E3

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺? I have focused numerous posts on the issue of grid interconnection. It’s been an on-going problem for renewable energy, and has only gotten progressively worse over the years. Last year FERC issued multiple orders designed it improve the overall process, including interconnection. Now the Department of Energy wants to deploy artificial intelligence. How do they want to do that and will it help? Check out today’s post. #FERC #renewablepower #renewableenergy #electricgrid #cleanpower

𝗥𝗶𝗴𝘀-𝘁𝗼-𝗥𝗲𝗲𝗳𝘀: 𝗔 𝗪𝗶𝗻-𝗪𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗳 “𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴”? A Scientific America article recently crossed my desk titled: 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙊𝙛𝙛𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙊𝙞𝙡 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙨 𝘽𝙚 𝙏𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙚𝙛𝙨? I should say a teaser to the article came across my desk. I get a Scientific America feed, but I don’t subscribe to the magazine so I can’t read the full articles. Nonetheless, the subject intrigued me so I did some additional research. Is this a good idea or does it let the oil and gas industry off the hook for removing decommissioned offshore rigs? The answer seems pretty clear although there are environmental groups that disagree. Check out today’s post for yet another example of why some environmentalists need an attitude adjustment. #offshoreoilandgas #marinebiodiversity #marinebiology #oceanlife #oceanconversation

𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝘁𝘀: 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄? I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving. Now it’s time to get online and support the economy. When you take a break, check out today’s Quick Hits offering. For the unfamiliar Quick Hits are brief summaries of interesting, important, or just entertaining weekly stories. And in keeping with the holiday spirit, all of today’s stories are positive ones.   Today’s Quick Hits selection include: 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀: ▶ A novel way to clean up the oceans ▶ Out of medal contention, but still impressive ▶ China breathing easier, and longer ▶ Anyone for a Yelloway split? #cleanenergy #netzero #climatechangeisreal #evs #electricvehicles #airpollution #china #oceanpollution

I didn't create a new holiday message, but this one remains as relevant today as it was when I made it a couple of years ago. Wishing everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝘁𝘀: 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄? It isn’t Friday, but going into a holiday I doubt anyone is interested in reading anything heavy. In fact, I doubt most people will be reading anything on LinkedIn today as we all get a jump on the holiday.   In any case, after spending a week tearing down the COP process, I thought it appropriate to start the holiday off on a lighter and positive note. To that end, this “special edition” of Quick Hits (brief summaries of interesting, important, or just entertaining weekly stories) is all positive stories. Today’s selection includes: 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀: ▶ Progress on the education front ▶ There’s a ghost of a chance these dead forests may be helpful ▶ More good forest news ▶ Closing in on a renewable milestone #solarenergy #cleanenergy #netzero #methane #amazonrainforest #rainforest #climateeducation #ucsd

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗢𝗣 𝗯𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗱? 𝗔𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘄: 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟮 Mercifully, this is my final post on COP. Previously, I outlined its many flaws. Yesterday, I offered five recommendations to fix it. Today, the final five recommended fixes. If you’d like to read the entire series of COP posts, DM me and I’ll be happy to send you the links. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟲: 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘅𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀. I thought the goal was to reduce carbon, but ending the use of fossil fuels has taken precedent. Carbon capture technologies are viewed as “cheating” rather than a potential solution. The world should evaluate all potential solutions and rank them based on resource requirements, probability of success, time horizon, and expected emissions reduction over time. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟳: 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. We need a consistent way of judging progress with measurable metrics. To allow for timely adjustments, it would be beneficial to conduct annual reviews to determine what is working and what’s not. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟴: 𝗣𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿. I understand the desire to help those most impacted by climate change. The problem is that environmental justice causes mimic the nonprofit world: overly fragmented and inefficient. This results in consuming valuable resources and opportunity costs that likely delay achieving the ultimate goal. And wouldn’t climate justice be better served if we were able to accelerate solving the problem globally? 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟵: 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱. In lieu of attempting to fund hundreds - if not thousands - of small environmental justice programs, establish a system that directly compensates those most impacted through reduced utility rates or other mechanisms. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟬: 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱/𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀. It is counterproductive to form committees/groups when the key players are absent. That’s simply a waste of time. COP should ensure that every group, alliance, and/or initiative has buy-in from the right participants. For example: pledges to not build new coal plants that doesn’t include the world’s top users of coal is nothing more than window dressing. I hope these posts generate some discussion on how to make COP a more effective process. #cop29 #climatechange #globalwarming #climategoals #climatechangeisreal

