The Finnish city aiming for carbon neutrality in just four years


Sara Lilja Steensig
Published: February 27, 2021

RIGHT ROUTE: Downtown Lahti - Credit: Lauri Rotko

Lahti is leading the way in carbon reduction. So what lessons does it have for other cities?

As Finland's ninth-largest city, with a population slightly smaller than Gloucester's, Lahti is not used to being a capital. But this year is different.

The city – around 100km (60 miles) north of the country's actual capital, Helsinki – is the European Green Capital for 2021, an accolade awarded by the European Union in recognition of its achievements in urban sustainability.

And at the heart of Lahti's environmental vision is a startlingly ambitious target: to become carbon neutral in only four years time. For comparison, Finland's national target is 2035, and the EU's (like the UK's) is 2050.

Yet with a range of measures, from ultra-modern bio-heating units to nannies teaching children the names of flowers, the city is confident it will achieve its aim and serve as an example to other communities across the continent.

Once a major engineering and manufacturing hub, Lahti's economy suffered a severe dip in the 1990s, when unemployment soared. Although the economy has recovered since, the city is not among Finland's most prosperous.

Mayor Pekka Timonen said that this meant Lahti could serve as a template for other places transitioning from industrial cities to modern, green communities. “If Lahti can go through this transformation, others can too.” He also pointed that most Europeans live in medium-sized cities like his own, which has a population of around 120,000.

With the green capital award (which was given to Bristol in 2015) comes 350,000 euros and a role as a green ambassador. So what climate-friendly ideas can Lahti teach other European communities? Here are five...

Welcome volunteers of all ages

Ten years ago, Helena Juutilainen, a grandmother of four and an eager environmentalist, got an idea: She wanted to volunteer as an environment nanny.

Juutilainen offered her services as a volunteer to the city of Lahti. “The city welcomed the idea without hesitation,” she said.

Since then, Juutilainen and a group of similar-minded senior men and women, have regularly visited Lahti’s nurseries to explore the nearby nature and teach the youngest citizens how to take good care of it.

“Pensioners have a lot of life experience to offer,” said Juutilainen, adding that the volunteers have different areas of expertise and interest that they share with the children in their own way. Some build hideouts in the woods, others recycle with the kids, and some have even taken them ice fishing.

Let local heroes show the way

To reach their goal of becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral ice hockey team, Lahti Pelicans chill their ice rink with energy from renewable sources. The team has also stopped all air travel.

“The big idea here is to state an example,” the club's head of communications Jesse Pykkö said. “We are in a position where we can have a great impact on ice hockey fans, other players and society in general.”

Another of the city’s high-profile cultural institutions, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, has worked towards becoming carbon neutral for six years already. In 2018 the orchestra was awarded the international Classical:NEXT innovation prize for its efforts, which include less printing of music and more planting of trees.

“If an orchestra somewhere in Finland can do this, anybody can,” the orchestra’s general manager Teemu Kirjonen said.

Reward citizens for climate-friendly actions

As the first personal carbon trading app in the world, Lahti’s CitiCAP app has attracted a lot of interest from other Finnish cities as well as from abroad.

The app tracks where you go and automatically detects whether you covered the distance on foot or by bike, car, bus or other modes of transportation. At the end of each week, you get to know whether or not you kept within your personal CO2 emission budget.

“If you manage to stay under budget, you are rewarded virtual euros that you can use for tickets to the swimming hall or the bus or to buy a puncture repair kit for your bicycle,” project manager Anna Huttunen from the city of Lahti explained.

The EU-funded pilot project lasted from June to December last year, with about 350 active users out of a total of 2,500 registered users, and the results were so good that Huttunen hoped to further develop the app in the future.

“The first version only considered transportation. It would be interesting to also measure the carbon footprint of other aspects of life, such as food,” she said.

Make money from production sidestreams

Sustainable thinking can also be good for businesses, as members of the region's Päijät-Häme grain cluster have experienced.

