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☆ Column: Global energy use and emissions hubs set to shift by 2050
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

LITTLETON, Colorado, March 20 (Reuters) - The Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa will overtake China, North America and Europe as the key drivers of world energy use through 2050, with implications for global emissions potential and accountability. Combined primary energy use in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa will grow from roughly 115,000 petajoules in 2023 to nearly 194,000 petajoules by 2050, an expansion of more than 78,000 petajoules. South Asia, Southeast Asia & Sub-Saharan Africa to be main drivers of global energy use by 2050This means that global energy consumption will continue to grow from current levels by 2050, despite the efforts of current energy transition leaders to reduce energy use by mid-century, DNV data shows. Downsizing of outdated or uncompetitive capacity is set to reduce Greater China's energy demand from manufacturing by 23% between 2025 and 2050, DNV data shows. If so, the global energy landscape of 2050 will not just have drastically different geographic concentrations of energy use, but also a cleaner emissions profile that may support energy transition efforts.

☆ Your Data Is Diminishing Your Freedom
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

What inequalities are baked into these data systems? Oregon State UniversityBut it’s almost impossible to function in the world without participating in these data systems that we’re told are mandatory. Which is a concern with, How are these data systems proscribing my freedoms? This is the question of equality and the implications of these data systems’ being obligatory. You get these data systems that load people in, but it’s clear there wasn’t sufficient care taken for the unequal effects of this datafication.

☆ This could be Big Oil's last surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The era of Big Oil could end sooner than its massive profits suggest, analysts told Insider. But the worst-case scenario for the environment — that oil and gas companies reinvest all their extra money to keep growing — isn't happening, Logan said. The role of oil and gas companies in the energy transition is an ongoing debate, analysts told Insider. The UK company cited the need for an "orderly" energy transition. And while Big Oil's finances may begin to show some cracks over the next decade, he doesn't expect them to "suffer financially" for another 25 to 35 years.

[1/5] A white tiger cub that was abandoned outside the Attica Zoological Park and is believed to be a victim of illegal wildlife trade, drinks water at the zoo's infirmary, in Athens, Greece, March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Stelios MisinasATHENS, March 17 (Reuters) - Greek veterinarians are fighting to save a white tiger cub abandoned in a rubbish bin at an Athens zoo, believed to be a victim of the illegal wildlife trade. The three-month old white tiger was found on Feb. 28 under a garbage bin in the parking lot of the Attica Zoological Park by a cleaner, who notified the zoo owner. "It is the first time ever we had such an animal dumped outside our zoo," said zoo founder Jean-Jacques Lesueur. Lesueur said if the tiger survives it will have to be relocated to a sanctuary, as the zoo has no other animals of its kind.

While Xiaomi remained focused on selling mobile phones under 10,000 rupees ($120), Indian consumers were willing to pay up for better looking models with richer features. According to Counterpoint, the market share of the sub-$120 phones in India fell to 26% in 2022 from 41% two years ago. And premium phones - priced above 30,000 ($360) - saw their share double to 11% in the same period. Xiaomi and Samsung both count India as a key growth market, with smartphones their top selling electronic device. And premium phones accounted for only 0%-1% of Xiaomi's total India phone shipments in the last two years, when Samsung's higher-end phones more than doubled their share to 13%, Counterpoint data showed.

☆ Sustainable Aviation Fuel No Quick Fix to Greening Air Travel
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Oscar the Grouch is United Airlines’ pitchman for a new advertising campaign touting the environmental benefits of jet fuel made from waste. It can cut emissions by up to 80% compared with conventional jet fuel, depending on the feedstock used. First, the sustainably derived fuel is typically two to four times as expensive as conventional jet fuel. Globally, jet fuel cost can be volatile but was around $2.76 a gallon as of March 3, according to the International Air Transport Association. Hydrogen’s energy density makes it more promising as a jet fuel.

