Sign In or Create an Account.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

Sparks

Hello from Dubai, Where the Fleece Quotient Is High

You know you’re at a climate event when ...

Robinson Meyer •
11/29/2023
Fleeces.
Heatmap Illustration/Patagonia

One tool I have developed in my years of climate reporting might be described as the fleece quotient. This is the idea that you can generally predict if something is a climate event — a category I consider in its broadest terms, including but not limited to a scientific conference, a protest, or an international meeting — if more people attending it are wearing fleece than not. (It is distinct but related to the Patagonia ratio.)

This methodology is not perfect: In some cities, one can accidentally trip the fleece quotient on an ordinary Back to School night or even during a Sunday afternoon shop at Costco. And a true accounting of the fleece quotient (F.Q.) requires being attuned to microdemographic vagaries: If a fleece item is adorned with a third-party corporate logo, for instance, it is disqualified; but if it has an academic institution’s logo, then it counts twice. (If it’s embroidered with a major foundation’s logo? That’s five points, easy.)

But I have found it to be generally robust. In San Francisco (a fleece-friendly place to begin with), it is possible to tell when 25,000 Earth scientists arrive for their large annual conference because the city’s fleece quotient slightly but perceptibly rises.

This is all to say: Last night, I boarded a long-haul flight from Newark that had a fleece quotient to rival that of the Seattle REI. It was, of course, filled with people headed to the United Nations’ annual climate conference in Dubai — that is, the 28th annual meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP28.

For the next week or so, I’ll be attending the conference and writing notes about what I see. (COP itself runs to December 12.) I’ll also be trying to decode and filter the daily flood of climate news that tends to characterize this week. COP is the one moment every year when the world focuses on climate change — and as I think we’ll see this week, that can be both for good and for ill.

I’m excited to write these notes over the coming days. If you’d like to receive them in your inbox, you can subscribe to Heatmap Daily, our daily climate newsletter, below:

* indicates required
Our Privacy Policy & Terms Apply.

    • Yellow
    Robinson Meyer profile image

    Robinson Meyer

    Robinson is the founding executive editor of Heatmap. He was previously a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he covered climate change, energy, and technology.

    You’re out of free articles.

    Subscribe today to experience Heatmap’s expert analysis 
of climate change, clean energy, and sustainability.
    To continue reading
    Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.
    Continue with Google
    or
    Please enter an email address
    Continue
    By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy
    Or try a month of unlimited access to Heatmap for free
    Sparks

    The Country’s Largest Power Markets Are Getting More Gas

    Three companies are joining forces to add at least a gigawatt of new generation by 2029. The question is whether they can actually do it.

    Matthew Zeitlin •
    02/26/2025
    Natural gas pipelines.
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    Two of the biggest electricity markets in the country — the 13-state PJM Interconnection, which spans the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest, and ERCOT, which covers nearly all of Texas — want more natural gas. Both are projecting immense increases in electricity demand thanks to data centers and electrification. And both have had bouts of market weirdness and dysfunction, with ERCOT experiencing spiky prices and even blackouts during extreme weather and PJM making enormous payouts largely to gas and coal operators to lock in their “capacity,” i.e. their ability to provide power when most needed.

    Now a trio of companies, including the independent power producer NRG, the turbine manufacturer GE Vernova, and a subsidiary of the construction firm Kiewit Corporation, are teaming up with a plan to bring gas-powered plants to PJM and ERCOT, the companies announced today.

    The three companies said that the new joint venture “will work to advance four projects totaling over 5 gigawatts” of natural gas combined cycle plants to the two power markets, with over a gigawatt coming by 2029. The companies said that they could eventually build 10 to 15 gigawatts “and expand to other areas across the U.S.”

    So far, PJM and Texas’ call for new gas has been more widely heard than answered. The power producer Calpine said last year that it would look into developing more gas in PJM, but actual investment announcements have been scarce, although at least one gas plant scheduled to close has said it would stay open.

    So far, across the country, planned new additions to the grid are still overwhelmingly solar and battery storage, according to the Energy Information Administration, whose data shows some 63 gigawatts of planned capacity scheduled to be added this year, with more than half being solar and over 80% being storage.

    Keep reading...Show less
    Yellow
    Sparks

    An Emergency Trump-Coded Appeal to Save the Hydrogen Tax Credit

    Featuring China, fossil fuels, and data centers.

    Emily Pontecorvo •
    02/18/2025
    The Capitol.
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    As Republicans in Congress go hunting for ways to slash spending to carry out President Trump’s agenda, more than 100 energy businesses, trade groups, and advocacy organizations sent a letter to key House and Senate leaders on Tuesday requesting that one particular line item be spared: the hydrogen tax credit.

    The tax credit “will serve as a catalyst to propel the United States to global energy dominance,” the letter argues, “while advancing American competitiveness in energy technologies that our adversaries are actively pursuing.” The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association organized the letter, which features signatures from the American Petroleum Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Clean Energy Buyers Association, and numerous hydrogen, industrial gas, and chemical companies, among many others. Three out of the seven regional clean hydrogen hubs — the Mid-Atlantic, Heartland, and Pacific Northwest hubs — are also listed.

    Keep reading...Show less
    Red
    Sparks

    Why Your Car Insurance Bill Is Making Renewables More Expensive

    Core inflation is up, meaning that interest rates are unlikely to go down anytime soon.

    Matthew Zeitlin •
    02/12/2025
    Wind turbines being built.
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    The Fed on Wednesday issued a report showing substantial increases in the price of eggs, used cars, and auto insurance — data that could spell bad news for the renewables economy.

    Though some of those factors had already been widely reported on, the overall rise in prices exceeded analysts’ expectations. With overall inflation still elevated — reaching an annual rate of 3%, while “core” inflation, stripping out food and energy, rose to 3.3%, after an unexpectedly sharp 0.4% jump in January alone — any prospect of substantial interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve has dwindled even further.

    Keep reading...Show less