More than 3,000 people are employed within the cluster at farms, mills and malting facilities and in the production and retail of foodstuffs such as bread and beer. In close cooperation with local researchers, the member companies seek out the newest green innovations and circular economy solutions.

“Together we can develop synergies and engage in projects that each company would not be able to do on its own,” said Jarkko Arrajoki, chairman of the grain cluster, and managing director of Fazer Mills Finland.

The grain cluster companies have invested more than hundreds of millions of euros in new facilities in the area.

Fazer, one of Finland’s largest food industry companies, is now expanding its oat mill in Lahti, and later this spring a new factory will start production of the sweetener xylitol from oat hulls, a side product from a neighbouring mill. It will be powered by a bio heating facility that is also located in the factory area and is fuelled mainly by oat hull mass, a side product from the xylitol production.

Give access to clean water and fresh air

Lake Vesijärvi is of great recreational value for the citizens of Lahti. The lake is also filled with high-quality food fish. Half a century ago, however, nobody wanted to swim, fish, or even sail in the filthy water.

“If you would take a walk around the harbour in the 1970s, you would see a lake filled with not only blue-green algae but also floating faeces and condoms and other garbage,” Heikki Mäkinen, programme director at the Lake Vesijärvi Foundation, said.

It was clear to everyone that something had to be done. After minimising the pollution from wastewater, industry and fields, the next important step was biomanipulation of the ecosystem by increasing the fishery of small fish and stocking predatory fish. Less small fish means more zooplankton that will then eat more of the algae, and thus restore the food chain and ecosystem.

The restoration of the 100 km2 Lake Vesijärvi has since been used as a model for more than a thousand similar projects in Finland and abroad. The visible transformation of the citizens’ immediate environment was crucial in sparking the awareness and decade-long green activism in Lahti, Mäkinen said.

Lahti also invests in clean air: Thanks to a new bio-heating plant that produces 100% renewable energy, the municipal energy provider Lahti Energia could put a total stop to coal-fired energy in 2019.

The switch is one of the cornerstones in Lahti’s aspiration to be carbon neutral by 2025. It cuts the city’s carbon emissions by 600,000 tonnes a year, corresponding to a reduction of over 70%, said production director Esa Tepponen.

“Our main principle is to always use the best available technology, focusing on energy efficiency and environmental friendliness,” Tepponen noted.

“Sure, we could have found a cheaper solution by burning fossil fuels like natural gas, but this is an environmental investment and well worth it.”

Finland's Windy City

Lahti has long been known as the 'Chicago of Finland', since both are built on lake shores and emerged as 'slaughterhouse cities', providing industry to serve large rural hinterlands. In the past, both have also suffered from reputations for criminality – ill-deserved, say locals, but another sign that this city with such green ambitions has a grittier side.

JUST LIKE TEXAS

Call to report sightings of cold-stunned turtles on Abu Dhabi beaches

Hundreds of the sea creatures get stranded every winter

Barnacles can hamper the movement of turtles. 

Courtesy Emirates Global Aluminium


The public is being urged to report sightings of "cold-stunned" turtles on Abu Dhabi's beaches.

The phenomenon happens every winter because of the cooler water temperatures.

At least 300 turtles affected by the condition are rescued every year on the emirate's beaches.

Now the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi and the emirate's National Aquarium are teaming up to help the turtles.

If you come across a stunned turtle, call the Abu Dhabi Government Contact Centre at 800 555. They will then be cared for by expert teams.

Cold-stunning can also, in cases, lead to a build-up of barnacles on their shells, which hampers their ability to move.

People are advised not to attempt to remove the barnacles, but to instead contact wildlife officers.

Documentary reveals where Abu Dhabi's green turtles go to nest

Arabian Gulf green turtle movement mapped for the first time

The cold-stunning phenomenon happens around the world. Thousands of turtles were released into the sea after being rescued during a record-breaking winter storm that rocked Texas and other US states during the week.

