$100 extra for a green car, methane eating trees and accounting for contrails
In this issue:
What price low carbon cars?
The answer is surprisingly low. Research published by Transport & Environment suggests making EVs with 40% green steel in 2030 will add only €57 (NZ$105) to the cost. It predicts if 40% green steel were used, manufacturing emissions could be cut by 6.9m tonnes, equivalent to the annual emissions of around 3.5m cars. If 100% green steel was used by 2040, the additional cost would be €8 (NZ$15). The small magnitude of extra cost arises because emission taxes will massively reduce the differential between the costs of carbon intensive and green steel. While these small increases reflect a scenario where vehicles also enjoy weight reduction over time, even without weight reductions, the cost increases are only €69 (NZ$127) and €17 (NZ$31) respectively.
Yet another reason to love trees
We all know trees are great at absorbing CO2. However, fresh research from Birmingham University indicates they also absorb methane. Methane accounts for around 30% of global warming since pre-industrial times and is 28 times more potent than CO2. Previously, soil was considered the only terrestrial methane sink with bacteria in soil breaking down the gas. The new discovery is that microbes in tree bark perform the same function and that trees, on average, absorb around 10% more greenhouse gases than previously thought. Tropical forests tend to be higher absorbers than temperate or coniferous forests but all contribute to some degree.
Have your say on offsetting Scope 3
The Voluntary Carbon Market Initiative has opened consultation on how carbon market investments can be used to cover Scope 3 emissions effectively. Currently, as many as 62% of companies with science based targets are failing to reduce Scope 3 emissions. The consultation will be open from 2nd September to 7th October with the aim of publishing a final version of its Scope 3 Claim early in 2025.
Mandating SAF
In an interesting move, the UK government announced this week it will mandate the use of SAF from next year. From 1st January, 2% of the UK’s jet fuel will have to be SAF, rising to 10% by 2030 and 22% by 2040. The government claims the mandate will create 10,000 jobs and contribute £1.8bn (NZ$3.9bn) to the economy while reducing emissions by 2.7m tonnes and 6.3m tonnes of CO2e a year by 2030 and 2040 respectively.
The unaccounted aviation emission
Aviation is a well known heavy emitter, contributing around 2.4% of global CO2 emissions. What there isn’t conclusive data on is the magnitude of aviation’s impact beyond the fuel used. Estimates indicate contrails alone contribute to a warming effect equivalent to an additional 61% of the direct CO2 emitted. The Rocky Mountain Institute and Breakthrough Energy (Bill Gates), along with several US airlines and leading manufacturers, have set up the Contrail Impact Taskforce to gather better intelligence on the impact of contrails and develop actions to address them.
Small is beautiful in the world of wind
Or at least that seems to be the case for wind turbines. Norway’s WCS has just received approval to build a trial 40MW version of its Windcatcher. The innovation replaces large wind turbines with an array of smaller turbines, which is claimed to catch 2.5 times as much energy per square metre of windflow and generate double the output of a similarly sized single, large turbine. If successful, the development could substantially reduce the cost of offshore wind.
World first offshore charger
Meanwhile, Belgian wind developer Parkwind has announced a world first offshore charging station. No, it’s not for James Bond’s amphibious Lotus but to recharge electric vessels that service its offshore generation sites. The system is designed to charge at up to 8MW.
