In Between Times 8-18-2023
Massive UAE climate fund?, China approves coal expansion, Carbon markets, Sweden goes nuclear
PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING US WITH A PAID SUBSCRIPTION
In Between Times respects your intelligence. We know that things are not back and white, or blue and red. There is nuance. In nuance there is often the truth. We are committed to finding this truth through the reasoned and thoughtful exploration of the days events, especially in the areas of the environment and social cohesion.
Please support us in our work by becoming a PAID subscriber. YOU make all the difference. Together we can make this country a better pace.
Oil rich UAE has plans for a multi-billion dollar climate fund
The United Arab Emirates has Dubai, cops that drive Lamborghinis, a ton of oil, and seas of money. It’s sovereign wealth fund is one of the largest in the world. In economic terms the tiny Gulf state punches far above its weight. This year will it will host the annual UN climate talks (COP28).
In preparation for these talks the UAE has teased a global green development fund that may be as much as $25 billion. This amount, “an eye-popping figure,” has drawn the attention of those in the global climate community.
The fund will finance energy transition globally, but as soon as the fund was announced it was criticized.
That it comes from UAE, an oil state, is one issue, but there is no getting around that reality. Another is that the UAE actually wants to make money with the fund. That is, it wants to invest at market rates. The problem is that many of the poorer countries that would like to have access to this money for projects can not afford to pay market rates.
The UAE argues that any “concessional loans” (subsidized) should come from the US, Canada, and Europe.
(From Politico)
But climate finance experts and officials from low-income countries fear that this fund would inject cash into profitable projects largely in North America, Australia or Europe, rather than riskier economies in Africa or South Asia that have a massive clean energy funding deficit.
The G-7 government official said offering below-market rate finance — known as “concessional” financing — was not customary for the summit host.
The “prevailing view” of the UAE government and sovereign wealth funds is that anything less than commercial terms was “charity” and shouldn’t be a priority, said a second person familiar with the discussions of the fund.
Click here for the article.
China has approved more than 50 gigawatts of new coal power
China is by far the worlds largest polluter and the greatest emitter of carbon dioxide, and it won’t be curtailing this anytime soon.
From OilPrice.com
Last year, China emerged as the world’s clean energy champ, with the country accounting for $546 billion, or nearly half, of the $1.1 trillion that flowed into the sector as countries everywhere rushed to beef up their energy security. But those mammoth investments will do little to change China’s tag as the planet’s biggest polluter, if the country’s fossil fuel investments are any indication. China approved more than 50 gigawatts of new coal power in the first half of 2023, environment group Greenpeace has revealed. China is building coal-fired power plants at a record clip as it tries to counter the effects of drought on hydropower production.
"China's government has put energy security and energy transition at odds with one another. Beijing has clearly stated that coal power will still grow at a 'reasonable pace' into 2030," Greenpeace's Gao Yuhe has told Reuters.
Additionally, in the wake of the Ukraine war, coal has come increasingly back online in much of Europe, including Germany that still officially says that it will phase out coal entirely by 2038. Austria, Poland, the Netherlands, and Greece have restarted coal plants recently.
Click here for the article.
Who relies most on coal?
Report finds 228 local restrictions against siting wind, solar, and other renewables, as well as 293 contested projects
One can’t have a green economy if one can’t install the infrastructure. Wind power on the slopes of the Rockies has to get to the big cities somehow. Right now renewable energy is being hobbled by NIMBY lawsuits and by those who see the expansion of clean energy as an opportunity to derive rents through the legal system. Lawyers typically go where the money is, and there is a lot of money around green infrastructure these days.
A great example of the challenges facing renewable projects is the Nantucket Wind Farm, that has seen massive opposition from an area of the country that one might think of as environmentally “aware.”
(From Climate Law at Columbia)
Renewable energy projects have encountered significant opposition in at least 45 states. In addition, at least 228 local laws, ordinances and policies have been enacted in 35 states to restrict renewable energy projects, according to a report, Opposition to Renewable Energy Facilities in the United States, issued on May 31 by Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.
