With war raging in Ukraine, Europe simultaneously scrambled to cut ties with Russia, its biggest fossil gas supplier, while also dealing with the lowest levels of hydro and nuclear generation in at least two decades. Though many feared a swing back to coal, a new analysis by the climate think tank, Ember reveals that wind and solar energy largely filled the gap, generating a record fifth of all the EU electricity and overtaking fossil gas for the first time in the process. Additionally, as shown in their newly published European Electricity Review, increased renewable deployment saved consumers billions in higher bills while staving off a larger return to climate-damaging coal. Proving itself to be a potent solution to the triple crisis of energy availability, affordability and sustainability, Ember sees Europe’s response as accelerating the energy transition going forward. Lead blogger and podcaster, Michael Buchsbaum, reviews the new data.
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Finito: Colombia halts new gas, oil and coal exploitation
President Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first-ever progressive leader, wants to help slow global climate change, protect regional biodiversity and bolster Indigenous people’s rights by decoupling the nation’s economy from fossil fuels, starting with a ban on new oil and coal exploration permits. The contentious policy change for the long fossil fuel dependent nation comes on the back of a bonanza year for the industry, which enjoyed a record-setting $22 billion in export revenues. Making good on his campaign promises, in early February Petro presented a $247.1 billion four-year development plan to lawmakers full of sweeping social and economic changes. Lead blogger and podcaster Michael Buchsbaum reviews the evolving situation in this installment of the Colombian Conundrum series.
Ensuring that energy systems remain resilient under climate change presents new challenges for the energy sector
Energy resilience has come sharply into focus over the past year due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the associated energy crisis. But aside from geopolitical effects, extreme weather poses the greatest threat to maintaining reliable and affordable energy. Laiz Souto (University of Bristol) and Matthew Wright (University of Oxford, Royal Meterological Society) explain what is at stake.
Greening India: plans to slash emissions in half by 2030 require massive renewables surge
In early April 2023, India announced plans to issue tenders for 250 GW of new renewable capacity by March 2028, as it looks to cut its emissions by 45% from 2005 levels. However, coal remains the dominant source of electricity. The share of clean power generation needs to more than double for the nation to meet its climate goals. Additionally, to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s targeted energy self-sufficiency by 2047 — the centenary year of India’s independence, the nation will require domestic capacity increases for manufacturing green technologies, such as solar modules, battery storage and electrolyzers for making renewable hydrogen. The second part of our focus on India highlights the nation’s ambitious plans. L. Michael Buchsbaum reports.
India needs it all: nation plans a rapid renewables buildout while still sticking to coal
While India’s government, currently holding the G20 presidency, lays out plans for a massive build out of renewables aimed at cutting emissions nearly in half over the next three years, coal still remains the nation’s dominant energy source, and its 72% share is growing. Nevertheless, federal Power Secretary Alok Kumar recently announced plans to surge clean energy production to 90% of electrical generation before mid-century. But as heatwaves blast the nation today and as citizens and industry finds ways to keep cool, electrical demand is surging. India’s solution: more coal power, more fossil fuels and more renewables all at once. L. Micheal Buchsbaum reports.
Sunny breezes: Latin America’s energy transition set for swift expansion
With nearly a billion solar panels’ worth of large-scale clean-electricity projects slated to come online in the next seven years, Latin America is poised to become a major renewable energy producer. A newly published report by the Global Energy Monitor (GEM) tallies more than 319 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale solar and wind-power projects continent-wide due to be launched by 2030 – nearly equal to 70 percent of the region’s combined total of all current electrical capacity today. Since 2022, investing in this region’s energy potential has both accelerated and taken on more importance as Europe races to replace Russian fossil fuels with cleaner sources, including soon truly green hydrogen. Lead blogger and podcaster, Michael Buchsbaum reviews how clean energy growth throughout Latin America is reaching a tipping point – and how they’ll be competing with China too.
No interest in change: record profits lead oil and gas majors to reduce their climate goals
Despite professing their firm commitment to fighting climate change and expanding into renewable energy, following record profits from war-spiked high energy prices, global oil and gas majors like BP, Shell and ExxonMobil are now walking back their rhetoric and reducing whatever modest plans they had to invest in clean energy. And investors have cheered these decisions. Though renewable energy generation is expanding faster than ever, Michael Buchsbaum reviews how this is an object lesson in why relying on market forces alone to push companies into doing the right thing has never been more foolish.
Guyana: booming offshore oil production transforms it into the world’s newest petro state
Eight years after a consortium led by ExxonMobil announced the discovery of vast oil and gas deposits off the coast of Guyana in May 2015, this small South American country of 800,000 people is now poised to become the world’s fourth-largest offshore oil producer as well as a major fossil gas supplier. The billions of oil dollars pouring into this largely impoverished nation have transformed it into the world’s fastest growing economy. Experts worry that Guyana lacks the expertise and legal and regulatory framework to control the political and economic power of the international oil industry — let alone protect its own environment and rich biodiversity. With Exxon now predicting that Guyana will become a bigger producer than Texas, Michael Buchsbaum sheds a light on this nation’s oil boom and other media outlets sounding an alarm.
Green hydrogen advocates in denial about looming material problem
Renewable energy, electric vehicles and green hydrogen all offer ways to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Recent years have seen rising interest in how these technologies impact the demand and mining of critical materials. Lithium mining for electric batteries, in particular, has been scrutinised by environmental groups. Yet less discussed is green hydrogen which requires scarce materials, writes Rebecca Bertram.
Europe’s energy crisis has a silver lining: more renewables than ever
Defying the grimmest projections, Europe made it through the temperate winter of 2023 with remarkably little collateral damage – and even a few big wins. The energy crisis may have displaced Europe’s climate aspirations by a fraction, but thanks to a record rollout of renewables and conservation measures, the continent’s emissions footprint inched downward and positioned Europe to remain within reach of its goal to slash emissions by 55 percent in seven years’ time. And it’s on track to comfortably outpace its pledge to generate 45% of its total energy from clean sources by 2030.
