery industry about China’s dominance of the supply chain. The pandemic has also highlighted the need for local supply chains, in order to improve sustainability and work towards net zero targets.
Despite some momentum, however, the development of regional supply chains still faces challenges that go beyond simply raising equity.
3 Is The UK’s Ambitious Plan For 30 Million EVs Feasible?
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Is-The-UKs-Ambitious-Plan-For-30-Million-EVs-Feasible.html
Seven percent – that’s the portion of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids as a percentage of total sales as of the first quarter of this year. There were some 110,000 EVs on British roads at the end of March. And yet the country’s National Grid is planning for 30 million in just two decades. Can it be done? Some would argue that the EV single-mindedness of European governments may blind them to all the challenges associated with the large-scale electrification of transport, such as the need to build charging infrastructure that is capable of handling the expected – or rather hoped-for – surge in EV sales in the coming years.
4 What’s Holding Geothermal Energy Back?
https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Geothermal-Energy/Whats-Holding-Geothermal-Energy-Back.html
It’s abundant, and it’s emissions-free: the heat from the earth’s mantle that reaches well into the crust and gives deep drillers a headache occasionally is the new star on the renewables block. Nevertheless, oil and gas companies have been somewhat reluctant to embrace it. Let’s first clarify: geothermal energy is only “new” in terms of the media attention it has been getting. Researchers – including people from the oil and gas industry – have been working for decades on technologies to extract the heat from the earth and either use it directly or turn it into electricity. It is only gaining prominence now as these technologies advance and the world’s attention becomes increasingly focused on alternatives to fossil fuels.
5 Extra 23 million people could face coastal flooding within 30 years, even with emission cuts, study says
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/31/extra-23-million-people-could-face-coastal-flooding-within-30-years-even-with-emission-cuts-study-says
The combined impacts of human-caused sea level rise, storm surges and high tides could expose an extra 23 million people to coastal flooding within the next 30 years, even with relatively ambitious cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, a new global study has found.
In a worst-case scenario where emissions continue to rise and no efforts are made to adapt to the rising sea levels, coastal assets worth US$14.2tn – about 20% of global GDP – could be at risk by the end of the century.
6 We must not miss this glorious chance to address the climate and biodiversity crises | Jonathon Porritt
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/24/climate-biodiversity-crises-government-green-recovery-coronavirus
Trillions of dollars will be invested by governments in reviving their economies over the next two or three years. If those dollars are well spent, ensuringlow-carbon, nature-restoring prosperity, we have a real chance of avoiding runaway climate change and ecosystem collapse. If they’re spent on taking us back to pre-coronavirus days, we’re screwed. The climate’s screwed. The planet’s screwed. And all future generations are screwed. It’s as simple – and as binary – as that.
7 Small crustacean can fragment microplastics in four days, study finds
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/30/small-crustacean-can-fragment-microplastics-in-four-days-study-finds
Small crustaceans can fragment microplastics into pieces smaller than a cell within 96 hours, a study has shown.
Until now, plastic fragmentation has been largely attributed to slow physical processes such as sunlight and wave action, which can take years and even decades.
Environmental scientists at University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland studying the 2cm-long amphipod Gammarus duebeni found that microplastic beads were not only ingested but were also fragmented incredibly quickly into nanoplastics.
8 Transparent and Double-Sided Sun-Tracking Solar Panels Could Be the Future
https://www.altenergymag.com/article/2020/07/transparent-and-double-sided-sun-tracking-solar-panels-could-be-the-future/33513
Solar panels have been around for some time, but they still have yet to overtake traditional energy sources. A lot of people still have reservations about the technology, even if it’s become more affordable and efficient. Something needs to change for photovoltaics to become the widespread technology they need to be.
Becoming more affordable or practical are essential steps in driving the switch to renewables. Still, more innovation needs to happen for them to catch on in a broader market. The solar panel industry needs to see substantial changes, and thankfully, it looks like there are some on the horizon.
9 EU Plastic Tax Approved by European Council
https://www.plasticstoday.com/legislation-regulations/eu-plastic-tax-approved-european-council
With its latest agreement on the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and coronavirus recovery fund, the European Council has also approved implementation of the so-called plastic tax, effective January 1, 2021. While the European Council believes the €0.80/kg levy on non-recycled plastic packaging waste will have a beneficial environmental impact, the European Plastics Converters (EuPC) association thinks it will have the opposite effect.
10 Portugal selects multi-billion post-coronavirus hydrogen projects
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-portugal-energy-hydrogen-idUSKCN24T1S5
Portugal’s government has selected more than 30 multi-billion euro hydrogen projects interested in building production units of so-called “green” energy in the country after the coronavirus pandemic.
The selection comes as Portugal prepares an application to Europe’s Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) scheme for hydrogen, part of a strategy to speed up renewable hydrogen projects in polluting sectors.
11 China’s new green development fund raises $12 billion in phase 1
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-environment-idUSKCN24T0E0
China’s first dedicated environmental fund, which will invest in green projects and firms, has already raised 88 billion yuan ($12.59 billion) in its first phase, an environment ministry official said at a briefing on Tuesday.
The National Green Development Fund will mainly be used to invest in national strategic programmes such as the green development of the Yangtze river region, said Zou Shoumin, a director responsible for finance at China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE).
12 Hydrogen Pipeline Network Could Transform European Energy, Operators Say
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davekeating/2020/07/28/hydrogen-pipeline-network-could-transform-european-energy-operators-say/
Hydrogen is the hottest new energy source being discussed in Brussels at the moment, and a group of eleven European gas infrastructure companies have come out with a plan for how to transport this new fuel across Europe.
Hydrogen gas is produced as a byproduct of industrial processes or power generation, and can then be used as a fuel itself. Because it can be produced as a byproduct of renewable energy generation (so-called ‘green hydrogen’), it holds great promise as a zero-or-low-carbon fuel. It would also be a way to deliver more energy from traditional fossil fuel power generation (so-called ‘brown or grey hydrogen’). Its development, however, remains in very early stages as companies experiment with how to extract, transport and store it.
