Global Briefing: Australian Government agrees to cap greenhouse gas emissions
EU nature protection, the US coal to renewables transition, and China’s renewables planning rules all feature in this week’s Global Briefing
Australian Government agrees to cap greenhouse gas emissions
Australia’s Labour government has agreed to a cap on greenhouse gas emissions, as part of a deal with the Greens that should help progress its new flagship climate bill.
Under the deal, emissions are to be capped at 1,233 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030, effectively instituting a declining annual limit of 140 million tonnes for the rest of the decade.
The compronmise agreement sees the Greens back Labour’s proposals for a ‘Safeguard Mechanism’, which promises to regulate emissions from Australia’s 215 biggest polluting coal and gas facilities without outright banning new fossil fuel projects.
Adam Bandt, Greens leader, said: “We’ve secured a pollution trigger that, for the first time in history, means new projects must be assessed for their impact on climate pollution and they can be stopped.”
The government claimed that with the Safeguard Mechanism deal in place, the country would achieve its target of a 43 per cent emissions reduction by 2030.
However, it has already come under fire from environmental campaigners and The Australian Institute, who said it “still falls short” of the IEA and UN’s call for an end to all new fossil fuel extraction projects.
Businesses leaders urge EU committees to champion Nature Restoration Law
An alliance of 12 major business networks is this week urging key European Parliament committees to support and strengthen a proposed Nature Restoration Law, which if passed would set out legally binding goals for restoring ecosystems and biodiversity.
A letter penned by groups including CDP, the B Team, and the We Mean Business coalition of large corporates stressed that restoring and protecting nature will be crucial for mitigating the effects of climate change.
It calls on the Committees on Environment, on Public Health and Food Safety, and on Fisheries, as well as the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, to “stand as a united front” and “give clear policy direction to Europe’s economic actors on (the European Parliament’s) commitment to a coherent, ambitious, robust Green Deal that increases the EU’s resilience”.
The letter pointed out that ecosystem degradation caused by climate change is already damaging business operations.
Ursula Woodburn, director of the business network CLG Europe, said: “Continued degradation of nature threatens the sustainability of European businesses through unforeseen and often unmanageable disruptions from operations to supply chains. EU policies on nature and climate must go hand in hand to protect European communities and businesses.”
US renewables beat coal for first time
2022 was the first year where more electricity was generated from renewables than from coal across the US, the country’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed this week.
Wind and solar accounted for 14 per cent of US electricity, with hydropower accounting for six per cent, and geothermal sources just under one per cent. The performance meant that in total renewable sources accounted for over 21 per cent of domestically produced electricity, exceeding the share of coal generation for the first time.
Gregory Wetstone, CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy, attributed the growth to the falling cost of renewable electricity. “Renewable energy is now the most affordable source of new electricity in much of the country,” he said.
However, the EIA also revealed that while the use of renewables was rising, so too is the country’s reliance on natural gas, which generated 39 per cent of US electricity last year.
The US renewables industry’s hopes are now pinned on the Inflation Reduction Act, which has already boosted the number of renewable electricity projects in the pipeline and is set to deliver a surge in investment in the coming years.
International Court of Justice to rule on international climate obligations
The highest global law authority will for the first time weigh in on whether countries have a legal responsibility to act on climate change, a UN motion has decided this week.
The International Court of Justice is to begin work on an advisory opinion to clarify existing obligations under international law and the Paris Agreement, which is now set to be published in two years.
The motion was raised in the UN thanks to Vanuatu, a Pacific island that has been hard hit by rising temperatures and is under existential threat from rising sea levels.
Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau said: “Vanuatu sees today’s historic resolution as the beginning of a new era in multilateral climate co-operation, one that is more fully focused on upholding the rule of international law and an era that places human rights and intergenerational equity at the forefront of climate decision-making.”
European wind power investment lowest since 2009
European investment in wind power hit its lowest point since 2009 last year, according to a sobering update from the WindEurope trade body.
The group’s Annual Financing and Investment Trends report revealed that last year saw just €17bn invested in new wind farms, a fall of 58 per cent compared to €41bn in 2021.
Rising production cost because of inflation, soaring electricity prices, and the growing cost of raw materials are all serving to discourage investment in early-stage projects, according to WindEurope.
Planning restrictions and windfall taxes on electricity markets across the continent are also having a huge impact on investor confidence, the trade body said.
WindEurope CEO, Giles Dickinson, said: “The EU needs to build 31 GW of new wind turbines every year to reach its 2030 targets. But the numbers speak a different language. Last year’s investments in new wind farms only add up to 10 GW. At the same time turbine orders are down and the EU is only building half as much new wind as it needs.
“The EU must urgently restore investor confidence and channel money into its wind energy supply chain if it wants to reach the REPowerEU objectives”
ZeroAvia’s zero-emissions commercial flights trial lands in Sweden
Skelleftea Airport, Sweden, is the latest site to trial commercial zero carbon flights as part of a partnership with hydrogen-based aviation firm ZeroAvia.
The companies coinfirmed Skelleftea Kraft and Braathens Regional Airline are to demonstrate ZeroAvia’s aircraft – which use hydrogen-electric powertrain technology – assess them for a potential commercial roll-out on domestic flights.
ZeroAvia’s James Peck said: “Sweden is one of the most ambitious countries in the world in pursuit of net zero targets for aviation, with an overall fossil fuel-free aspiration by 2045, and planning for all domestic flights to be fossil free by 2030. Aviation will become a larger proportion of emissions as other sectors abate, so the country will need to see true zero emission air travel that goes beyond combustion fuels. Bold projects such as the one planned for Skellefteå are crucial in this endeavour.”
If successful, the aviation firm plans to launch its first commercial zero-carbon flight from Skelleftea in 2025.
US and Japan form EV battery mineral alliance
The US and Japan this week signed a trade deal on electric vehicle battery minerals in a bid to strengthen supply chains between the two countries.
The agreement forbids both parties from introducing bilateral export restrictions on minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese.
It will also mean minerals mined or processed in Japan will qualify for the US’s new EV tax credit, which has been introduced under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
The tax credit, a subsidy for consumers worth up to $7,500, has a critical mineral stipulation, requiring a certain percentage of building materials to have been processed in the US or in countries that have reached a trade agreement with the US government.
China moves to accelerate solar plant development
China has announced new plans to speed up the construction of industrial scale solar energy plants and standardise planning and development processes for such projects, the natural resources ministry announced this week.
The new rules will discourage the building of solar farms on grasslands, protected forests, and agricultural areas, while aiming to fast track projects in desert regions such as Inner Mongolia’s Gobi.
The reforms come in response to the meteoric growth of the country’s solar sector, which is beginning to cause conflict with other industries over land use.
Swiss government taken to European Court of Human Rights over climate inaction
This Wednesday a group of 2,000 Swiss women took their government to court, claiming its failure to respond adequately to the climate crisis has violated their human rights.
The women – who are all over the age of 64 – made the claim to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing their health and quality of life is suffering as a result of harsher and increasingly frequent heatwaves as a result of climate change.
Though Switzerland has committed to slashing its emissions by 50 per cent in the next seven years, the group Climate Action Tracker, which evaluates national climate strategies has suggested the Swiss action plan would not meet the country’s obligation under the Paris Agreement.
The case is the first climate litigation to be heard at the European Court of Human Rights. It is expected to last until the end of the year and could pave the way for future cases.
