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Republicans at the event have been blaming Biden for high gas prices (which are heavily influenced by global market forces) and saying that Trump will give America “energy independence” (even though the U.S. continued to rely on foreign oil imports during Trump’s presidency). And there’s been a lot of complaining about Biden’s pause on new LNG export terminals.
But it hasn’t been all Biden bashing or fossil fuel fawning. During a Punchbowl News fireside chat, execs from American Clean Power, American Gas Association, Edison Electric Institute, and the Nuclear Energy Institute touted U.S. energy policy as “one of the greatest strengths in this country.” They called for building out new energy infrastructure more quickly, more inclusive tax codes (“rather than say we only like this type of molecule for hydrogen, it should be let’s create a hydrogen market and let the best man win”), and looked ahead to an exciting future for nuclear power.
Today is the final day of the RNC, and it will culminate with a speech from Donald Trump.
A new report from Global Energy Monitor found that the iron and steel industries worldwide “made major strides towards net zero goals” last year. Steelmaking alone accounts for about 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions, so greener production is essential. The GEM report found that 93% of new planned steel capacity will use low-emission electric arc furnaces instead of the much dirtier blast furnace. It projects that the global steelmaking fleet could be very close to meeting the International Energy Agency’s net zero emissions targets by 2030. “The transition to greener steel is afoot,” the report said, but it acknowledged that the blast furnace isn’t going away just yet and remains a climate risk.
GEM
The cost of insured property damages from Hurricane Beryl could top $6 billion, according to Moody’s. In Texas alone, insurers might be on the hook for $4.5 billion. Most U.S. losses are projected to be from destructive wind. Katrina in 2005 was the most expensive hurricane on record, with insured property losses topping $65 billion. Last year, natural disasters cost $95 billion in insured losses globally.
U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell this week made an impassioned plea for the world to urgently cut fossil fuel use after his grandmother’s home on the Caribbean island of Carriacou was destroyed by Beryl. “What the climate crisis did to my grandmother’s house must not become humanity’s new normal,” Stiell said. “We can still prevent that, but only if people everywhere speak up, and demand bolder climate actions now, before it’s too late.” Beryl struck Carriacou as a category 5 storm, the earliest storm of that magnitude ever recorded in the Atlantic.
A group of 14 state attorneys general are ramping up the pressure on FEMA to declare extreme heat and wildfire smoke major disasters. They sent a letter to the agency this week, urging it to “update its regulations to prepare for this hotter, smokier future.” Last month a coalition of about 30 groups filed a petition pushing for the change. Such a declaration could allow communities access to federal funds to prepare for heat and fire emergencies and could help pressure employers to provide better heat protections for workers. Heat waves kill more Americans each year than all other weather events combined. In case you’ve forgotten, last year was the hottest year on record, and climate change is making heat waves more likely and more intense.
Saudi Arabia is buying 50 electric jets for its state-owned national carrier, the Saudia Group. The “electric vertical take-off and landing” (or eVTOL) jets are made by a German manufacturer called Lilium and have electric engines that use less power while cruising. One jet can carry up to six passengers, and Saudi Arabia will deploy the aircraft for regional trips, most likely to and from tourist attractions. The planes cost $9 million each, bringing the deal to a total of about $450 million, and the kingdom has the option of purchasing another 50.
As climate change threatens to reduce access to fresh water, and rising seas encroach on farm land, researchers are studying ways to breed crops that could grow and thrive in saltwater.
A different dangerous weather pattern is playing out in the Midwest, where intense storms caused terrible floods. Residents of Nashville, Illinois, were ordered to evacuate due to an “imminent” dam failure. In St. Louis, Missouri, some streets were inundated, and water was seen pouring into the basement of a local fire house.
The Vineyard Wind project, a large-scale commercial offshore wind farm off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, has been “shut down until further notice” after debris from a damaged turbine blade began washing up on nearby beaches. One of the project’s 351-foot-long turbine blades reportedly broke off on Saturday, though nobody seems to know why yet. Green and white debris, as well as sharp fragments of fiberglass, have been littering Nantucket beaches, many of which are closed for cleanup. A company notice said debris will be “1 square foot or less,” but some pieces appear significantly larger, like this one spotted by the Nantucket Current:
The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement is investigating the incident. Vineyard Wind is the second U.S. commercial offshore wind farm and is only partially constructed, though its existing 21 turbines are already sending power to the grid. Once completed, it is expected to produce enough electricity to power 400,000 homes. This incident is more bad news (and bad press) for America’s nascent and struggling offshore wind industry.
The agenda for this year’s COP29 U.N. climate summit is coming into view. This morning the COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev (who is Azerbaijan’s environment minister as well as a former state oil company exec), published a letter outlining the “plan and expectations” for the event, which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital. While the top priority is to agree “a fair and ambitious” New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance, “this is not just our priority,” Babayev wrote, adding: “We all must go the extra mile together to deliver this historic milestone.” The letter urges nations to put forward new National Determined Contributions that are in keeping with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degree Celsius warming limit, submit climate adaptation plans, and finalize Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which sets out “how countries can reduce their emissions using international carbon markets.”
There are several references to Azerbaijan “leading by example” but the underlying message is one of shared responsibility between nations to tackle the climate crisis. The letter includes this rather ominous line: “The multilateral system is under pressure to show it can deliver at the speed and scale needed. COP29 will be a litmus test for the Paris Agreement and global climate action and cooperation.” You can read the full document here.
The U.K. is going to create a state-owned energy company, called Great British Energy, that will be a key pillar of the new Labour government’s promise to decarbonize the nation’s energy sector by 2030. GB Energy will not supply electricity directly to households. Instead, it will receive £8 billion (about $10.4 billion – which will come partly from increased taxes on oil and gas companies) to own and operate clean energy assets alongside the private sector, “financing and helping to build low-carbon infrastructure,” The Guardian explained. It’s not clear yet which projects GB Energy will invest in. Analysis from energy think tank Ember suggests that if the U.K. hits its 2030 decarbonization goal, annual household energy bills could be £300 lower.
Investment growth in fusion energy research and technology is down for the second year in a row, according to the Fusion Industry Association. Overall global investment has risen more than $900 million this year, but that’s less than last year’s $1.4 billion in growth, which was below the 2022 number, marking a downward trend. FIA CEO Andrew Holland called for more support, both private and public. The good news is that public funding in private fusion companies has jumped globally by almost 60%.
Sales of used electric vehicles were up 63% in the U.K. in the first half of 2024 as prices fall to match those of used combustion engine cars.
