Author: William DiBenedetto

Hanford going solar

Hanford by Nicholas Blumhardt vi Flickr CC

The Department of Energy (DOE) entered into negotiations with Hecate Energy, LLC for a solar project capable of delivering up to one gigawatt of clean energy within an 8,000-acre area of DOE-owned land at the Hanford nuclear site as part of the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative.

The Hanford site is a decommissioned nuclear production complex operated by the United States government on the Columbia River in Washington. It has also been known as Site W and the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project, the site was home to the Hanford Engineer Works and B Reactor, the first full-scale plutonium production reactor in the world. Plutonium manufactured at the site was used in the first atomic bomb, which was tested in the Trinity nuclear test, and in the Fat Man bomb used in the bombing of Nagasaki. For more Hanford’s history, click here.

DOE says the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative aims to repurpose parts of DOE-owned lands to support the growth of America’s clean energy economy. The latest announcement reinforces the Biden-Harris Administration’s “whole-of-government approach to leveraging federal properties to increase the deployment of clean power through the buildout of utility-scale clean energy projects.”   

Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said,  “Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, we’ve added nearly 90 gigawatts of solar capacity to the grid—enough to power roughly 13 million homes—and we’re building on this historic progress with another massive solar project,” She added that through this latest announcement,  DOE is transforming thousands of acres of land at the Hanford site into a thriving center of carbon-free solar power generation.”

Hecate Energy, LLC was selected to negotiate a real estate agreement for up to 8,000 acres at Hanford that DOE is making available for the development of a gigawatt-scale solar photovoltaic system with battery storage.

The selection was made through a competitive qualifications-based process for evaluating and ranking proposals. The selection comes after public comments on a request for information in August 2023, a Cleanup to Clean Energy information day at Hanford in September 2023, and a request for qualifications issued in March 2024. DOE and Hecate Energy will negotiate a realty agreement; DOE may cancel negotiations and rescind the selection for any reason during this process.

While cleanup at the huge Hanford site could take 50 years, the solar project might be up and running in five to seven years.

In addition to supporting the Administration’s clean energy goals, this project has the potential to benefit the Hanford site, Tribal Nations, and surrounding communities, while complementing local efforts to plan for the future. DOE will complete environmental review and applicable regulatory processes, and continue to communicate and partner with industry, Tribal Nations, communities, stakeholders, regulators, and others as clean energy projects are developed on DOE land. 

More information on the Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative can be found here. 

Maritime Partners, USCG agree on hydrogen power system

M/V Hydrogen One rendering. Credit: Elliott Bay Design Group

Maritime Partners received a ‘Design Basis Agreement’ from the U.S. Coast Guard for the M/V Hydrogen One towboat that includes e1 Marine hydrogen generator technology that will be used for the vessel’s power plant.

Maritime Partners, LLC, is a New Orleans-based maritime financing company that’s primarily focused on Jones Act vessels. The Maritime Partners press release said, “The M/V Hydrogen One is being designed as a first-of-its-kind vessel using new, cleaner, fuel cell technology that works by converting stored methanol to hydrogen.”

The hydrogen is then put into the fuel cell to generate power for the vessel. A successful string test of this technology was completed in Gothenburg, Sweden, in June 2023, proving it to be a viable option as the sole power generation source for vessel propulsion.

“The signing of this agreement opens the pathway for us to deploy our technological capabilities,” said Bick Brooks, co-founder and CEO of Maritime Partners. “With this, Hydrogen One is one step closer to becoming the world’s first vessel to utilize hydrogen generator technology greatly reducing emissions, increasing efficiency and providing a model for cleaner energy use as the industry continues to seek ways to decarbonize.”

The DBA process sets the rules for new technology proposed for installation on marine vessels. Maritime Partners worked with several industry leaders on the Hydrogen One project, including the Seattle-based Elliott Bay Design Group, which is designing the towboat; Bourg, La.-based Intracoastal Iron Works, which is the selected shipyard; e1 Marine, RIX Industries, Power Cell Group, among others, to work through the U.S. Coast Guard requirements.

