2098, decorative generation and the wheels on the bus
In this issue:
2098
As we head towards COP31, we can expect lots more reports on climate change and global warming to cross our desks. Getting in early is DNV, who has just published its latest Energy Transition Outlook, which forecasts out to 2060. Snippets include the rate of electrification over the next 20 years will be double that of the last 20 and by 2050 the world will have reduced emissions by 44% (compared to now). The key prediction is that the world will reach net zero round about 2098, when temperatures will be at 2.3C above pre-industrial levels.
El Niño not all bad news
Global insurer Allianz has released its 2026 Climate Economics Report, which contains details on economic losses from extreme weather events and some forecasts of what we might see in 2027. Despite global temperatures easing slightly in 2025, they remain well above historical levels. A rather complicated, and seemingly incomplete, chart indicates New Zealand has moved two places up the global temperature anomaly ranking from 173 in 1980 to 171 in 2025. The report goes on to cover expectations from the currently evolving El Niño, with a prediction it will cost the global economy US$451bn (NZ$807bn) but will deliver a positive, relative GDP effect for New Zealand along with a negative, relative inflation effect.
Back patting
The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, the organisation set up by the main players in these industries to allow themselves opportunities to pat themselves on the back, has just published its 2026 Climate Progress Report. In it, the group claims to be on-track with its ambitions, having collectively achieved an upstream carbon emissions intensity of 16.5 kg CO₂e/boe (barrel of oil equivalent) and an aggregate upstream methane intensity of 0.13% in 2025. The voluntary ambitions were 17 Kg CO2e/boe and 0.2% respectively, set, presumably, to allow successes to be reported.
Non-evaporative cooling saves at least 50%
A comparative analysis of three cooling technologies in tropical, coastal cities has shown non-evaporative methods to be significantly more efficient than conventional, water-cooled chillers. Conventional chillers were pitched against a ground heat exchanger-assisted system and a geologic seawater air-conditioning system in trials in Puerto Rico. The ground heat exchanger system showed a 52% lower cost of cooling and the seawater system saved 70%-90%.
Decorative generation
We’re all aware of the proliferation of domestic solar panels but what if other household items could bolster residential generation? The latest innovation is power generating wallpaper. Scientists at Binghamton University (US) have created a wallpaper capable of converting humidity into electricity. 1,596 connected miniature circuits are printed onto each sheet of the paper and each sheet has the capacity to power a wireless keyboard with the added benefit of helping control humidity.
The wheels on the bus ……
Don’t constantly go round and round. They get parked up and are regularly stopping at bus stops. Where better, then, to charge the electric bus. Wireless vehicle charging isn’t new but is invariably hampered by differing vehicle ride heights meaning the distance between the charge pad coil and receiving coil in the vehicle is inconsistent and large gaps can lead to significant losses across those gaps. Step up scientists from Winduction, who have developed a coil that can sit inside the wheel, meaning much shorter transmission gaps and transfer efficiency of 90%. The system will soon be under trial at bus stops in Switzerland.