☆ Investors are flocking to these well capitalized regional banks after SVB's collapse, market analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

KBW's RJ Grant say investors should seek out well capitalized banks for sizable returns in the long run. "Banks with strong deposit franchises are the ones that investors have been flocking to," he said. Regional banks on Tuesday staged a comeback, with some rising over 40% after cratering on Monday. While shares in regional banks continued to plunge by double digits on Monday, a reversal was taking shape Tuesday. Regional banks such as First Republic and PacWest watched as their stock prices climb by over 40% on Tuesday.

☆ Lahore is most polluted city, Chad worst among countries - survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Lahore's air quality worsened to 97.4 micrograms of PM2.5 particles per cubic meter from 86.5 in 2021, making it the most polluted city globally. Hotan, the only Chinese city in the top 20, followed Lahore with PM2.5 levels of 94.3, an improvement from 101.5 in 2021. While Chad had an average level of 89.7, Iraq, which had the second most polluted air for a country, averaged 80.1. Bangladesh's air quality improved from 2021, when it was tagged as the country with the worst air. The index was prepared using data from more than 30,000 air quality monitors in more than 7,300 locations in 131 countries, territories and regions.

☆ Clean and Cheap Oil Is a Heavy Lift
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Darren Woods, Exxon Mobil CEO, says the company is one of the least emissions-intensive producers of fuel. Energy executives are all making the same shiny, new pitch: Let us keep drilling, and we’ll produce cheaper, less carbon-intensive oil and gas. Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Darren Woods said last week at industry conference CERAWeek by S&P Global that the company is one of the least emissions-intensive producers of fuel in the world. As long as there is gasoline and diesel demand, having Exxon make it will be a cleaner option, he said. While he was referring to the company’s refining operations, he touted a similar advantage in the company’s upstream activities, pointing to the Permian Basin as a source of cleaner hydrocarbons.

Alaska's elected officials say the project will create hundreds of jobs and bring billions of dollars in revenue to state and federal coffers. The state relies heavily on revenue from oil production, but output there has declined dramatically from its peak in the 1980s. "I feel the people of Alaska have been heard," U.S. Representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat from Alaska, said on a call with reporters. The Interior Department approved the project with three drill pads after saying last month it was concerned about the greenhouse gas impacts of Willow. "This was the right decision for Alaska and our nation," ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Ryan Lance said in a statement.

ConocoPhillips had sought to build up to five drill sites, dozens of miles of roads, seven bridges and pipelines. The Interior Department approved the project with three drill pads after saying last month that it was concerned about the greenhouse gas impacts of Willow. Its Bureau of Land Management last month recommended a "preferred alternative" that includes three drill sites and less surface infrastructure than originally proposed. The decision comes after the Biden administration on Sunday announced new protections for Alaskan land and water. Environmental groups criticized the Biden administration, saying it was trying to have it "both way" on climate change.

☆ Five Rules for Getting an ‘Investment Buzzcut’—Spring’s Hot Men’s Haircut
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Wilbert Cooper | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

IN JANUARY, pop star Shawn Mendes shocked fans when he buzzed off his chocolatey mane. Some members of the Mendes Army even tweeted that they were “grieving” at having to bid farewell to the heartthrob’s dreamy waves. When The Wall Street Journal asked the 24-year-old to share his rationale behind the bare new look, he did not mention any particular image agenda. The stripped-back style suggests an emotional rawness, said Mike Martinez, creative director of Cutler Salon, which has branches in New York and Los Angeles. “When the sun finally comes out and we leave that winter hibernation, the buzzcut is there for those people looking for a new, cleaner look,” he said.

☆ A Huge City Polluter? Buildings. Here’s a Surprising Fix.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Brad Plumer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

Carbon dioxide from these boilers wafts up chimneys and into the air, one of the city’s biggest sources of global warming emissions. “And we expect that it won’t be the last.”The boiler releases carbon dioxide. The remaining carbon dioxide was then chilled to minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit and turned to liquid. The system currently captures about 60 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted by the Grand Tier’s boilers, Mr. Asparro said. While they’re paying for the carbon dioxide, they are not charging a premium for their blocks.