Dave Lee, Maritime Partners’ VP of Technology & Innovation, said his company is committed to “developing and utilizing sustainable, clean energy solutions, as the entire maritime industry continues to seek alternative fuel options that are cleaner, greener, and more efficient.”

The signing of this DBA ensures that as the M/V Hydrogen One project advances Maritime Partners will be working towards an agreed-upon framework with the U.S. Coast Guard for the design, arrangement, and engineering aspects of the power system and associated safety systems for plan review, inspection, and eventual certification of the M/V Hydrogen One.

This is an important and necessary step for the eventual development of fossil-free marine propulsion.

An exercise in futility?

No More Fossil Fuels by Joe Brusky via Flick CC

Supply chain emissions are mostly “overlooked” by corporations measuring their operational emissions (known as Scope 1 and 2), leaving a huge question mark about the ability to achieve net zero globally by 2050.

That’s a major problem, as a report from Boston Consulting Group indicates: corporations’ “supply chain Scope 3 emissions are 26 times higher than their operational emissions.” And: “Supply Chain Scope 3 Emissions continue to be overlooked, with only 15% of corporates having set a supply chain emissions target.”

Looking at this another way, 85% of businesses have no commitment to cut supply chain emissions!

That undermines the entire net zero exercise and its timeline because those blind spots drive “significant unreported risks for both investors and corporates.”

The BCG analysis examined the climate disclosures made by more than 23,000 companies through CDP (the non-profit Carbon Disclosure Project) this year, which was slso produced in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

For the average large, listed company, supply chain emissions will be 26 times higher than those generated in operations. The discrepancy is even higher in the retail and apparel sectors, at a ratio of 92:1 tonnes and 47:1 tons respectively.

The only sector in which supply chain emissions are equal to or less than operational emissions is fossil fuels.

“As such, having a robust plan to cut supply chain emissions should be part of any corporate climate strategy,” notes BCG.

The report says its conclusions “highlight that the challenge of effectively measuring Scope 3 emissions is widespread and spans industries,” said Sonya Bhonsle, director of strategic accounts at CDP. “Meaningful strides toward emissions reductions require corporates to evaluate their full supply chain, then raise ambition and take accountability. The first step to driving meaningful change toward a 1.5°C-aligned net zero future begins with disclosure.”

Evaluating the spectrum of all emissions is challenging and might be an impossibility. Unless all facets of the drive to net zero are factored in – and not “overlooked” – net zero cannot be achieved.

But then what is Plan B?

Seattle: The smartest U.S. city

Seattle by Edward Stojacovic via Flickr CC

Seattle is the smartest U.S. city, an index report by ProptechOS reveals. Seattle overtook last year’s winner, Austin, Texas, to rank as the smartest city in the United States in 2024, with an overall score of 75.7 out of 100.

“Home to the likes of Amazon and Microsoft, Seattle scores highly in our research for tech infrastructure, with 34 AI companies and 13 IoT companies per 100,000 people,” the report says.

On sustainability, Seattle expanded its tree coverage by 13,700 hectares between 2010 and 2020 and built the equivalent of ten electric vehicle recharging points per 100,000 people.

To determine which cities are the smartest in 2024, ProptechOS analyzed 16 metrics related to connectivity and infrastructure, sustainability, and the tech job market. The report then ranked cities in Europe and the United States and created a weighted index.

The report analyzes three main metrics:

Tech infrastructure and connectivity, including:

  • The number of free WiFi hotspots
  • The number of AI companies
  • The number of AI companies per 100,000 people
  • The number of IoT (Internet of Things) companies 
  • The number of IoT (Internet of Things) companies per 100,000 people
  • Average broadband download speeds (Mbps)
  • Median 5G coverage of population per network provider
  • The number of airports

Green infrastructure:

  • Air quality (exposure to PM2.5)
  • 10-year tree loss (hectares)
  • 10-year tree gain (hectares)
  • The number of electric vehicle charging points
  • The number of electric vehicle charging points per 100,000 people
  • The number of LEED-certified green buildings


The tech job market:

  • The number of tech jobs advertised
  • The number of tech jobs advertised per 100,000 people

So, what is the smartest European city? Paris!

The French capital ranks the highest in Europe among cities best prepared for a smart city future, with an overall score of 76.4, overtaking last year’s winner, London.

