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☆ It took a full year, multiple calls to the dealership, and an angry tweet at Ford's CEO, to finally get my all-electric pickup truck delivered
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( George Pearkes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

But the process of getting the truck was far from ideal — beset by production delays, missing parts, and unresponsive customer service. There are still a few kinks to be worked out before electric vehicles can dominate the US market — the road to an electrified American auto industry is going to be a bumpy one. For me, the most important driver for buying an electric vehicle was that it feels like a giant step toward a decarbonized future. While electric vehicles can borrow a lot of that institutional knowledge, new technology and business models mean there is still a way to go before everything is smooth sailing. Even without the prodding from the government, car companies have shown a keen interest in shifting their fleets toward electric vehicles for business reasons.

Companies American Gas Association FollowWASHINGTON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday launched the first standard on cutting carbon emissions from federal buildings as part of the Biden administration's policy on curbing climate change. The Federal Building Performance Standard requires federal agencies to cut energy use and electrify equipment and appliances to achieve zero emissions in 30% of their buildings by square footage space by 2030. U.S. President Joe Biden wants federal buildings to be emissions free by 2045 as part of his goal of decarbonizing the economy by 2050. To get there, agencies will be buying American-made products such as heat pumps, electric water heaters and other energy efficiency technologies, the White House said. "Eliminating natural gas in federal buildings is an impractical, unscientific and expensive idea that will have no environmental benefit," said Karen Harbert, AGA president and chief executive.

Forrest said in a statement Squadron had acquired CWP Renewables but did not disclose the price. And the more we create and deploy new renewable energy, the cheaper it becomes for every Australian and the world," Forrest told Reuters after the announcement. With CWP Renewables, Squadron would have the scale it needs to meet demand from large commercial and industrial customers for reliable green energy in eastern Australia, he said. Willoughby said CWP aimed to give the go-ahead by March 2023 to build a 400 MW wind farm, which would cost more than A$1 billion. There are literally trillions of dollars of capital looking for green energy projects," he said.

SYDNEY/MELBOURNE, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest's private firm Squadron Energy has acquired CWP Renewables in Australia for more than A$4 billion ($2.7 billion), three people familiar with the deal said on Wednesday. Forrest said in a statement Squadron had acquired CWP Renewables, owner of 1.1 gigawatts of wind farms and a development pipeline of 1.3 GW of wind and solar farms in Australia, but did not disclose the price. CWP was sold by Swiss-based investor Partners Group (PGHN.S), which said it built the Australian business up after first investing in the Sapphire Wind Farm in the state of New South Wales in 2016. Other companies that had looked at CWP included Spain's Iberdrola (IBE.MC), Tilt Renewables, partly owned by AGL Energy (AGL.AX), and Origin Energy (ORG.AX), all aiming to expand in renewable energy as Australia speeds up its transition away from coal-fired power. With CWP Renewables, Squadron would have the scale it needs in eastern Australia to meet demand from large commercial and industrial customers for reliable green energy, Forrest said.

☆ Nesta's VC arm just launched a $60 million fund to back social and climate impact startups. We got an exclusive look at the 13-slide pitch deck it used to sway its board.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The VC arm of the UK's social innovation agency Nesta just launched a £50 million ($60 million) fund. We got an exclusive look at the 13-slide pitch deck used to convince Nesta's board to launch the fund. While UK-focused, Nesta Impact Investments can invest in any geography as long as the company could have a positive impact on the UK market. In this portfolio, Nesta Impact Investments is running at 71% from minoritized or disadvantaged groups, according to Barclay. We got an exclusive look at the 13-slide pitch deck Nesta Impact Investments used to sell Nesta's board on the new fund.

☆ Idealab founder Bill Gross started selling solar energy kits in 1973 at 15 years old. Now he's leading solar tech company Heliogen
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Idealab and Heliogen Founder Bill Gross speaks onstage during Vox Media's 2022 Code Conference on September 08, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California. "Because I was reading Popular Science magazine, I saw people used to take out little ads in the back," Gross told CNBC. One limiting factor for solar energy is its intermittency, which means it only delivers power when the sun is shining. But we're delivering the energy continuously because the energy is coming out of the rock bed," Gross told CNBC. The price of fossil fuels after Russia invaded Ukraine is a game changer," Gross told CNBC.