☆ Column: The ironic side effects of the rapid global energy transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

This chorus of support for the energy transition has ignited an almost frantic renewable energy development spree across the world, with green energy generation capacity growing at a record pace in every major economy. On January 1st, 2020, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) implemented ship emissions standards that slashed the maximum level of sulfur allowed in shipping fuels. As sulfur levels dropped more radiation was absorbed. Old solar panels face a similar predicament, especially ones that lack the efficiency of newer models and in the eyes of resellers are not worth collecting from old sites and homes. They can also face volatile market prices for the recycled and reclaimed materials they do manage to gather.

☆ Factbox: Biden budget targets U.S. fossil fuel subsidies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here are some details about U.S. fossil fuel subsidies:HOW MUCH ARE THEY WORTH? Axing the subsidies would save the government nearly $31 billion over 10 years, Biden's fiscal year 2024 budget proposal says. Before taking office, Biden promised to get rid of fossil fuel subsidies as part of a multi-pronged effort to fight climate change that also included ending new drilling on public lands. For one, they require an act of Congress, and Republicans and some Democrats oppose the removal of fossil fuel subsidies. The International Energy Agency estimated that so-called consumption subsidies for fossil fuels doubled in 2022 to $1 trillion globally.

☆ Companies that mine copper are making plans to go green so they can help the rest of the world do the same
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The plans call for using renewable electricity sources to reduce the industry's carbon footprint. Broader use of these technologies could also help shrink the copper industry's carbon footprint. "A lot of these technologies do exist," Anthony Lea, the president of the International Copper Association, told Insider. "There are prototype vehicles out there, so it's going to take a dialogue between mining companies and equipment manufacturers. Lea said the climate strategy can help show the public, policymakers, and investors that copper mining can expand in a responsible way, which can help attract investment.

☆ I'm a 22-year-old Airbnb manager who charges guests a $250 cleaning fee — here's why
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Jen Glantz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"We raised the fee for many reasons, including to pay our cleaner a better wage," Laatz said. For the past year, I've been in charge of managing two Airbnb properties that my dad owns in Kauai, Hawaii. As the manager, I help guests with the check-in process, arrange for the handyman to come, and schedule cleanings in between stays. But luckily we do have insurance, which comes in handy for broken items that guests won't pay for. That would hurt our business more than a high cleaning fee.

☆ Mercuria leads funding round for engine tech firm ClearFlame
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Simon Jessop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A flag with the logo of Mercuria commodity trading house is pictured in Geneva, Switzerland, October 11, 2016. ClearFlame, whose technology allows diesel engines to run on more climate-friendly fuels, said the Series B round was also backed by WIND Ventures, the venture arm of Chile's COPEC (COPEC.SN), and existing investor Breakthrough Energy Ventures. To help accelerate the shift to a low-carbon economy, ClearFlame modifies the engine design by switching out 10-15% of the engine parts to allow it to run on a variety of fuels, including ethanol and ammonia. Diesel accounts for around 26% of carbon emissions from the transport sector, ClearFlame said, and is also responsible for particulates and black soot. Mercuria's Boris Bystrov said in a statement that its investment reflected a belief that ClearFlame's technology can "economically decarbonise the heavy-duty industry".

☆ Biden's budget proposal calls for boosting climate resilience funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden's budget proposal for 2024 includes billions of dollars spread across federal agencies to combat climate change, with a bulk of investment going towards boosting disaster resilience and conservation, cutting pollution and advancing clean energy technologies. Among the most ambitious of Biden's funding requests is the roughly $24 billion to help build communities' resilience to climate-related disasters including floods, wildfires, storms, extreme heat and drought. The proposal also comes as the White House continues to implement provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate bill ever passed by Congress. The spending is spread across agencies tasked with combatting climate change, advancing climate resilience and bolstering clean energy technologies. The White House proposes $16.5 billion to support climate science and clean energy innovation, with more than $5.1 billion to fund research on climate adaptation and resilience across agencies like NASA and the Interior Department.