Paris leads with several metrics, including 99.9% 5G coverage of the population by the average network provider. It has Europe’s second-highest number (532) of AI specialist companies, and the third-highest number (10,663) of free Wi-Fi hotspots, the report says.

“Paris is also known for its smart traffic management systems, which help monitor noise levels, air quality, and other environmental factors.”

Study Boosts Development of LA/LB to Singapore Green Shipping Corridor

Singapore by Sarah Lou via Flickr CC

A study conducted by the maritime classification society American Bureau of Shipping this month says a green and digital shipping corridor (GDSC) between Singapore, Los Angeles and Long Beach might create more than 700 jobs in zero- and near-zero emission fuel production by 2030.

The study, commissioned by Singapore’s Maritime & Port Authority (MPA) and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, also found that the corridor could also lead to health improvements for local communities, as well as economic benefits for participating countries.

The Port of Singapore’s strategic location makes it “one of the busiest and leading container trans-shipment hubs, connecting Asian markets to more than 600 ports in over 120 countries around the world,” the study says. Meanwhile, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the leading U.S. gateways for trans-Pacific trade. “The trans-Pacific trade route between Singapore and Los Angeles/ Long Beach is a “critical enabler” of the strong economic relationship between Singapore and California.

According to APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Corporation), bilateral trade reached $10.344 billion in 2022, establishing Singapore as California’s 12th-largest trading partner. Additionally, California ranks as Singapore’s second-largest trading partner among all U.S. states, representing 13.3% of the national trade in Singapore.

According to the study, the ports of Singapore, Los Angeles and Long Beach already play a “significant role in maritime decarbonization.”

MPA wants to reduce emissions from port terminals by at least 60% from 2005 levels by 2030, and to achieve net zero by 2050. “MPA also aims to reduce absolute emissions from domestic harbor craft fleet by 15% from 2021 levels by 2030, and half the emissions from 2030-level by 2050.”

Singapore is developing various net-zero fuel pathways, including focusing on electrification and biofuels for domestic harbor crafts and building up the value chain for ammonia and methanol for international shipping.

The ports of LA and LB have signed green shipping corridor agreements with ports in Asia to deploy ships with full life cycle low or even zero carbon emission capabilities in this corridor. Since the announcement of the ZEERO (Zero Emissions, Energy Resilient Operation) commitment, Long Beach has invested $300 million in establishing a green fuel hub to cut carbon emissions by 91% since 2005. In 2023, The MPA, the ports of Los Angeles and  Long Beach, with the support of C40 Cities, established the Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC) to accelerate decarbonization of the maritime industry and the development and deployment of digital technology solutions and enablers

The study provides a baseline of activities and energy demand requirements for vessels operating on the corridor through 2050. The study estimates the quantity of near-zero and zero-emission fuels required for this traffic by modeling the adoption of zero and near-zero carbon alternative fuels by vessels operating on the corridor through 2050, considering various parameters such as fuel production costs and fuel availability, and in view of the targets in the 2023 International Maritime Organization’s Strategy on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships. (The study can be found at c40.me/3xF60Yw.)

“The Port of Long Beach and its partners have been very successful in reducing emissions from cargo-handling equipment, trucks and other mobile sources moving cargo in our harbor,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero. “One of the most important parts of this partnership is it allows us to better understand and target a source of emissions that is hard for us to control as a local seaport authority – shipborne emissions. This work, vital to our net zero-emission quest, will result in economic and health benefits all along the trans-Pacific trade corridor.”

“This study provides a sense of scale and scope to inform our implementation of the Green and Digital Shipping Corridor,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “Achieving the reductions of greenhouse gas emissions required will take coordination and commitment from public and private stakeholders across the maritime and goods movement industries. We’re proud to be collaborating with industry partners to make this corridor a reality.”

A U.S. State Department fact sheet on the green corridor framework notes that green shipping corridors can “spur early and rapid adoption of fuels and technologies that, on a lifecycle basis, deliver low- and zero-emissions across the maritime sector, placing the sector on a pathway to full decarbonization.  

