EV charging on the go, overshooting and topping the efficiency charts
In this issue:
2.3C-2.5C by 2100
That’s the latest prediction of warming above pre-industrial levels from the UN Environment Programme, if the world implements fully its NDCs. If current policies are maintained, the figure will be 2.8C. The numbers are a little better than last year (2.6-2.8 and 3.1 respectively) but that is being attributed to a revised methodology. Accelerated action could see warming constrained to an increase of 1.8C and then brought down to 1.5C by the end of the century.
EU weakens targets ahead of COP
We reported earlier this year the EU had changed its regulations to accept offsets from overseas countries to ease tight domestic conditions on reaching emissions targets. It announced earlier this week it is relaxing the threshold to allow 5% of offsets to be sourced from outside the region, up from the original 3%. The new arrangement stipulates member countries need to reduce emissions by 90% by 2040 (from a 1990 baseline) with up to 5% of offsets permissible from developing countries.
The world’s most energy efficient country is ……
France, who topped the table for efficiency of the top 25 energy users worldwide. Coming in second was Germany, followed by the UK, Italy and China. The US could only make 11th and Australia 14th.
Money talks
Morningstar, the US financial services firm not The Morning Star, the UK communist newspaper, has just published its Investing in Times of Climate Change report, which tells us investment funds with a climate related focus surpassed US$644bn (NZ$1,137bn) in the first half of 2025, an 8.5% increase since the end of 2024. 86% of the funds are based in Europe. Around half the funds, US$318bn (NZ$562bn) are climate transition funds, rather than funds investing in specific technologies, with these showing double the growth rate of the specific technology funds.
Charging on the go
Wireless EV charging while on the move has taken a major step forward with the publication of testing results from a 1.5Km stretch of the A10 motorway just outside Paris. The results demonstrate the practicalities of inductively charging cars, buses and trucks on the go. The system achieved an average charging rate of over 200 kW of continuous power with peaks above 300 kW. For context, that’s about twice what a heavy-duty truck needs to keep running, or put another way, would mean half the roadways would need to be converted with current technologies. Similar trials by the Israeli company, Electreon, are under way in Israel (4), Sweden (2), Italy, Germany (4), the US (2), Norway and China.
Adopting science based targets is good for you
At least that’s the conclusion of new research from SBTi. Of course, they would say that wouldn’t they and the independence of the report has to be questioned, as does the undescribed sampling methodology but the numbers are quite strong. 91% of companies reported an overall positive impact from having SBTi validated targets, 95% reported a positive reputational impact, 80% reported improved investor perceptions and 75% said their credibility was improved.
Did you know ….
The first acknowledged use of the term “global warming” emerged in a newspaper article written in 1957 about the work of oceanographer Roger Revelle. However, the term only found its way into popular use following publication of Wallace Broecker’s paper, “Climatic Change: Are we on the Brink of a Pronounced Global Warming?” in 1975.