#Net zero

[madame-helen]

[reasonsforhope]

Global electricity generation from solar will quadruple by 2030 and help to push coal power into reverse, according to Carbon Brief analysis of data from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The IEA’s latest World Energy Outlook 2024 shows solar overtaking nuclear, wind, hydro, gas and, finally, coal, to become the world’s single-largest source of electricity by 2033.

This solar surge will help kickstart the “age of electricity”, the agency says, where rapidly expanding clean electricity and “inherently” greater efficiency will push fossil fuels into decline.

As a result, the world’s energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will reach a peak “imminently”, the IEA says, with its data indicating a turning point in 2025...

The report says that the path to 1.5C is “increasingly narrow, but still achievable”.

-via Carbon Brief, October 18, 2024

[thefreethoughtprojectcom]

Remember all that alarmist guff about Antarctica sea ice recording lower levels in winter a couple of years ago? Yeah, well it turns out that was all bullsh*t!

Read More: https://thefreethoughtproject.com/environmental-news/mainstream-media-ignores-massive-recovery-in-antarctica-sea-ice

#TheFreeThoughtProject

[probablyasocialecologist]

Low prices produce low profits, and as Brett Christophers has outlined, profits are what drives the energy market, and is ultimately responsible for the lack of investment in energy infrastructure. The drive for profit also has led to insufficient connections between the Spanish and French grids, one of the triggers of the blackout. The EU has an interconnection target of 15 per cent of installed generation capacity, but the Spain-France interconnection only amounts to three percent. This is not only because its difficult and expensive to build connections. A big part of the reason why more capacity hasn’t been built is because French energy companies want protection from cheap Spanish solar energy. As in Spain itself, companies don’t want competition, they want the certainty of profits. While the right is mobilizing to declare the blackout proof renewables are inherently bad, the reality is profit-driven energy systems create hardship and crisis.

1 May 2025

[reasonandempathy]

Keeping Track of what Biden has done

dated 7.16.2024

At this point I think everyone, or at least every follower of mine, has seen this infographic from/about Politifact findings comparing Biden's campaign promises to what he's achieved. (link)

Putting together the Compromise (since compromise is expected in national politics), In The Works, and Kept categories we get to 64%. I

Let's run through a lot of what he has done or is in the process of doing, shall we?

I skipped a lot, and sure, there's a lot of room to move forward and be better on a lot of these. And I'm not a technocrat in all of these areas, so I'll even open each one up to "not being fully what it seems".

But Rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement is a huge fucking thing. Including being on track to be net-zero by 2050. There are parts of indian reservations that have never had electricity that are getting both electricity and 5g now. Allowing Medicare to negotiate some drug prices is a start, and it needs to negotiate more, but it's still very solid progress that will help millions of Americans.

Increasing Pell Grants and expanding healthcare access among black communities is very good. Decreasing maternal mortality and increasing domestic autoworker jobs are both awesome. Empowering Unions and the NLRB? Fuck yeah.

I don't think anyone was expecting Joe fucking Biden to be a Progressive/Socialist firebrand. I don't know anyone who fully believed he'd get a $15 federal minimum wage (awesome and meaningful as that would be). But this?

This is still good.

This is both good and miles better than Trump's policies.

[nando161mando]

Now Daddy Trump is in charge....

[juh-wasnt-deactivated19691231]

let's skyrocket this post to a thousand ten notes and then everyone un-note it so it goes back to zero

[ceevee5]

And elsewhere …

A 25 year timeline to achieve “net zero” is looking far too slow.

[notwiselybuttoowell]

Countries that weaken or stop their net zero and climate actions may be consigning their populations to decades of preventable illness.

Gains from net zero are often presented as global benefits and mainly for future generations. But less fossil fuel use also means less air pollution which results in local health gains right away.

For example, rapid health gains are predicted from policies for US net zero by 2050. By 2035, between 4,000 to 15,000 fewer US residents would die annually from air pollution, saving the US economy $65bn to $128bn, with even greater benefits thereafter.

A study, led by Imperial College London, has found that there are large health gains from UK net zero actions.

Dr Mike Holland, who was part of the study team, said: “Fundamental changes required for net zero will bring long lasting benefits to UK health. Or turn that around. If we don’t take the net zero path, we will be sicker. This would be a double own goal on both climate and health.”

The researchers looked at the net zero pathways for transport and buildings in the UK’s sixth carbon budget. Health improvements came about from less air pollution and also increased exercise from more walking, cycling and e-biking.

Some gains would be expected straight away, as air pollution decreased. These include fewer new cases of asthma in children and adults, as well as reduced hospital admissions for breathing and heart problems. This is consistent with recent health improvements that followed Bradford’s clean air zone and others around Europe.