“The United States envisions green shipping corridors as maritime routes that showcase low- and zero-emission lifecycle fuels and technologies with the ambition to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions across all aspects of the corridor in support of sector-wide decarbonization no later than 2050.” 

In a related green corridor development, X-Press Feeders, a large independent common carrier, has signed of a memorandum of understanding with six European ports: Port of Antwerp Bruges (Belgium), Port of Tallinn (Estonia), Port of Helsinki (Finland), Port of HaminaKotka (Finland), Freeport of Riga (Latvia) and Klaipeda Port (Lithuania). 

Through the MOU, X-Press Feeders and the participating ports will pool resources and expertise to develop and implement sustainable practices for maritime operations. 

The collaboration between the parties will begin with the establishment of these two shipping routes: 

Green Baltic X-PRESS (GBX): Rotterdam – Antwerp Bruges – Klaipeda – Riga – Rotterdam 

Green Finland X-PRESS (GFX): Rotterdam – Antwerp Bruges – Helsinki – Tallinn – HaminaKotka – Rotterdam 

These services are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of this year. This development is significant as these will be the very first scheduled feeder routes in Europe powered by green methanol, an alternative fuel that produces at least 60% less greenhouse gas emissions than conventional marine fuel. 

X-Press Feeders operates a fleet of more than 100 vessels, calling at more than 180 ports worldwide. X-Press Feeders aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

All over the map

Climate Change by Taymaz Valley via Flickr CC

What to make of net zero? Is it really happening? Is it possible? Will there be enough money? Is there enough staying power on the part of companies and organizations? When?

One recent World Bank report,  Net Zero Energy by 2060: Charting Europe and Central Asia’s Journey Toward Sustainable Energy Futures, says that with decisive action, net zero energy is within reach in Europe and Central Asia (ECA). “The World Bank has developed a model to project an optimal least-cost pathway for ECA to achieve a net zero energy target by 2060. Together, the 23 countries included in the model produce almost a tenth of global greenhouse gas emissions. The report considers the profound impact the war in Ukraine has had on energy security by representing energy trade flows on the basis of gas pipeline flows and capacities as of May 2023 and under a stress test. This novel analysis delivers insights not covered by previous works, focused mainly on the European Union.” Continuing, in the short term, “Central Asia faces a tightening gas supply balance and some difficult choices. Central Asia has been a large net exporter of gas, notably to China. Rapidly growing demand within the entire subregion, combined with stagnating production (especially in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan), limits the ability to meet export commitments to China and peak winter demand at home simultaneously. Russia’s proposed gas union with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan could improve Central Asia’s natural gas balance, although the poor state of pipeline infrastructure (IEA 2016) poses uncertainties. Improving regional gas trade in Central Asia and increasing gas imports from Turkmenistan could be also used to replace coal in Kazakhstan, fill the emerging supply gap in Uzbekistan, and meet growing demand across Central Asia.”

So basically, it’s time for ECA to ditch fossil fuels and embrace renewables for energy security and sustainable growth. It sounds easy enough, but it’s complicated. Very complicated

Another recent report, an article in RealClear World, says Net Zero’s days are “numbered.” Former IMF chief economist Oliver Blanchard poured water on the claim that net zero is a major growth opportunity when he told the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee that there would be a “substantial fiscal cost to achieve anything close to Net Zero.”

Of course, it’s going to be expensive, and no one really knows how costly it will be! Is it, as some say, a growth opportunity that will pay for itself? That would be nice, but that is probably way too optimistic.

For example, a recent analysis revealed that the world is not on course to achieve the target of zero-emission fuels comprising five percent of international shipping fuels by 2030, according to Reuters. This shortfall threatens the shipping industry’s broader objective of decarbonizing by 2050. The assessment indicates that the existing production capacity for scalable zero-emission fuels (SZEF) will only cover a quarter of the required fuel volume by 2030. As of the end of 2022, there were 24 ships capable of operating on SZEF, primarily methanol, with an additional 144 on order.

However, current orders represent only one-fifth of the necessary volume to achieve mid-term sustainability goals. “It’s just not enough at scale or at the pace that is needed,” said UN COP Climate Champions shipping lead Kathryn Palmer.