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗢𝗣 𝗯𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗱? 𝗔𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘄: 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟭   I’ve been tearing down COP for a reason: to convince people of it’s glaring shortcomings and to encourage them to consider changes. If you missed the previous posts just DM me and I'll gladly send them to you. Over the weekend COP29 mercifully ended with an agreement for a $300 billion funding level, well below the $1 trillion being sought. It also ended with a “do-over” on last year’s big agreement to “transition away from fossil fuels...” The Saudi’s decided that “transition” was a bit too strong and blocked the language from this year’s proceedings. But there was good news. In an open letter, a contingent leaders and researchers acknowledged that change is needed. Their letter called for reforms saying that the current structure “simply cannot deliver the change at exponential speed and scale...” Ya think? The current structure can’t deliver change period. In any case, to create a better path, I offer 10 possible changes. Today, recommendations one through 5. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭: 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟭.𝟱 𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗖 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. It’s counterproductive to continue thinking it’s possible. Set a new "stretch" but achievable target and develop a strategy to support achieving it. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟮: 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴. The current “honor system” creates a false sense of security where actual results fall well short of expectations. The argument against binding commitments is that countries will drop out. Maybe, or it may result in more realistic commitments. Regardless, even if countries drop out, we’ll know who’s serious and who isn’t. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟯: 𝗜𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. A financial penalty is the simplest way. Perhaps base it on a country’s GDP or other proportional method. Funds could be deposited in escrow to be withdrawn for non-compliance. The collected penalties could be used to fund underfunded programs. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟰: 𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀. I prefer per capita metrics because they generally create a level playing field. However, there are undoubtedly many good measurements. The point is - select effective metrics that are to fair everyone. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟱: 𝗚𝗼 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹. It’s a bad look for 70,000 people to add to emissions in the process of reducing emissions. COP can be example of how technology can be leveraged to address complex issues. The pandemic proved it's possible. Tomorrow - recommendations 6 through 10. #cop29 #climatechange #globalwarming #climategoals #climatechangeisreal

𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝘁𝘀: 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄? Friday is the day I try to keep it lighter with a post I call Quick Hits – brief summaries of the stories of the week that I found interesting, important, or just entertaining. That means we’ll take a break from the COP beat down. This week was focused on outlining the reasons why I believe the COP process is generally useless. Next week I’ll wrap up the encore presentation of the foolishness of COP with 10 recommendations of how to actually make it useful. 𝗧𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻, 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆’𝘀 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: ▶ A first for the U.S. ▶ Yeah, the end of fossil fuels is just around the corner ▶ Let there be light! ▶ That’s a lot of cheddar ▶ China scores another first #waveenergy #oceanenergy #fossilfuels #oilandgas #electricity #climatechangeisreal #china #floatingsolar 

𝗨𝗡 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴   Yesterday’s post reviewed the progress - or lack thereof - in reducing global carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. The data indicated little (basically no) evidence that the 28-year long COP process has had a material impact. Given GHG emission reduction is the goal, that alone indicates COP’s failure. But rather than relying on my data analysis, let’s review excerpts from the Global Stocktake which was taken between 2021 and 2023. For those unfamiliar, the Global Stocktake or GTS – which takes place every five years - is a report card on the progress made versus the targets set by the Paris Climate Agreement. It’s a broad assessment of where the world stands on climate action and support, identifies gaps, and theoretically, “works to chart a better course forward to accelerate climate action.” The jury is still out on that goal. In addition to reviewing the Stocktake - and to reinforce that this isn’t just my biased assessment of the progress being made - I’ve also included an assessment of progress from a key climate-friendly organization. This week’s series of posts leaves little doubt that the COP progress, and the overall climate strategy is not working. On Monday and Tuesday of next week, I’ll republish two videos created after COP28 that outline 10 recommendations to fix it. Creating a roadmap to fix the overall climate strategy is something that I strive to do in all my posts. #cop29 #climatechange #globalwarming #climategoals #climatechangeisreal #worldresourceinstitute #unitednations #stocktake

𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗲, 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗼 This is the second in a five-part series on the COP process. In an effort to remove subjectivity from the evaluation of COP’s effectiveness, today we’ll examine the emissions data for the period before and after COP. 🆂🅿🅾🅸🅻🅴🆁 🅰🅻🅴🆁🆃: I have found no evidence that COP is any different than the overall climate change strategy: it is flawed and generally ineffective. More evidence of that occurred today when it was reported that Saudi Arabia is opposing efforts to renew its commitments to transition away from fossil fuels. The New York Times and Bloomberg are reporting that the Saudi’s are using “delaying tactics and block maneuvers” to ensure that the pledge isn’t included in the COP29 agreement. If you recall, that was one of the “headline grabbing” outcomes of last year’s COP. It no doubt had climate activists doing the happy dance. Personally, I’m shocked that the country that amassed a global fortune from oil production is reluctant to euthanize the golden goose. I really thought they meant it. This is one of the many glaring faults of COP: They actually believe that countries intend to follow through with their pledges. Tomorrow we’ll wrap up by looking at the key metrics as defined by the United Nations. Next week, we’ll conclude with 10 recommendations on how to fix COP. #cop29 #climatechange #globalwarming #climategoals #climatechangeisreal