Friday, January 24, 2020
Recycling, Renewables and Sustainable Business 19
1 BlackRock, partners eye initial $500 million for climate fund
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-davos-meeting-blackrock-idUSKBN1ZL0N6
A BlackRock-backed (BLK.N) group aims to raise an initial $500 million for a private equity fund that will invest in climate change-linked infrastructure upgrades in emerging markets.
2 Nestlé Plans to Invest About $2 Billion on Recycled Plastic Packaging
https://www.ptonline.com/news/nestle-plans-to-invest-about-2-billion-on-recycled-plastic-packaging
Nestlé announced that it will invest up to 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.1 billion) to ensure the high adoption rate of food-grade recycled plastics and to accelerate the development of innovative sustainable packaging solutions.
3 World’s consumption of materials hits record 100bn tonnes a year
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/22/worlds-consumption-of-materials-hits-record-100bn-tonnes-a-year
The amount of material consumed by humanity has passed 100bn tonnes every year, a report has revealed, but the proportion being recycled is falling. The climate and wildlife emergencies are driven by the unsustainable extraction of fossil fuels, metals, building materials and trees. The report’s authors warn that treating the world’s resources as limitless is leading towards global disaster.
4 Shell uses plastic waste to produce resin feedstocks
https://www.plasticstoday.com/sustainability/shell-uses-plastic-waste-produce-resin-feedstocks/127417080662263
Shell says that it has successfully made “high-end” chemicals using a liquid feedstock made from plastic waste using a pyrolysis process that is considered a breakthrough for hard-to-recycle plastics. The initiative advances Shell’s ambition to use one million tonnes of plastic waste a year in its global chemical plants by 2025.
5 Batteries Benefit From Ontario’s Bizarre Energy Market
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/batteries-benefit-from-ontarios-bizarre-energy-market
Batteries are benefiting from a bizarre market setup in Ontario that has politicians canceling energy-saving programs while at the same time pledging to cut bills.
6 The Six Energy Paradoxes that slow the sector’s progress
https://energypost.eu/the-six-energy-paradoxes-that-slow-the-sectors-progress/
The longer I work in energy the more I realise how complicated it is, how reliant it is on regulation and thus how closely aligned energy is to politics. It is not just the fact that certain economies, such as Russia or Norway, are highly dependent on oil and gas revenues, it is also the choices and approaches that different countries take, all of which are different.
7 What Would an Accelerated Global Energy Transition Look Like?
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/what-would-an-accelerated-global-energy-transition-look-like
The Accelerated Energy Transition (AET) reflects the potential for heightened preferences across society to meet the challenges presented by climate change. This is our realistic assessment of how the transition could progress much faster. It is a 2.5-degree pathway.
8 Stopping Global Warming Will Cost $50 Trillion: Morgan Stanley Report
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2019/10/24/stopping-global-warming-will-cost-50-trillion-morgan-stanley-report/
While estimates vary on the cost of halting global warming and reducing net carbon emissions to zero, a new report from Morgan Stanley analysts finds that to do so by 2050 the world will need to spend $50 trillion in five key areas of zero-carbon technology.
9 Is climate action a $26T opportunity? Number needs some scrutiny
https://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/environment-and-safety/is-climate-action-a-26t-opportunity-number-needs-some-scrutiny-245669/
“This is not simply an environmental issue. It is an economic issue. The estimates going forward in terms of the size of the prize for countries that are in this game early, developing technologies and deploying technologies that address some of the carbon-related issues, is enormous. It’s been estimated at a $26 trillion opportunity.” — Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, BNN Bloomberg, Jan. 7, 2020
10 $3.6 Billion Energy Storage Project Rising From Ashes Of Coal Power
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/01/22/3-6-billion-energy-storage-project-rising-from-ashes-of-coal-power-plant/
Whelp, that was fast. No sooner does the notorious coal-fired Navajo Generating Station shut its doors, when a massive renewable energy project jumps in to take its place. We’re talking about the proposed Navajo Energy Storage Station in Arizona, and it’s not just any old renewable energy project. It’s a 10-hour, 2,200 megawatt system, which puts it in the long duration storage category, which is something the US Department of Energy has been lusting after quite lustily.
11 The US is set to experience yet a new energy revolution: Offshore Wind
https://www.rystadenergy.com/newsevents/news/press-releases/the-us-is-set-to-experience-yet-a-new-energy-revolution-offshore-wind/
According to fresh research by Rystad Energy, installed offshore wind capacity in US waters could reach 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and annual investments in the sector could surpass $15 billion by the mid-2020s. Such a trajectory means capital expenditure in US offshore wind will likely exceed those in US offshore oil and gas within the next five years – a truly remarkable development.