And here is a wild one: An article in Fortune says, “Germany’s latest ‘net zero’ plan involves storing carbon dioxide underground beneath the sea.” Wait, what? “According to the article, Germany plans to enable underground carbon storage at offshore sites, pushing ahead with a much-discussed technology in an acknowledgment that time is running out to combat climate change,” the country’s vice chancellor said. How difficult and expensive will that be?

Yes, but what happens if the globe somehow reaches net zero? That’s a big if, of course, because there is so much work to do by companies, organizations, and governments.

A recent paper from a group of scientists, published by Frontiers in Science, “The Zero Emissions Commitment and Climate Stabilization,” has some unnerving conclusions, including this one: “How confident are we that when we stop carbon emissions, we also stop global warming?” Yikes, there’s an enigma.

Here are some “key points” in the paper:

  • Substantial uncertainty remains in both the sign and magnitude of the Zero Emissions Commitment (ZEC): the expected additional change in global surface temperature once we achieve net zero CO2 emissions.
  • Uncertainty in ZEC has implications for the remaining carbon budget to stay below the temperature limits of the Paris Agreement: a positive ZEC reduces the remaining budget; a negative ZEC opens the door for more ambitious targets or more time to reach net zero.
  • The prospect of additional warming after net zero is both plausible and significant, with a chance that ZEC could exceed 15% of total global warming.
  • While a ZEC of 0 means no further change to global surface temperatures, other aspects of the Earth system, such as sea levels, will continue to change in a net zero world due to warming realized previously. These changes should be factored into the assessment of safe warming limits and adaptation plans.
  • Current climate models do not adequately represent the full scope of complex and interdependent Earth system processes that determine ZEC. (bold added)

The paper presents “a structure for quantifying uncertainty in ZEC and proposes a roadmap for future research into quantifying ZEC and reducing its uncertainties.

Uncertainly, thy name is net zero.

The sponge knows?

               Sponge by Olly Clarke via Flickr CC

Perhaps it should be net-below-zero. 

According to a study in Nature, the planet has already passed the 1.5 °C warming threshold that climate crisis experts are saying is the goal for climate action.

At the 2015 Paris Climate Accords, nations agreed not to exceed 1.5 °C, a main guardrail of climate change. But the problem is that the planet has already passed 1.5 °C of warming, according to a new measuring technique that goes back further in time than current methods. The technique involves dating ancient sponges.

“We have an alternate record of global warming,” said coral-reef geochemist Malcolm McCulloch, at the University of West Australia Oceans Institute in Crawley, and lead author of the study. “It looks like temperatures were underestimated by about half a degree.”

However, McCulloch says that long-lived marine sponges can provide indications of temperature as far back as the eighteenth century. He and his colleagues analyzed the ratio of the elements strontium to calcium in the 300-year-old calcium carbonate skeletons of a coral-like species of sponge, Ceratoporella nicholsoni, that grows off the coasts of Puerto Rico. This ratio changes only with changes in water temperature, making it a sort of thermometer, according to the study published in Nature Climate Change.

The sponges were sampled from one particular section in the Caribbean — the only place where they are found. They were collected at a depth of 33–91 meters, in what’s called the ocean mixed layer. “Sea-surface temperature can be highly variable on top,” McCulloch was quoted as saying. “But this mixed layer represents the whole system down to a couple hundred meters, and it’s in equilibrium with the temperatures in the atmosphere.”

The sponge skeletons suggest that the planet started to warm up in the mid-1860s, during the period currently defined as the pre-industrial baseline.

“The baseline is where we measure our current temperatures from, so when we say 1.5 [degrees of warming], it’s to do with this reference point,” said McCulloch.

McCulloch and colleagues have calculated that global temperatures had in fact increased by 0.5 °C more than what was estimated by the IPCC. “That’s a huge difference relative to the total amount of warming,” says McCulloch. Furthermore, the planet exceeded 1.5 °C of warming by around 2010–2012 and is on track to surpass 2 °C in the next few years.

Climate change is all about calibration and constantly trying to catch up; our planet operates on its own time schedule, no matter how hard we try to understand.

