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UN report lays out radical path to combat global warming
The world can keep global warming to below 1.5 degrees, but for that to happen it needs “rapid and far-reaching transitions” that include a deep cut in greenhouse gas emissions and a greater reliance on nuclear power, according to a U.N. climate science report published on Monday. [ read more … ]
U.N. report shows ‘heavier lift’ for cars, trucks, planes
“Transport accounted for 28 percent of global final-energy demand and 23 percent of global energy-related CO2 emissions in 2014,” the second chapter of the report states. “Emissions increased by 2.5 percent annually between 2010 and 2015, and over the past half century the sector has witnessed faster emissions growth than any other … suggesting major challenges for deep decarbonisation.” [ read more … ]
Orsted, a Giant in Offshore Wind Farms, Makes a Move in the U.S.
Orsted, a Danish company that is one of the world’s largest offshore wind energy developers, said on Monday that it would acquire a Rhode Island rival, Deepwater Wind, for $510 million, a sign that the United States is becoming an attractive market for offshore energy generators. Orsted has a global portfolio of projects in places including Britain, Germany and Taiwan, as well as in Denmark. But this year, it failed to win a competitive bidding process held by Massachusetts to develop what is likely to be the largest offshore wind installation in the United States. [ read more … ]
Policy & Politics
New U.N. Climate Report Says Put a High Price on Carbon
In its landmark report on the fast-approaching dangers of climate change, a United Nations scientific panel said on Sunday that putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions would be central for getting global warming under control. More than 40 governments around the world, including the European Union and California, have now put a price on carbon, either through direct taxes on fossil fuels or through cap-and-trade programs. But many of them have found it politically difficult to set a price high enough to spur truly deep reductions in carbon emissions. [ read more … ]
Exxon Puts $1 Million Into Quest for Carbon Tax and Rebate
An effort to put a tax on carbon dioxide emissions just won an unlikely underwriter: a top producer of oil and gas. Exxon Mobil Corp. is putting $1 million into a political campaign that, if successful, would effectively spawn a tax tied to the company’s core products. [ read more … ]
Trump admin shrugs off warnings in U.N. climate report
The White House responded to a dire climate report released this weekend with an oft-repeated talking point: The nation’s emissions have dropped since 2005. Underlying that statistic, however, is a historic shift away from coal-fired electricity in the United States as utilities embrace renewables and natural gas. That’s a trend the Trump administration has signaled it may slow. [ read more … ]
Focus on ‘how hard to apply the brakes,’ experts say
A much-anticipated report from the world’s leading authorities on climate change has reignited a debate over the usefulness of the “carbon budget.” The concept refers to how much carbon dioxide can be emitted before temperatures rise beyond a given threshold. The idea is that informing world leaders about how much carbon will cause a tipping point can help design policies that will prevent the globe from crossing that threshold. And it also helps scientists keep track of how quickly the threshold is approaching. [ read more … ]
Why a European takeover could boost American offshore wind
The larger a company’s pipeline of projects in the United States, he said, the more likely it is to move operations here. So far, many developers have proposed using European installation vessels to build their projects, a plan complicated by the Jones Act, a U.S. law that requires ships docking at U.S. ports to be built, flagged and crewed by Americans. [ read more … ]
First turbines in federal waters? Va.’s on the way
Dominion Energy Inc.’s request to build a modestly sized — though less modestly priced — wind farm goes before regulators today, as evidentiary hearings begin on the two-turbine, $300 million Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. If all goes as planned, the project would come online in 2020, becoming the nation’s second offshore wind farm and the first to go up in federal waters. [ read more … ]
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