☆ Startups trying to turn cities into carbon sinks to fight climate change have raised a record $2.2 billion this year, new report shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Green construction startups have raised a record $2.2 billion in 2022, per VC firm A/O PropTech. The construction and operation of buildings account for 37% of global CO2 emissions from energy use, according to the UN. The adoption of bio-based materials, such as wood, and a circular approach to construction can help cities become carbon sinks, the report stated. A carbon sink is when something can store more carbon emissions than it produces. Most building materials are currently "down-cycled" and used for things like filling potholes, she added.

☆ 'Indiscriminate use of hydrogen' could slow the energy transition, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"Indiscriminate use of hydrogen could therefore slow down the energy transition," it added. The energy transition can broadly be seen as a shift away from fossil fuels to a system dominated by renewables. Hopes for hydrogen Described by the International Energy Agency as a "versatile energy carrier," hydrogen has a diverse range of applications and can be deployed in a wide range of industries. During a roundtable discussion at COP27 last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described green hydrogen as "one of the most important technologies for a climate-neutral world." "So it requires an extra effort to make green hydrogen projects ...

☆ U.S. aims for zero-emissions heavy-duty vehicles by 2040
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( David Shepardson | Megan Rowling | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The United States aims to only sell and produce zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty vehicles like school buses and tractor trailers by 2040, the U.S. energy secretary agreed at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt on Thursday. The non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) sets a target for 30% of those new vehicles - which include commercial delivery vehicles, buses and trucks - to be zero-emission by 2030 and 100% by 2040. The $430 billion climate, tax and drug policy bill passed in August includes new commercial electric vehicles tax credits, with up to $7,500 for light- and medium-duty vehicles and up to $40,000 for heavy-duty vehicles. “Decarbonizing commercial transport vehicles is critical to meeting our overall carbon emissions targets," Heinrich said in a statement. The EPA in March had proposed tighter standards for 17 of the 33 sub-categories of vocational and tractor vehicles, including school buses, transit buses, commercial delivery trucks, and short-haul tractors.

☆ Gulf Arab states can’t give up oil. But they can slash their emissions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Abu Dhabi CNN —As Western states try to wean themselves off their addiction to hydrocarbons, Gulf oil nations have been pushing back hard, warning that a hasty transition away from fossil fuels will be counterproductive. According to the World Bank, Qatar had the highest carbon emissions per capita as of 2019, followed by Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. So, investment in clean energy projects and renewables “makes very good business sense and PR sense for the Gulf,” he said. Gulf petro-states are warning against a quick transition away from hydrocarbons, with the UAE calling for a “mixed energy” approach that minimizes emissions without cutting hydrocarbons. Much of the hydrocarbons exported by Gulf states go to some of the world’s biggest consumers and polluters, including China and India.

"Many countries faced with sharply rising energy costs and heightened security of supply concerns are turning to nuclear power," the IAEA said in a release announcing the exhibit. "We don't get to net zero by 2050 without nuclear power in the mix." The United States has already earmarked billions of dollars toward keeping existing nuclear power plants open as part of a broader strategy to decarbonize the economy and is hoping to encourage new projects. The nuclear power industry has had trouble raising money in recent years, having taken a huge public relations hit following the 2011 reactor meltdown at the Fukushima power plant in Japan. Even so, Hannah Fenwick, the co-lead of Nuclear for Climate which represents a network of 150 associations advocating for governments to embrace nuclear power, said her organization was lobbying policy-makers at COP27 to consider nuclear energy investments and was getting decent feedback.

☆ The US is creating a carbon-offset plan for corporations that would fund developing countries' moves to clean energy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The plan would create revenue to fund developing countries' moves toward clean energy. "This is a critical tool that will supplement, not replace, other sources of climate finance." The US will also consult with organizations that are trying to improve the scientific integrity of carbon credits. "Buying emissions reductions from developing countries is not the same thing as channeling climate finance and raises questions about who can count the reductions." African nations unveiled their own carbon-market initiative Tuesday, with an aim to supply 300 million carbon credits each year by 2030 and raise up to $6 billion.

☆ U.S. must make much deeper emissions cuts to meet climate goals -government report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 7 (Reuters) - The United States needs to make far faster and deeper cuts to greenhouse gas emissions over the next three decades to meet international goals to rein in the worst effects of climate change, according to a government report issued on Monday. The United States is the world's second biggest emitter after China. The United States reduced emissions by 12% between 2007 and 2019, the report said, thanks to the adoption of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar and improved efficiency. The report laid out the harms climate change is already exacting in every part of the country in the form of drought, wildfires, heatwaves and other extreme events. It also cast climate change as a risk to "the things Americans most value" such as safe homes, healthy families, reliable public services and a sustainable economy.

