EU ANNOUNCES ENHANCED GREEN ENERGY PLANS
Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock
It is no secret that the European Union faces energy challenges on multiple fronts. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has introduced unprecedented volatility into natural gas prices, and also highlighted existing flaws and inefficiencies in EU energy markets that are impacting consumers and industry alike. Added to this are huge subsidies in the U.S. (new) and China (ongoing) risk placing European green technology firms at a disadvantage. The EU is not sitting still.
Green Deal Industrial Plan
In February, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen set out its Green Deal Industrial Plan, designed to ensure the EU does not lose ground in the green tech race. According to Reuters, here’s what the plan entails:
- Faster Permits: Clean tech firms could be in line for simpler rules and fast-tracked permits to build production facilities in Europe.
- Subsidies: The Commission proposes loosening state aid rules until the end of 2025 to allow the bloc’s 27 governments to help with investments in renewable energy or decarbonizing industry.
- Skills: The EU has created 14 industry partnerships designed to boost education and training and to re-skill workforces. EU funds are also available for apprenticeships and vocational training.
- Trade: The Commission, which oversees EU trade policy, wants to increase the EU’s network of trade agreements. It will also seek to establish alliances with like-minded partners on raw materials and clean tech, along with its Trade and Technology Council with the United States. At the same time, it will use a new EU law on foreign subsidies to address what it says are unfair trading practices of non-market economies, such as China.
Market reforms
In March, the European Commission announced a series of proposals on Electricity Market Design, intended, according to the EC press release, to “accelerate a surge in renewables and the phase-out of gas, make consumer bills less dependent on volatile fossil fuel prices, better protect consumers from future price spikes and potential market manipulation, and make the EU’s industry clean and more competitive.”
The proposed reform includes revisions to several pieces of EU legislation and introduces measures that incentivise longer term contracts with non-fossil power production and bring more clean flexible solutions into the system to compete with gas, such as demand response and storage. In addition, the proposed reform will boost open and fair competition in the European wholesale energy markets by “enhancing market transparency and integrity.”
Industry responds
As always, proposals from government bodies such as these receive mixed reviews. ASPIRE, a European coalition of green energy associations and providers, said in a press release, “We welcome the European Commission’s proposal on the Electricity Market Design and its focus on creating favorable market conditions to boost investment in our essential technologies which provide stable and predictable supplies of renewable electricity to accelerate the replacement of the use of fossil fuels.”
Read more here.
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9 ITEMS OF GOOD NEWS FOR THE PLANET
Vik Joshi-Pexels
Thanks to Bloomberg’s Leslie Kaufman for an uplifting piece amidst so much negative news about climate change. Kaufman’s recent post introducing the latest edition of Bloomberg Green’s online magazine (which we excerpt further below) highlights nine positive developments for the environment.
- Green Jobs Explode: In the six months since America’s new climate bill became law, U.S. companies have announced more than 100,000 new clean energy jobs.
- Effort to Curb Methane Grows: More than 150 nations have now signed on to a global pledge to cut methane emitted from oil and gas wells, coal seams, landfills and livestock.
- A Boost for Sustainable Clothing: Victoria’s Secret & Co. now has a bra with pads that can be recycled, a step toward preventing waste at the end of garments’ lives.
- Making Cleaner Metal: Steel production accounts for about 7% of the world’s CO2 British researchers have discovered that a form of perovskite can be used to capture carbon dioxide from steelmaking.
- The EU Accelerates Renewables: Europe’s effort to ditch Russian fossil fuels led to the beginnings of a remarkable clean energy transition. Solar installations across Europe in 2022 increased by a record 40 gigawatts, or 35%.
- Carbon Capture Picks Up Steam: Investment in carbon capture and storage reached a record $6.4 billion last year. The US led, accounting for 45% of global investment, along with a significant uptick in Asia.
- Elephants Fight Climate Change: Elephants like to eat from small, leafy trees, leaving larger ones in the area with more space to grow. This allows the latter, which can absorb more planet-warming CO2, to flourish.
- A Pact to Protect Land and Water: At a United Nations conference in December, 195 countries agreed to protect and restore at least 30% of the Earth’s land and water by 2030. Wealthier nations also committed to pay poorer nations for biodiversity protection.
- The Biggest Auto Market Loves EVs: In China more than 1 in 5 new cars sold in 2022 was electric. The appeal for owners is enhanced by two-way chargers, which enable EV to pitch their products as “batteries on wheels.”
Read Kaufman’s full piece here.
CONTROVERSIAL CHOICE TO LEAD COP28 COULD SURPRISE
Our last issue highlighted remarks from CERAWeek, where UAE oil chief Sultan Al Jaber acknowledged the challenges for the oil and gas industry posed by climate change. Al Jaber has also been selected to lead the COP28 climate summit, coming up later this year in Abu Dhabi. His appointment has, understandably, been met with skepticism by some critics.
A long but worthwhile piece in Bloomberg Green’s online magazine explains Al Jaber’s perspective and why his appointment could provide a welcome boost to the COP process and facilitate agreements that otherwise might be difficult to reach.
Read more.
NEWS FROM 247SOLAR
April 22nd – Earth Day 2023
Bruce Anderson at Earth Day 1990
Did you know our CEO, Bruce Anderson, was instrumental in making Earth Day a global, annual event. In 1990, Earth Day co-founder Denis Hayes asked Bruce to organize and coordinate Earth Day’s 20th anniversary events in Anderson’s home state of New Hampshire. After the anniversary event Anderson asked Sen. Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day’s founder, why he hadn’t made it an annual event instead of one that occurred every 10 years. Nelson admitted that he had always wanted to do so but couldn’t find someone to take it on. Nelson suggested the two of them start a not-for-profit, and together they formed Earth Day USA, with Nelson as chairman and Anderson as president.
Within months, EDUSA had pulled together more than one hundred organizers to plan Earth Day 1991. In 1992, EDUSA attended the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where it accelerated its efforts to make Earth Day a global event. Ultimately, the group coordinated thousands of organizers in every state and around the world.
During the early days of the internet, the group formed www.earthday.org, significantly increasing its global reach. EDUSA focused on what individuals can do, with themes such as “Who says I can’t change the world!” and “Earth Day Everyday”. With creators Gail Lima and Franko Richmond, it made the “The Time Has Come” its song of record. For Earth Day 1994, it highlighted the Native American traditions of care for their Mother Earth. Following the 25th Anniversary of Earth Day in 1995, EDUSA passed the torch to Earth Day Network, along with earthday.org.
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