Toothless

              COP28 by USAID via Flickr CC

So they decided it’s time to “transition away” from fossil fuels? It took 28 meetings for this realization?

At the end of the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), European Union and world leaders “recommitted” to delivering the Paris Agreement goals and limiting the global average temperature increase to 1.5 Celsius. They agreed to “accelerate” emission reductions towards net zero by 2050, with urgent action in this critical decade. This includes transitioning away from fossil fuels and reducing global emissions by 43% by 2030.

Some commitments and actions announced by the EU at COP28:

  • A Global Pledge on Renewables and Energy Efficiency to triple renewable energy capacity and double the rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. €2.3 billion from the EU budget will support the energy transition in the European neighborhood and around the globe
  • €175 million of financial support from the EU and its Member States to reduce methane emissions
  • More than €400 million in funding from the EU and its Member States to activate a new loss and damage fund for climate emergencies
  • The first two European clean tech projects to be supported by the EU-Catalyst partnership to help the EU reach its 2030 climate targets
  • A €20 billion Team Europe contribution to the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative
  • a new Team Europe initiative focused on deforestation-free value chains

It sounds good, but…

Critics, notably activist Greta Thunberg say the deal will not prevent global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average, which scientists say will trigger catastrophic and irreversible impacts, from melting ice sheets to the collapse of ocean currents.

“This text is toothless and it is nowhere even close to being sufficient to keep us within the 1.5-degree limit,” Thunberg, 20, told Reuters outside Sweden’s parliament, where she and a handful of other protesters were calling for climate justice.

“It is a stab in the back for those most vulnerable. As long as we don’t treat the climate crisis as a crisis and as long as we keep lobby interests influencing these texts and these processes, we are not going to get anywhere,” she said.

The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is a yearly international summit where world leaders, environmental experts, activists, and stakeholders gather to discuss and negotiate actions to combat climate change.

For more information

EU at COP28 Climate Change Conference

Climate action and the Green Deal

Press release: Global Pledge on Renewables and Energy Efficiency

Press release: EU negotiators secure agreement at COP28 to accelerate the global transition away from fossil fuels and triple renewables and double energy efficiency this decadeStatement of President von der Leyen on the outcome of COP28

Copping out

Will the COP 28 meeting make much of a difference in the climate crisis discussion and action?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/porelclima/53364111419/sizes/o/
 Some rights reserved by equipo.comunicacion via Flickr CC

Probably not, but it is all we’ve got right now.

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly referred to as COP28, is the 28th United Nations Climate Change conference, held from 30 November until 12 December 2023 at Expo City, Dubai. 

Here’s a round-robin of takes from various publications and organizations on the status of, and chances for success, of COP 28:

  • Climate Home News: “Annual emissions may have just peaked but the world’s temperature will keep rising until we reach net zero. Ahead of every COP climate talks, think tanks, campaign groups and United Nations agencies get their number-crunchers to produce a load of reports summarising where the fight against climate change is at. These reports can start to induce deja vu. We’re doing some stuff to tackle climate change, usually more than the year before. But not fast enough to avoid some pretty terrifying destruction.”
  • “Broken record,” is the title of the UN’s latest emissions gap report. “Temperatures hit new highs yet world fails to cut emissions (again),” the subtitle.
  • Nature: “Is it too late to keep global warming below 1.5 °C? Chances are rapidly disappearing to limit Earth’s temperature rise to the globally agreed mark, but researchers say there are some positive signs of progress.”

Editors always told me to try to find some positives in any story. That search is getting more difficult.