12 Microgrids: An idea whose time has come?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/what-on-earth-newsletter-microgrids-green-energy-1.5437568
As the global population grows, so does the demand for electricity. But there are challenges, even now. More than a billion people around the world don’t have access to power grids. According to the Canada Energy Regulator, 200,000 people in Canada are not connected to the North American electrical grid and natural gas distribution pipeline systems.
13 Dow strikes agreement with Avangard to further circular economy goals
https://www.plasticstoday.com/recycling/dow-strikes-agreement-avangard-further-circular-economy-goals/197370842662286
Dow has struck a new deal with waste optimization leader Avangard Innovative (AI; Houston, TX) to further its circular economy goals. AI will supply post-consumer resin (PCR) pellets to Dow, an initiative Dow describes as a significant addition to its plastic circularity portfolio. The PCR-based materials will be available to North American customers later this year.
14 ESG framework | McKinsey
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/five-ways-that-esg-creates-value
Your business, like every business, is deeply intertwined with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns. It makes sense, therefore, that a strong ESG proposition can create value—and in this article, we provide a framework for understanding the five key ways it can do so. But first, let’s briefly consider the individual elements of ESG:
15 Car Makers Ask Europe to Introduce Mandatory Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Targets
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/europes-car-makers-ask-for-help-to-realize-green-deal-goals
European car manufacturers have warned of missed decarbonization targets and job losses unless the sector gets more support from policymakers. “At the very time when our industry is massively stepping up investments in zero-emission vehicles, the market is set to contract — not only in the EU but also globally — so the transition to carbon-neutrality needs to be very well managed by policymakers,” said Michael Manley, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the current ACEA president.
16 ‘No more coal, no oil and gas expansion’ Qatari sovereign wealth fund investment boss says
https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/219950/no-more-coal-no-oil-and-gas-expansion-qatari-sovereign-wealth-fund-investment-boss-says/
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund plans to shift into greener assets, according to Chief Executive Officer Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al Mahmoud.
“We’re not going to invest more in the coal business,” he said Wednesday in a Bloomberg TV interview in Davos, Switzerland.
17 Total to deploy 20,000 EV charging stations in the Netherlands
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/01/22/total-to-deploy-20000-ev-charging-stations-in-the-netherlands/
French oil company Total has won a contract tendered by Metropolitan Region Amsterdam (MRA) Electric to install 20,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
18 Is Climate Change Having an Impact on Manufacturing?
https://www.altenergymag.com/article/2020/01/is-climate-change-having-an-impact-on-manufacturing/32543
Climate change is a topic that’s on everyone’s mind. You can’t turn on the news or take a trip to the grocery store without hearing someone talking about sustainability and the impact that climate change is having on the world around us.
19 Study: PV, storage poised to become top energy job creators by mid-century
https://www.pv-tech.org/news/study-pv-storage-poised-to-become-top-energy-job-creators-by-mid-century
A new study has predicted solar will become the undisputed top global energy employer by 2050, spearheading a renewables job boom as fossil fuel industries shed millions of workers.
20 Coca-Cola and Pepsi defiant on plastic bottles and littering
https://www.packagingnews.co.uk/top-story/coca-cola-pepsi-defiant-plastic-bottles-littering-21-01-2020
Bea Perez told the BBC at Davos 2020 that customers like plastic bottles because they reseal and are lightweight.
Perez said the soft drinks giant could not stop using plastic bottles completely, as this could alienate customers and hit sales; additionally, she said using only aluminium and glass packaging could push up the firm’s carbon footprint – another key argument by plastic packaging firms.
21 Oil Chiefs at Davos Debate Tougher CO2 Cuts
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/oil_chiefs_at_davos_debate_tougher_co2_cuts-22-jan-2020-160860-article/
The bosses of some of the world’s biggest oil companies discussed adopting much more ambitious carbon targets at a closed-door meeting in Davos on Wednesday, a sign of how much pressure they’re under from activists and investors to address climate change.
22 EIA projects less than a quarter of the world’s electricity generated from coal by 2050
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=42555
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019), global electric power generation from renewable sources will increase more than 20% throughout the projection period (2018–2050), providing almost half of the world’s electricity generation in 2050. In that same period, global coal-fired generation will decrease 13%, representing only 22% of the generation mix in 2050. EIA projects that worldwide electricity generation will grow by 1.8% per year through 2050.
