Carbon Brief

🎙️ Carbon Brief was recently granted a rare interview with the director-general and director of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research (AMR). 🇨🇳 The AMR is a well-respected body conducting energy transition research and providing vital suggestions on the energy transition to the Chinese government. 🗣️ Prof Lyu Wenbin and Prof Bai Quan commented on a wide range of issues related to China’s energy transition, including China's... ➡️ Position on climate change ➡️ Ambition to cut emissions ➡️ Upgrade of its electricity grids ➡️ Use of coal Read more from Wanyuan Song here ⬇️ https://buff.ly/3OAtvqS #China #EnergyTransition #Emissions #ClimateChange

££££: UK drivers can save as much as £1,000 a year with an EV According to CrowdCharge, average home EV charging costs are half those of a petrol car or a third with smart charging And they can save nearly £1,000 a year by using their EV as a "vehicle-to-grid" (V2G) battery

STRIKING NEW DATA: More than a quarter of new cars sold in the UK in November were battery EVs (so much for "stalling sales") 📈BEV sales up 51% year-on-year 📉Petrol sales down 35% year-on-year (!) Data from New Automotive

🇮🇪 After a three-day election count, Fianna Fáil emerged as the largest party in Ireland's first general election since before the Covid-19 pandemic, winning 48 seats and the highest vote share. 🗳️ Sinn Féin won 39 seats and Fine Gael 38. The rest went to various smaller parties and independent candidates. 🔎 Although climate change did not feature prominently in the election campaign, what do the manifestos of these political parties say on climate change and energy? Carbon Brief's interactive grid tracked the climate commitments made by Ireland's six most popular parties in a 25 November opinion poll. Read more from Orla Dwyer here ⬇️ https://buff.ly/3OCQy4k #Ireland #ClimateChange #Energy #Election

🌽 How did food, forests, land and nature feature inside and outside the negotiations at COP29 in Baku? The summit produced a few new commitments on these topics, including… ➡️ Finalising the text for international carbon markets ➡️"Reaffirming" the “importance of conserving, protecting and restoring nature” However, some observers lamented the apparent lack of progress on food and nature topics, with one telling Carbon Brief that the two featured “pretty weakly” in the final outcomes. For an in-depth explainer of all the key outcomes read more here ⬇️ https://buff.ly/3CKbdRf ✍️ Aruna Chandrasekhar, Daisy Dunne, Dr Giuliana Viglione, Orla Dwyer and Yanine Quiroz #COP29 #Nature #Food #Forest

🌽 New Cropped just dropped 🌽 Read Daisy Dunne and Aruna Chandrasekhar's newest issue here ⬇️ https://buff.ly/3ZzQ70W In this issue... 🇦🇿 The UN climate summit ended with little on food, land and nature. 🇮🇹 The UN nature talks will resume in Rome in February. ⚖️ A legal case on who is responsible for climate change has kicked off. Sign up to Carbon Brief's Cropped newsletter here ⬇️ https://buff.ly/3j992gD

🇬🇱 For the 28th year in a row, Greenland has lost ice. ↕️ It has been a spiky year for Greenland – a mix of highs from abundant snow in winter and lows from some very high melt days in summer. ❄️ The increase in both melt and snowfall are exactly what scientists expect in a warming climate. But, overall, Greenland has again lost more ice than it gained – even though, as in previous years, Greenland was comparably cool compared to North America and Europe. Read more from Dr Martin Stendel and Dr Ruth Mottram here ⬇️ https://buff.ly/416o76l #Greenland #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #ExtremeWeather

Why is the #PlasticsTreaty relevant for #climate? Amidst #COP29, you might have missed it but, the most important environmental treaty since the #Paris is being negotiated THIS week! At the #INC-5 in Busan, countries are hoping to strike an agreement on a global treaty to reduce #plastic pollution. But why is this relevant for climate? 6 key reasons listed below: Reason 1: Because plastics are a large source of GHGs - around 5% of global emissions. Across their whole lifecycle, plastics emit around 2.7 bn tCO2e per year. This puts them above emissions from aviation (fuel use only) and from oil and gas extraction & refining (including fugitive methane). Reason 2: Plastics are driving the growth in oil demand and so propping up fossil fuel use Most plastics are made from fossil fuels, including oil. According to IEA, petrochemicals (read: mostly plastics) are the main driver of oil demand growth, as growth in other sectors stagnates. Reason 3: Under business as usual (BAU), plastics emissions are expected to double by 2050 and this could use up half our remaining carbon budget for 1.5C. This is based on OECD projections who estimate that plastics use grows at about 2.5% a year. Others have suggested it could be closer to 4% a year. Reason 4: The treaty could set a cap on global plastics production, which could bring down emissions significantly. Under Rwanda and Peru’s 40x40 proposal (40% reduction by 2040 on 2025 levels) from INC-4, future cumulative emissions from plastics could be halved by 2050 compared to BAU. Reason 5: Getting plastics to net zero will be tricky without addressing production. A net zero plastics sector under BAU would require: - Huge scale up of alternative feedstocks - limited by biomass and renewables availability. - Very high plastic recycling rates - challenging in practice. Reason 6: This treaty will define future successes. Plastics are where climate was in 1992 with UNFCCC, defining the rules for future COPs to follow. If the treaty is vague and actions not legally binding, future success could be limited. Getting this right, inc voting rules, is critical. Thanks to my CB colleagues: - Ayesha Tandon for the article text. - Kerry Ann Cleaver, Joe G. and Tom Prater for charts and visuals. And Daniela Durán González(of CIEL) for her insights. Read the full article below ⬇️ https://buff.ly/4g6vCP3

Check my interview with the Academy of Macroeconomic Research (AMR) -- a research institution under the direct supervision of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the ministry in charge of economic development and planning. I talked with Prof Lyu Wenbin and Prof Bai Quan, director general and general of its Energy Research Institute, which conducts energy transition research and provides vital suggestions on the energy transition to Beijing. https://lnkd.in/eVDfk9t9

What’s happened this week in climate change? Read the latest issue of Carbon Brief’s weekly newsletter, DeBriefed ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eMBkgSMC In this issue... 💰 COP29 agreed to a new climate-finance goal, disappointing many countries. 🤝 Countries edged towards a new legally binding pact for cutting plastics pollution. 🗓️ Key dates for next week and pick of the jobs 💡 Spotlight | This week, Carbon Brief interviewed two experts from Brazil to explore how Belém is preparing for COP30. ✍ Written by Yanine Quiroz 📝 Edited by Daisy Dunne Sign up to DeBriefed here ⬇ https://bit.ly/4a4gsGR #DeBriefed #ClimateNews #ClimateChange