Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

1961Nick

ABrass wrote: »

Bristol are banning diesels from the city center in 2021.



https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/05/bristol-becomes-first-uk-city-ban-diesel-cars

It shouldn't cause a problem assuming the city centre car parks are outside of the defined 'city centre'.

Hexane

1961Nick wrote: »

It shouldn't cause a problem assuming the city centre car parks are outside of the defined 'city centre'.

Worth mentioning that my colleagues more than 100 miles away have noticed the proposals, and are terrified that their dirty diesel might now be banned from a city centre....

Martyn1981

Selection of articles on opinion, investment and results.

Opinion - UK public support more action and a 2030 target, even Tory supporters are at 47%, v's 16% for 2050 target:

Majority of UK public back 2030 zero-carbon target – poll


Bad news, investment in RE has dropped, but good news, we're getting more bang for our buck as RE costs fall. Also Worldwide underspending on adaptation, and the less we spend on mitigation, the more adaptation will cost, vicious circle (need to get on with the mitigation job):

Global investment in cutting greenhouse gases fell by 11% in 2018


But a great milestone on Australia, as they briefly hit 50% RE leccy, and a huge chunk (almost a quarter) came from domestic PV:

Renewables meet 50% of electricity demand on Australia's power grid for first time

Martyn1981

Maybe UK Gov made the right call?

Natural Gas Fracking Boom Turns Bust For Big Fracker

Natural Gas Fracking In The Dumps

Chesapeake Energy and other oil and gas stakeholders stayed alive on their ability to keep drilling new wells no matter what the market was doing. Some may call that a Ponzi scheme, but whatever you call it, low gas prices have proved no obstacle to drilling.

Chesapeake is a case in point. According to a report yesterday on Bloomberg Wire, in the years following 2006 Chesapeake raced to the top of the fracking pile. By around 2010 the company nailed down a slot as the nation’s second-largest driller and was valued at $37.5 billion.

However, the warning signs were clear. Regardless of its tip-top status in the oil and gas industry, by 2016 the company was burdened by “billions of dollars” of debt.

Now Chesapeake’s value is down to a measly $2.6 billion. The company also continues to shoulder significant debt, despite a three-year effort to turn itself around.

Yesterday Chesapeake issued a quarterly filing in which it admitted that if low oil and gas prices continue, there will be “substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.”

Traders promptly ran for the exits and the company’s stock took a dive.

GreatApe

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Maybe UK Gov made the right call?

Natural Gas Fracking Boom Turns Bust For Big Fracker

This is as inductive for the shale industry health as your local fish and chip shop going busy is for restaurants

Reality check. USA Fracking output increased more in 2018 than any country in the world ever has and 2019 is on track to be close if not exceed that

zeupater

Martyn1981 wrote: »

... Opinion - UK public support more action and a 2030 target, even Tory supporters are at 47%, v's 16% for 2050 target:

Majority of UK public back 2030 zero-carbon target – poll

Hi

I'm pretty sceptical when seeing poll results presented as headlines like that ...

It's likely that the question was constructed to be little different than a salesman posing a choice between 'economy' & 'luxury' versions of a product without first disclosing the price .... surprising how the mindset changes and most peoples' aspirations are reeled-in when the details are revealed & reality hits home!!

HTH
Z

GreatApe

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Selection of articles on opinion, investment and results.

Opinion - UK public support more action and a 2030 target, even Tory supporters are at 47%, v's 16% for 2050 target:

Majority of UK public back 2030 zero-carbon target – poll


Bad news, investment in RE has dropped, but good news, we're getting more bang for our buck as RE costs fall. Also Worldwide underspending on adaptation, and the less we spend on mitigation, the more adaptation will cost, vicious circle (need to get on with the mitigation job):

Global investment in cutting greenhouse gases fell by 11% in 2018


But a great milestone on Australia, as they briefly hit 50% RE leccy, and a huge chunk (almost a quarter) came from domestic PV:

Renewables meet 50% of electricity demand on Australia's power grid for first time

Do you support more funding for the NHS!
Public: Yes of course!!

Should we increase your income tax or VAT to pay for it?
Public: Wait...what?

Did you think money grows in trees if you want more public spending we need to tax you more
Public: erm...I feel I like I don't really have the spare money to be taxed more let's just put a pause in this additional NHS spending

Martyn1981

So, have we got RE costs low enough, soon enough?

Hopefully now, as Africa starts to increase its energy demand massively, they will now have the option of competitive or even cheaper RE. Africa going RE not FF is going to be very, very important. Keep those fingers crossed.

Africa poised to lead way in global green revolution, says report

Africa is poised to lead the world’s cleanest economic revolution by using renewable energy sources to power a massive spread of urbanisation, says an IEA report.

The IEA, or International Energy Agency, predicts that solar energy will play a big role in supporting the continent’s growing population and industrialisation over the next 20 years.

Africa has less than half the solar power installations seen in the UK, despite the sunnier conditions, but the IEA is predicting a solar boom in countries across the continent, which could give hundreds of millions of homes electricity for the first time.

The report forecasts that Africa’s appetite for energy will grow at double the rate of the global average in the coming decades as the continent overtakes China and India as the most populated region in the world.

Africa’s population is expected to grow to more than 2 billion people by 2040, a rise of 800 million from today or the population equivalent of the US and Europe combined, says the report. People are expected to turn to cities and towns at a rate never seen before, where the demand for new houses and infrastructure will ignite an energy-hungry industrial revolution.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said Africa had a “unique opportunity” to leapfrog the fossil fuel dependency of other industrialised regions and host the first economic transformation that did not contribute to the climate crisis.

Coastalwatch

Martyn1981 wrote: »

So, have we got RE costs low enough, soon enough?

Hopefully now, as Africa starts to increase its energy demand massively, they will now have the option of competitive or even cheaper RE. Africa going RE not FF is going to be very, very important. Keep those fingers crossed.
Africa poised to lead way in global green revolution, says report

That's good news Mart as that continent could without "the worlds richest and most destructive industry on earth" corrupting even more poor nations.
Coming back to the UK there is the good news that the worlds largest offshore Wind farm has now commenced generating electricity and will become fully operational in 2020.

Developer Orsted said the first turbine had been installed at the 1.2GW Hornsea One offshore project that will consist of 174 turbines in total.
Once completed, the offshore wind farm will be nearly double the size of the current worlds largest, the Walney Extension.

https://www.energylivenews.com/2019/02/15/worlds-largest-offshore-wind-farm-generates-first-power/

GreatApe

Martyn1981 wrote: »

So, have we got RE costs low enough, soon enough?

Hopefully now, as Africa starts to increase its energy demand massively, they will now have the option of competitive or even cheaper RE. Africa going RE not FF is going to be very, very important. Keep those fingers crossed.

Africa poised to lead way in global green revolution, says report

Solar and wind don't work without existing or new fossil fuel infrastructure or massive existing hydropower

What Africa needs is massive cheap coal gas and oil deposits
Not a fake promises of economic development with Chinese solar PV glued on top of mud huts.