Fewer strokes and heart attacks would emerge more slowly over five years as air pollution started to reduce. For lung cancer, the reduction in cases would be expected to lag air pollution improvements by six to 20 years.

But the gains would not stop in 2060. Children born in the 2050s would suffer from fewer air pollution illnesses as they grew up and aged as adults. Although less certain than the other illnesses studied, the greatest long-term gains could be in cases of dementia.

Prof Christian Brand, part of the study team, said: “If transport decarbonisation focuses mainly on commuting, how much health improvement and emissions reduction are we leaving on the table? Without policies that support all forms of mobility – especially the short, everyday trips that reduce car dependency – are we missing a crucial opportunity to maximize the full benefits of net zero?”

Participation is key to maximising these gains across society, especially amongwomen and older people. The study found that people walking or cycling for transport could expect to an average of five and half months longer life expectancy, and a healthier life.

[jamiemclellan]

M0.0nshot Net Zero No Offsets

[madame-helen]

[reasonsforhope]

"A net-zero power system is closer than we think.

New research, published by RMI, indicates that an exponential surge in renewable energy deployment is outpacing the International Energy Agency’s most ambitious net-zero predictions for 2030. 

That’s right: Surging solar, wind, and battery capacity is now in-line with net-zero scenarios. 

“For the first time, we can, with hand on heart, say that we are potentially on the path to net zero,” Kingsmill Bond, Senior Principal at RMI, said. “We need to make sure that we continue to drive change, but there is a path and we are on it.”

And that’s really good news.

Exponential growth in renewable energy has put the global electricity system at a tipping point. What was once seen as a wildly daunting task — transitioning away from fossil fuels — is now happening at a faster pace every year. 

Based on this new research, conducted in partnership with the Bezos Earth Fund, RMI projects that solar and wind will supply over a third of all global electricity by 2030, up from about 12% today, which would surpass recent calls for a tripling of total renewable energy capacity by the end of the decade. 

Global progress in the renewable energy sector

China and Europe have been leading the way in clean energy generation, but the deployment of renewable energy has also been widely distributed across the Middle East and Africa. 

Research from Systems Change Lab shows that eight countries (Uruguay, Denmark, Lithuania, Namibia, Netherlands, Palestine, Jordan, and Chile) have already grown solar and wind power faster than what is needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C, proving that a swift switch to renewable energy is not only feasible — it’s entirely achievable. 

In order to make that switch, globally, wind and solar need to grow from 12% to 41% by 2030. Denmark, Uruguay, and Lithuania have already achieved that increase in the span of eight years.

Meanwhile, Namibia, the Netherlands, Palestine, Jordan, and Chile have grown solar and wind energy at sufficient rates for five years...

The economic impact of climate progress

Not only is this an exciting and unprecedented development for the health of the environment, but this rapid transition to clean energy includes widespread benefits, like jobs growth, more secure supply chains, and reductions in energy price inflation. 

This progress spans both developing and developed countries, all driven to accelerate renewables for a number of different reasons: adopting smart and effective policies, maintaining political commitments, lowering the costs of renewable energy, and improving energy security. 

And with exponential growth of clean energy means sharp declines in prices. This puts fossil fuels at a higher, uncompetitive cost — both financially and figuratively. 

RMI suggests that solar energy is already the cheapest form of electricity in history — and will likely halve in price by 2030, falling as low as $20/MWh in the coming years. This follows previous trends: solar and battery costs have declined 80% between 2012 and 2022, and offshore wind costs are down 73%."

-via Good Good Good, July 12, 2023

Let me repeat that:

For the first time in history, we are on an actual, provably achievable path to net zero emissions

[pointless-letters]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: for a silent majority they never, ever, ever shut the fuck up.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

The Prince of Wales Visits Duchy Focus Farm In Hereford To Explore The Future Of Farming On The Road To Net Zero

Prince William during a visit to Lower Blakemere Farm, a Duchy Focus Farm in Hereford, to learn more about how the multigenerational farm has refined regenerative farming practices and farm diversification as part of its journey to net zero on 28 January 2025 in Hereford, England.

Lower Blakemere Farm is one of the Duchy of Cornwall's seven Focus Farms, an initiative designed to share knowledge and experiences of the transition to greener farming practices.

📸: Jacob King - WPA Pool / Getty Images

[sagefrizzle]

So, in order to have no CO2 (thats net zero), they want to reducing farming (that's how many people get their food). They are going to create an artificial famine just to achieve their goals. Never forget, you are the carbon they want to reduce

[zee-man-chatter]

Jordan Peterson gives some good background on Mark Carney, and his past failures with hydrogen and net zero. No new ideas from Carney, just a repetition of ideas that have already failed in other countries with big business. Worth a watch, especially if you're a Canadian deciding who to vote for.