☆ Culture of sustainability
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Schneider Electric | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

As early as 2005, the company had launched its first sustainability barometer — the Schneider Sustainability Impact (SSI) — which produces quarterly measurements of its ESG performance. In short, it has created a remarkable culture of sustainability throughout its operations. Watch the video below featuring Gwenaelle Avice-Huet, Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, Schneider Electric. The results have been highly encouraging, both in terms of advancing the company's sustainability drive, and in creating a happier and more engaged workforce. To help its customers and partners arrive at this ambition, Schneider Electric applies a programmatic approach to drive sustainability impact: strategize, digitize, decarbonize.

☆ Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | Photographs Devin Oktar Yalkin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +53 min

Beyond Catastrophe A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View By David Wallace-WellsYou can never really see the future, only imagine it, then try to make sense of the new world when it arrives. (A United Nations report released this week ahead of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, confirmed that range.) A little lower is possible, with much more concerted action; a little higher, too, with slower action and bad climate luck. There were climate-change skeptics in some very conspicuous positions of global power. New emissions peaks are expected both this year and next, which means that more damage is being done to the future climate of the planet right now than at any previous point in history.

☆ U.S. funds projects to explore nuclear waste reprocessing
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, aims to develop a dozen projects to recycle the waste, also known as spent nuclear fuel, with $38 million in funding. France and other countries have reprocessed nuclear waste by breaking it down into uranium and plutonium and reusing it to make new reactor fuel. President Joe Biden's administration supports development of advanced nuclear plants to help reach his goal of decarbonizing the U.S. economy by 2050. Recycling nuclear waste "can significantly reduce the amount of spent fuel at nuclear sites, and increase economic stability for the communities leading this important work," Granholm said. As a result, the waste is now stored at nuclear power plants across the country in spent fuel pools and in casks made of steel and concrete.

☆ How the airline industry plans to wean itself off one billion tons of carbon emissions
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Trevor Laurence Jockims | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

But Taylor has nothing on the airline industry, whose annual CO2 emission is pushing one billion metric tons. Airlines have completed test flights with sustainable aviation fuels, and the deals with sustainable aviation fuel producers have started to accumulate. American is the first airline globally to receive validation from the Science Based Targets initiative for its intermediate GHG emissions reduction targets and the only U.S. airline to report using more than 1 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel in 2021. From ethanol, Gevo then processes further into a product that is chemically identical to standard aviation fuel. Judged against the standards of its own industry, American remains a leader in carbon reduction efforts.

☆ 4 clean energy trends to accelerate your sustainability goals
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Enel With Insider Studios | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

This law is designed to lower the costs of acquiring clean energy solutions while enabling accessibility and accelerating the adoption of affordable, clean energy products and services. Here are four trends that will likely reshape your sustainability goals and questions businesses should ask to accelerate climate action. Scaling up of commercial clean energy solutionsThe new law will inject $369 billion into the US clean energy economy, financing renewable power, clean energy equipment manufacturing, electric vehicles, and much more. Here are questions to consider when scaling your clean energy portfolio:Given cost competitiveness and accessibility of clean energy, how will scaling-up clean energy solutions influence your bottom line? To prepare your operations to scale your sustainability goals, consider these questions when preparing your data:Currently, how is ESG data used to inform business operations and sustainability goals?

☆ 9 green cloud startups that investors are betting on to cash in on a $2 trillion climate opportunity
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-31 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Here are nine tech startups that analysts and investors are betting on to help reduce emissions. As the planet warms, tech companies are finding ways to reduce environmental impacts. Sustainability efforts will only grow as customers, investors, and employees put pressure on tech companies to disclose their environmental impact. Some offered insights on green cloud computing that informed the list, which includes companies making decarbonization software, carbon-offset measurement tools, and data-center cooling technologies. Here are the climate-tech startups analysts and investors say are worth betting on, from least to most capital raised.

☆ Leaders from Walmart, AB InBev, Honeywell, Carlyle, and more share advice for getting started — and sticking to — sustainability goals
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-22 | by ( Julia Hood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

Sustainability leaders from Walmart, JUST Capital, Dow, Honeywell, Cognizant, Deloitte, Bank of America, AB InBev, and Carlyle participated. If you're just looking for a science partner, you're going to go and get the science. So then we started building debriefs for our portfolio companies, actually making them sit down and have a conversation with us. Because as long as you do it with integrity, you're going to probably get to the right place. I remember him saying when we talked about the idea, "what you're trying to achieve with that, is somewhere between really, really, really, really hard and impossible."

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