Energy, Environment & Transport Pro Brief |
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Mon 28 October 2024 | View online
Estimated reading time: 4-5 minutes |
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| Ursula von der Leyen meets Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA) |
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COP16: Week two kicks-off with nature credits |
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Today is ‘Biodiversity & Finance day’ at COP16, where the Commission is expected to pitch its vision for a nature credits system. The intervention follows Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen’s September’s speech in Munich, where she called for a new financial tool dedicated to nature protection.
Nature credits are part of a wider COP16 debate on whether a new global funding mechanism for biodiversity is needed, with delegates discussing a future ‘Resource Mobilisation Strategy’.
However progress is being held back by significant disagreements between global north and south countries.
With this discussion, the parties are looking at how they can mobilize €184 billion (US$200 bn) annually for biodiversity, as set out in ‘target 19’ of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
Delegates are exploring a range of sources for the funding, both public and private.
This morning a group of private philanthropies including the Bezos Earth Fund and Bloomberg Philanthropies committed just under €48 million to accelerate the creation of marine protected areas in the high seas. The move is intended to contribute towards the GBF goal of preserving 30% of the ocean by 2030.
Finally, the past week concluded without compromise on the GBF’s Planning, Monitoring, Reporting, and Review mechanism, with discussions to continue this week. [BM] |
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US industrial strategy turbocharges solar manufacturing |
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New analysis by thinktank Bruegel and research outfit Rhodium shows the diverging paths that the US and Europe have taken, in their efforts to boost domestic solar manufacturing.
A combination of Inflation Reduction Act tax credits and Obama and Trump-era trade tariffs saw investments into solar manufacturing surge by a factor of more than 8, since Q3 2022.
Over the same period in Europe, investment remained largely unchanged. |
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Quarterly investment into solar manufacturing supply chain, US and Europe, Q1 2022 onwards |
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The boom has not given the US anything close to autarky however. The country had a US$20 billion trade deficit in solar, and monthly imports of PV cells have more than doubled since July 2022. The report says this is because domestic module manufacturing has not yet been matched by an equivalent surge in domestic wafer or cell manufacturing.
The economic value of the US’s growing solar sector remains to be seen.
The report highlights “massive overcapacity” in the global PV market. The world can produce 1140 GW of solar modules annually, but only deploys 345 GW. [DC] |
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Watchdog ACER consults on Dutch-Norwegian power grid spat |
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Norway exported 3 TWh of power to the Netherlands in 2023.
However in spite of this trade the Dutch and Norwegian regulators have long been at odds, over how to address the lack of risk hedging opportunities at their bidding zone border.
Both the Dutch side and the Norwegian side complain that there are not enough products to hedge against price volatility in the other country. These are needed to reduce the risk of power trades between the two countries.
When the two sides could not find a solution, the EU watchdog ACER stepped in, and started consulting the public on Friday.
The Ljubiljana-based agency is considering making available ‘long-term transmission rights ‘ (LTTRS), which traders could use to hedge against price volatility on either side of the border.
The approach is already used at the Danish-German border.
ACER cautions that this may still be a “relatively burdensome process” and “especially challenging for smaller market participants with hedging needs.”
The move could also be detrimental to consumers, because “of market participants buying LTTRs for speculation” which could leading to them being undervalued. This would reduce the the income of TSOs, who would ultimately pass on the cost to households.
Everyone can comment until the 22 November, before ACER makes a decision on 17 February. [NK] |
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China’s secret chemicals ruining the climate, watchdog warns |
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In a new analysis NGO Environmental Investigation Agency says that HFC-23 emissions in the atmosphere are much higher than reported.
HFC-23, a gas with a climate impact 14,800 worse than CO2, is a by-product of HFC-22, which is used in products ranging from fire protection to electronics manufacturing.
Global ozone layer treaty The Montreal Protocol requires that HFCs be gradually phased out, with developing countries leading the way.
However HFC-23 emissions spotted by atmospheric observation are much higher than those reported around the globe, stresses NGO Environmental Investigation Agency ahead of the 36th Montreal Protocol meeting in Bangkok today.
The result is rogue emissions in the hundred megaton of CO2e, around the annual emissions of France.
“Unreported emissions from China accounted for about 20-50 per cent of the global HFC-23 emissions gap,” stresses the EIA report.
However the problem goes beyond China. EIA campaigner Dr Joanna Sparks noted that “there are still significant gaps in the atmospheric data for other parts of the world which must be addressed.” [NK] |
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New carbon inequality report points finger at richest Europeans |
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A new report from charity Oxfam released today provides fresh data on the carbon footprint of the wealthiest Europeans, and its link with accelerated climate change and global inequality. The report tracks the impact of superyachts and private jets of super-rich Europeans, and says that that these luxury trips produce more carbon pollution in a week, than the world’s poorest 1% emits in a lifetime.
“The super-rich in Europe are treating our planet like their personal playground. Their dirty investments, their private jets and yachts are not just symbols of excess; they are fuelling inequality, hunger and even death”, said Chiara Putaturo, Oxfam’s EU tax expert.
Based on its findings and ahead of COP29, Oxfam calls on the EU to ban or punitively tax carbon-intensive luxury consumption, and to use wealth taxes to fund climate finance. [BM] |
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Pharma flying emissions: Reductions, but more to be done |
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A new study by environmental NGO T&E released today reveals that while the pharma sector’s business flying emissions dropped 21% in 2023 compared to 2019 levels, this reduction could have been twice as large, if some companies had made greater efforts.
It singles out pharma giants Johnson & Johnson and Merck. Had these two companies halved their emissions, the sector’s year-on-year drop in flying emissions would have been 44%, the analysis says.
The report looks at eleven pharmaceutical companies and also reveals that most have not committed to business flying targets so far. [BM] |
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Study: Gas stoves remain a public health menace |
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With around a third of households cooking with natural gas - rising to 74% of households in Italy - Europeans are significantly shortening their lives.
The NO2 emissions caused by the hobs cause the early death of around 40,000 Europeans each year, an exposure mapping study conducted by the University of Jaume released today finds.
“The extent of the problem is far worse than we thought, with our modelling suggesting that the average home across half of Europe breaks WHO limits,” says lead author Juana Delgado-Saborit.
She explains outdoor air pollution is already bad “but it is gas cookers that push homes into the danger zone.”
Aside from an early death, exposure to NO2 is linked to asthma – yet few policies were put in place to facilitate a switch to cleaner, electricity-based cooking as is prevalent in Norway today. [NK] |
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Today’s brief was brought to you by Euractiv’s Energy, Environment & Transport team |
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Today’s briefing was prepared by the Energy, Environment and Transport team: Donagh Cagney, Paul Messad, Nikolaus J.Kurmayer and Bárbara Machado. Share your feedback or information with us at digital@euractiv.com. |
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