Planning for 3, the electrification league and even cheaper batteries
In this issue:
Plan for 3
That’s the directive contained in the EU Framework for Climate Resilience released this week. In it, the Commission sets out planning baselines for member countries which specify baselines of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels for 2030, 2C by 2050 and 3C by 2100.
Two thirds shy
The latest Emissions Gap Report from UNEP tells us a “lowest possible” overshoot scenario could see the temperature increase above pre-industrial levels dropping back down to 1.5C at the end of the century, following a mid-century overshoot of 0.2C-0.3C. To achieve this, emissions would have to be reduced by 18% by 2030, 45% by 2035 and 69% by 2040, all relative to 2025 levels. Full implementation of current NDCs will reduce emissions by around a third of these levels and only limit warming this century to 2.6°C.
Skills demand is double supply
The share of green hiring is outstripping the supply of green talent by nearly double according to this year’s Linkedin Global Green Skills Report. A 25% growth in demand has not been met by a 13% growth in supply and the median share of green hires is 65% higher than the share of green talent in the workforce. It seems nearly three quarters of green hires are taking roles that don’t carry traditional green titles and green talent is getting hired at a rate 52.7% higher than the overall workforce.
China heads electrification league
The Electrification Competitiveness Index from We Mean Business Coalition looks at the current state of electrification across 16 countries and how enabled they are for further progress. It classifies them into four groups, as follows:
• Solid foundation: China, France, Spain
• Potential for take-off: Germany, India, Italy, Poland, UK
• Risk of stalling: US, Australia, Brazil, Ethiopia, South Korea
• Early-stage adoption: Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa
Our Australian neighbours have a deployment score of 47% and an enabler score of 67%. China had the highest aggregate score with 68% (deployment) and 78% (enabling).
Even cheaper batteries on the way
Even cheaper batteries could be on the way as scientists at Cornell University have developed a technique to reduce the time taken in battery formation by 60%. Battery formation is a critical and time consuming step in the lithium-ion battery manufacturing process. It absorbs around a third of production costs and a quarter of factory space. It’s believed the time saved could reduce factory space and energy consumption by between 10% and 15% overall.
Did you know ….
Last month, two thirds of new cars sold in China were electric, including plug in hybrids. While car sales overall have shrunk this year, the biggest decrease has, unsurprisingly, been seen in ICE vehicles with EV sales holding up much better.