  • The Indian Express: “Ahead of the COP 28 summit, have we lost the fight against climate change? Emissions are rising, there’s not enough money to deal with a worsening climate, and its harmful effects become more apparent every day. What’s the way ahead? Just like every previous year, the situation appears more grim, and the progress more marginal, than earlier.”
  • A report by Climate Analytics finds a 70% chance that emissions will peak in 2023 and start falling in 2024, mainly thanks to electric vehicles, solar and wind power.
  • Triple Pundit: “All in all, a multitude of complex and interconnected challenges need to be addressed at COP28 for the world to get back on track. Summit President Sultan Al Jaber emphasized in his letters to parties that ‘it is not too late to correct course’ and ‘we’re playing catch-up to keep 1.5°C alive.’ He calls for ‘optimism and unwavering resolve’ at the talks this year, though the outcome remains to be seen.”
  • Greenfin Weekly: “The feasibility of “keeping 1.5 alive” appears increasingly tenuous. 2023 saw the hottest month on record since 1880, and the global average temperature briefly passed 2 degrees Celsius of warming from the pre-industrial era for the first time ever in mid-November. “It will require an estimated $4 trillion annually by 2030 to transition to a clean economy that reverses those trends, and Al Jaber has noted that the money isn’t flowing fast enough.
  • It will take a real step change at COP28 to rewrite that equation, said Elise Larkin, director of global economic recovery at The Rockefeller Foundation.”

The way ahead is not very promising. If the private sector, especially the companies that have benefited the most from causing the climate crisis, can somehow step up and weigh-in, maybe progress will occur.

Is that a positive or a dream?

You can afford it!

Confusion and lack of clarity abounds when it comes to implementing a carbon tax and various decarbonization proposals and goals. It’s all a game: trying to avoid costs and even making money (at least breaking even) from emission trading systems.

Decarbonization by IRENA via Flickr CC

As one knowledgeable observer noted recently, “There is little to no appetite currently among beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) to pay up for decarbonized ocean container transport. There remains a wide variance in the emission trading system (ETS) surcharge estimates by carriers that illustrates the uncertainty over just how much the carbon tax will cost the industry.”

As Greg Knowler, Europe Editor at IHS Markit Maritime & Trade, relates in a LinkedIn post, Ocean carriers will need to comply with the European Union emissions trading system (ETS) from Jan. 1, 2024, a cap-and-trade principle that has been applied to industries in Europe since 2005 and was recently extended to cover shipping. His article continues:

“A cap is placed on the amount of CO2 that can be emitted by those within the system and companies must buy carbon allowances that cover their annual emissions. These allowances can be bought on the open carbon market or traded among companies.

“From Jan. 1, for every ton of CO2 emitted by a ship, the carrier will need to buy 1 emission allowance, called an EUA, from the carbon market. The regulation will be phased in according to a progressive schedule over the next two years. In 2024, carriers will be charged for 40% of all emissions, 70% in 2025 and 100% of emissions after 2026.

“Half of journeys that begin or end outside the EU will be covered by the ETS, and all the emissions from voyages between ports in the EU and while alongside will be covered.

“There are significant costs involved for carriers. According to emissions monitoring platform OceanScore, the maritime industry in 2022 generated CO2 emissions of 126 million tonnes from voyages to, from, between and within European ports. That would have resulted in the need to surrender 82.7 million EU Allowances (EUAs), or carbon credits, under the ETS, equating to a total cost of €6.5 billion based on the current price of €78 per EUA.  

“Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen has estimated the ETS will cost Hapag-Lloyd $100 million in 2024, with that amount tripling in the next couple of years, and he has vowed to recover those costs from customers.”

Knowler quotes Jansen: “The initial cost is there, and we will not absorb the cost, It is real and is a fully out-of-pocket cost and people must accept it. We talk about $100 extra per container, and if you look at the value of the goods that are inside, people should be able to accept that.”

Knowler writes, “It will become harder and harder for the carriers to absorb the ETS costs as they get phased in, and as the free emission allowances across all industries gets phased out and compliance gets progressively more expensive…this is the way the system has been designed. The ETS is supposed to make it more expensive so those in the shipping industry are forced to use greener fuels and services to enable the European Union to be climate neutral by 2050.”

That last concluding bit is the point of this complicated and ultimately frustrating exercise. The bottom line is that no one wants to pay for the cost of climate change except those that can’t afford it. Climate change will exact its own high costs for everyone on this planet sooner or later.

The thing about net zero emissions and decarbonization is that while intentions are well meaning (or not) companies, especially those that use fossil fuels, don’t want to pay. God forbid that their margins and profits might decrease if they implement net zero net zero actions. Better to protect shareholders than the climate. It’s disgusting, shortsighted, and deadly,

This is the real bottom line: Do the right thing. Take the financial hit for the good of the planet! You can afford it!