The power of productivity, NZ joins coalition and energy security – from your car
In this issue:
Doubling the size of the world’s economy with 25% less energy
We can double the size of the world’s economy and do it with 25% less energy. That’s the claim of the Energy Transitions Commission which projects by 2050 we’ll be seeing 150% more air travel than now, 70% more passenger road travel, heating demand up 25%, cooling demand up 150%, 100% more aluminium production, 25% more steel production and 70% more plastic production and all this can be achieved with using 25% less energy through productivity improvements. Electrification is seen as offering the most potential for gains.
No change from new NDCs
That’s the conclusion of Climate Action Tracker to the latest round of NDC announcements that emerged ahead of COP30. Its prediction of warming by 2100 remains at 2.6C despite the new round of commitments. It claims almost none of the key (40) nations it analyses has updated 2030 targets and those that have adjusted 2035 targets have done so at an inconsequential level.
NZ joins credits coalition
New Zealand has joined the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets. The initiative was announced earlier in the year and formally launched at COP30. It is lead by the UK, Singapore, France, Kenya and Panama governments and sets out six Principles on corporate carbon credit use. The Principles have now been endorsed by Canada, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Peru, Switzerland and Zambia. Germany, Indonesia, the Netherlands and South Africa have formally welcomed the Principles. The Principles are:
- Use credits in addition to direct decarbonisation
- Ensure rigorous quality standards
- Uphold fair value and social benefits
- Maintain transparent reporting
- Make accurate, substantiated claims
- Actively support market development
4.9:1 return on investment but unlocking it is not that easy
Sounds too good to be true but that’s the conclusion of an analysis of disclosures to CDP by its 24,000+ participants. Companies are looking at an aggregated US$420bn (NZ$745bn) of extreme weather risks over the coming years which could be mitigated for US$86bn (NZ$153bn) of investment. The problem is half the investment is needed to cover infrastructure developments and is outside the immediate control of the companies.
Renewables investment tops $1,439bn
The latest report on global renewables investment from IRENA reveals 2024 saw investment of US$807bn (NZ$1,439bn), an increase of 7.3% over the previous year. Investments in solar PV dominated the market, increasing by 49% to US$554bn (NZ$988bn), Investments in battery factories doubled, although overall investment in solar, battery, wind and hydrogen factories was down 21%. Investments were funded roughly 50/50 by debt and equity.
Transition to deliver 9.6 million jobs by 2030
So predicts the World Economic Forum in a new report on employment prospects and just transitions. While there will be a loss of 2.4 million jobs in high-carbon sectors, this will be heavily outweighed by the gains with a net gain of 9.6 million on the cards.
Green skilled spreading their wings
More than half the people with green skills hired in the past year have moved into jobs outside the core areas of energy or sustainability, so says an analysis of job-shifting Linkedin users. Over the past 12 months, people with green skills are 46.6% more likely to have been hired and are commonly moving into jobs in finance or supply chain management. The analysis shows a 4% increase in the number of people with green skills but an 8% increase in demand for them, indicating a widening skills gap.
Polestar runs house for 10 days
The latest Polestar, the 3, is being packaged in California with the option of a bidirectional charging system that can take or provide power. The system can charge the vehicle, return power to the grid or power the house. The flexibility of the system can save US$1,300 (NZ$2,300) a year and can provide back-up power to the house for up to 10 days according to the company’s press release.
Is municipal waste the key to SAF?
Scientists from Tsinghua University and the Harvard-China Project on Energy, Economy, and Environment certainly think so. They believe municipal waste could deliver around 45 million tonnes (62 billion litres) of jet fuel a year, displacing 16% of the sector’s emissions.
Did you know …..
COP websites emit 7 times more carbon than average? Notwithstanding changes in technologies and internet use, between 1995 and 2024 average emissions attributable to official COP websites increased 13,000%. Average emissions remained modest up to COP14 but ballooned after that. Since COP15, emissions have averaged 2.4g of carbon per visit. The average for websites is around 0.36g.