AM Briefing: 2035 or Bust

Current conditions: A volcano on Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula has finally started to erupt • At least 120 people were killed in an earthquake in China • Meteorologists say Americans on the East Coast hoping for snow in January should keep “expectations in check.”

THE TOP FIVE

1. Some EU countries pledge to decarbonize power systems by 2035

A handful of countries within the European Union have pledged to decarbonize their power systems by 2035. The group includes France and Germany, the two biggest power producers in Europe. They’re joined in the commitment by the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, which is not in the EU but is aligned with the bloc’s climate policies. Current EU emissions goals aim for decarbonization by 2040, but this group believes they can move more quickly, and by working together they hope to streamline infrastructure installation and grid connectivity. “Cutting carbon from the electricity grid is seen as a crucial first step to removing emissions from the wider energy system,” Bloomberg Green explains.

2. Houthi attacks on ships send oil prices higher

The price of oil shot up yesterday on growing concerns about tankers being attacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. BP paused shipments through the channel, joining shipping giants including AP Moller-Maersk, MSC, and Hapag-Lloyd. The Red Sea offers a quick route from Asia to Europe, making it one of the world’s busiest shipping channels. It handles about 15% of global shipping, or 20,000 vessels each year, reports The Times of London. Since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas, Iran-backed Houthi rebels based in Yemen have been attacking ships with links to Israel. Lately the attacks have expanded to include ships with no Israeli ties. On Monday a Norwegian-owned vessel was attacked. The price of brent crude jumped by as much as 3% on the BP news, but “ample oil supply limited price gains,” says Reuters.

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3. House Democrats sound alarm about major owner of oil and gas wells

Democrats in the House of Representatives have launched an inquiry into the company that owns the most oil and gas wells in the U.S., saying its business model poses a massive climate risk. Diversified Energy Co. owns about 65,000 oil and gas wells, Bloomberg reports. It buys old and unproductive wells and tries to keep them on life support. Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee worry Diversified could suddenly decide to abandon the wells, leaving state governments with a hefty bill for cleanup and raising the risk of massive methane leaks. Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, and already Diversified was the fourth-largest methane emitter among oil and gas producers last year, according to the EPA. “Diversified Energy’s strategy of leaving thousands of marginal wells unplugged for decades and potentially underestimating future cleanup costs could undermine important efforts to fight climate change,” committee members wrote in a letter.

4. Airlines team up with researchers to reduce planet-warming contrails

Major airlines are looking for ways to reduce the warming effect of the contrails produced by planes. Contrails are the clouds that build up in the sky behind jets as their engines spew hot air and soot into the atmosphere. The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) posits that contrails could have a bigger warming effect than burning jet fuel, because contrails reflect heat back toward the ground. “It’s a big contributor and we need to worry about it,” MIT researcher Florian Allroggen tells The Washington Post. Airlines including Delta, KLM, and American are working with researchers to identify and test ways to eliminate contrails, which might mean flying at higher or lower altitudes to avoid routes with the coldest, wettest air. One recent study found that rerouting 1.7% of flights could cut contrail warming by 59%.

5. Kentucky is getting a massive solar farm next year

Construction has begun on what will eventually be Kentucky’s largest solar farm. The project, called Unbridled, is scheduled to come online in 2024. It will be able to power 120,000 homes with clean energy every year, and will provide around $42 million in direct economic impact over the first 20 years of operation, Electrek’s Michelle Lewis reports. “This 160 MW solar farm is a milestone for Kentucky, the fifth-largest coal-producing state in the U.S.” Lewis says. “Coal is at a point of no return, and renewables will provide clean electricity and substantial economic benefits. It’s encouraging that Kentucky is starting to embrace renewables.”

THE KICKER

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly building a $270 million compound in Hawaii that will have its own food and energy supplies, and a 5,000-square-foot underground bunker.