☆ Factbox: Biden budget to target U.S. fossil fuel subsidies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Here are some details about U.S. fossil fuel subsidies:HOW MUCH ARE THEY WORTH? Calculating the cost of U.S. subsidies for the fossil fuel industry is complex because the incentives stretch across the U.S. tax code, but estimates range from $10 to $50 billion per year. Before taking office, Biden promised to get rid of fossil fuel subsidies as part of a multi-pronged effort to fight climate change that also included ending new drilling on public lands. For one, they require an act of Congress, and Republicans and some Democrats oppose the removal of fossil fuel subsidies. The International Energy Agency estimated that so-called consumption subsidies for fossil fuels doubled in 2022 to $1 trillion globally.

Among methods that produce what is known as green hydrogen are electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using power from renewables. The technology for shipping hydrogen is still in early stages of development, said Chevron's vice president of hydrogen Austin Knight. About 30-35% of the total energy system will need hydrogen to decarbonize, he said. NextEra is working with the U.S. Treasury on rules that govern what can be considered green hydrogen, he said. The process is complicated by the variability of renewable power supply from wind and solar, he said.

☆ Europe is trying to move from planes to trains. Here's how that's going
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Miquel Ros | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Aviation emissions in Europe increased an average of 5% year-on-year between 2013 and 2019, according to the EU. Not surprisingly these moves have set alarm bells ringing in the aviation industry. “For many decision-makers, banning short-haul flights and showing support to the rail industry is an easy win to gain favor with the public, especially in Europe,” Montserrat Barriga, the ERA’s director general, told CNN. “Governments continue ignoring the biggest source of aviation emissions – long-haul flights, that remain unpriced and unregulated,” says T&E’s Dardenne. Better connectivity between intercity rail and airports would also reduce the need for short-haul flights.

REUTERS/Andrew Winning/File PhotoWASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - Engineering company Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE) will announce on Tuesday it is investing over $220 million to build a rail car manufacturing facility in North Carolina, the White House and Siemens said. Busch said Siemens has a "strong foothold" in the market and sees longer term growth opportunities in high-speed rail. Siemens' rail unit will be receiving a jobs development grant from the state of North Carolina, the company said. Funding comes in part from the bipartisan infrastructure law passed in 2021, the White House said. The $1 trillion infrastructure law provides $66 billion for rail, an unprecedented boost in federal aid for trains.

☆ SEC Chair Gensler says 'Scope 3' emissions disclosures aren't 'well developed,' hinting they could be scaled back in climate rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler, testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee during an oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 15, 2022. WASHINGTON — SEC Chair Gary Gensler hinted again Monday that the agency was considering scaling back its emissions disclosure rule. The SEC received a record 15,000 or so comments on the rule, "more than we've gotten on any other role in the history of our commission," Gensler said. Gensler has previously said the agency was considering making "adjustments" to the rule, given the volume of public comments. But a group of Democratic lawmakers are pressing Gensler not to drop Scope 3 disclosures from the final rule.

For now, by building in Ohio, Foxconn can offer customers access to U.S. federal incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act, Daiwa Capital Markets analyst Kylie Huang said. That's a selling point as traditional automakers juggle building gasoline-powered vehicles with plans to build their own EV capacity. "If they don't get one this year, next year will be more difficult," Huang said of Foxconn's search for an EV contract with a traditional automaker. "Sooner or later, maybe the top, traditional (automakers) say, 'Hey, I want to become a product marketing company. Foxconn wants to build around 300,000 EVs at the plant, Ian Upton, director of production control at Foxconn Ohio, told Reuters.

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