This report updates and considerably expands two previous Sabin Center reports, published in September 2021 and March 2022. The report’s state-by-state catalog describes local and state restrictions against the siting of renewable energy projects (primarily wind and solar), as well as instances of organized opposition against individual projects from 1995 through May 2023. As the report describes, in many instances, local opposition has led to cancellations, delays, or reductions in the size of projects. The report also describes, where applicable, state laws that preempt or curtail local restrictions.
Click here for the article.
‘This changes everything’: Experts respond to Held v. Montana climate ruling
Let the market help find a solution to climate change
To assert this idea, for some, is sacrilege. But one thing that must always be remembered is that markets work, on a fundamental basis, the same way that ecosystems work. Markets clear, they always clear eventually, and it is in this resolving of natural imbalance that truly sustainable solutions can be found.
A global, liquid market for carbon offset credits may be part of the solution. Though not mentioned in the attached article your editor personally believes that many of the carbon offset issues, namely that they can be hard to audit, can be solved with the Blockchain, which can serve as a global immutable ledger of trades.
(From The Hill)
These trading markets provide a way for businesses to offset their own carbon emissions with a reduction of an equal amount of carbon emissions elsewhere. To achieve this, companies purchase carbon credits issued by projects that aim to reduce or eliminate emissions. Some examples include renewable energy initiatives such as wind farms, forest conservation and afforestation, and carbon capture projects…
…But for offset trading to work, the market needs to be much broader. Climate change is a global crisis, after all, so we need a solution that’s global, too.
Local and regional markets are so small and attract such limited trading volume that they are not taken seriously as an asset class.
A Blockchain based carbon trading regime could be scaled with a high degree of authenticity (in theory.)
Click here for the article.
Carbon credit price per ton in 2023 (and every other year)
Sweden says nuclear is key to solving energy/climate issues
It is pretty amazing that in this time of great climate concern that a relatively safe, thoroughly understood technology, that is carbon emission free, still is given short shrift. Nuclear seems like a no-brainer. Most of your editor’s life has been electrified by nuclear power. The same can be said for hundreds of millions of people around the world. If you live on the East Coast of the US the lights in your house likely turn on because a nuclear reactor is glowing away somewhere.
Yet nuclear is still held at arms length by some who are concerned with climate issues. A carbon free, reliable, overwhelmingly safe source of energy is readily available, and yet some still resist.
There is waste associated with nuke plants. This is true. It’s nasty stuff. But it can be dealt with and has been dealt with safely. And it doesn’t contribute to climate change.
Nuclear reactors can melt down. Yes, this is also true. But the risk of a very rare meltdown must be considered relative to the pollution and inefficiency of other sources of energy.
Sweden seems to have just come to terms with modern nuclear and its opportunities.
(Real Clear Energy)
Sweden just shocked the world by putting the brakes on their renewable energy goals. They officially switched their clean power target from “100% renewable” to “100% fossil free” in order to reach the country’s ambitious clean energy objectives by 2040. Abandoning the 100% renewable goal is a bold move coming from a nation often touted as a “green leader.”
Nuclear is the most reliable energy source available, beating out fossil fuels and significantly crushing renewables, such as wind and solar. Its performance and efficiency are unmatched. Based on capacity factors, you would need almost two coal or three to four renewable plants to generate the same amount of electricity onto the grid.
Click here for the article.
In Between Times Podcasts:
EVENT
August 23 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm CDT
Unify America + Campus Compact: Fuel for Civic Engagement
Location: Online
Unify America is teaming up with Campus Compact to bring you resources that cover faculty engagement, service learning, curriculum integration, and community-based research (accessible to both Campus Contact network members and newcomers). Join us to learn about the vision for the organization’s future and discover tangible examples that inspire action and show how your organization can get started.
Campus Compact, a pioneering force uniting national universities, is deeply committed to igniting civic purpose across college campuses. As the largest and oldest higher education association for civic and community engagement, Campus Compact envisions universities as essential pillars of a diverse democracy. Their unwavering dedication to nurturing responsible citizenship enriches student education while enhancing the well-being of our communities.