The animals were unable to swim or feed after being cold-stunned.

There are an estimated 5,500 turtles living in the waters off Abu Dhabi. About 1,500 of these are critically endangered hawksbill turtles.

The National Aquarium, meanwhile, is scheduled to open this year and will include a dedicated facility for displaying marine life.


Updated: February 25, 2021 07:27 PM

Oil spill threatens to be ecological disaster for Lebanon coast


Lumps of tar wash up on beach famous for nesting turtles

The public beach in Mansourieh is a sliver of paradise in a country wrought by crisis.

In previous summers, the sand would be packed with families, and children would swim in the crystal blue water with fish and turtles gliding at their feet.

The coronavirus lockdown put that on hold, but a new disaster is threatening to leave the image of paradise confined to memory.

Three days ago, tar began washing up on the beach, staining the sand in thick black lumps. It took several weeks and some unlucky wind for the oil to begin reaching Lebanon’s shores.

In early February, tar was reported washing up on beaches across 160 kilometres of Israel’s coast, just south.

Gareth Browne
Feb 26, 2021



Tar is seen on the beach in the aftermath of an oil spill in the Mediterranean, in Tyre nature reserve, Lebanon. Reuters

TO SEE PHOTOS GO HERE

Oil spill threatens to be ecological disaster for Lebanon coast | The National (thenationalnews.com)

With strong currents, it was only a matter of time before the oil reached south Lebanon. Now locals say they are facing another crisis – an ecological one.

Israeli officials say this may be one of the area's worst such disasters in decades, and while Lebanon says it will lodge a complaint with the UN over the spill, for now there is little sign of a co-ordinated effort to clean up the oil – at least on this side of the border.

The conservation areas off the coast of south Lebanon are among the few ecological success stories in a country where much of the coastline is blighted by privatisation, construction and pollution.

Turtles nest on the beach and the water is a translucent turquoise – a long way from the filthy murk off that floats off the coast of Beirut.

Greenpeace region director Julien Jreissati has called on the government to “take immediate measures to assess the seriousness of the oil spill”.

And although tests have been carried out, the only sign of a response so far is a team of volunteers who rise early to beat the morning sun and pick up clumps of tar by hand.

In a nearby car park are crates full of the sandy clumps, which are melting in the midday sun.

Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry claims the spill occurred between February 6 and 10, but the source of the leak remains as murky as the waters.

Scientists and government officials admit they do not have a true idea how toxic the oil may be.

Israel’s tar-coated beaches scrubbed clean by volunteers

Israel closes beaches after tar washes up on Mediterranean shoreline

Yousseff Ndeaihli is one of those trying to clear the black patches from the beach.

As he stacks a third crate of the black mess, a call comes in from the municipality telling him to stop. It could be dangerous for him to handle.

An employee of the local municipality, Mr Ndeaihli is an engineer by trade, not a conservationist.

His only qualification is his desperation to stop yet another of the country’s spots of beauty from being ruined.

Mr Ndeaihli is using his expertise to clear up what he says is one of the last spots to which people can go to truly relax in Lebanon.

“For three days they have been trying to clean it but it’s impossible to clean it all,” he says.

“We have the coronavirus crisis, we have the economic crisis and the people have a lot of trouble.

“It’s easy to come to here without any troubles, to have a little rest in your life. This is the last place you can find that. So I am very sad.”

On Thursday, it appeared the local’s worst fears may be realised, as scores of dead turtles began washing up on beaches in the south.

Lebanon is often referred to a resilient nation, yet for those who have grown up with around the turtles and sandy beaches, there are nightmares that this may be one disaster too far for one of their few protected environmental sites.


Updated: February 26, 2021 03:29 PM

European court forces 33 governments to prove emissions cuts in line with Paris climate accord

Countries named in a legal complaint include the 27 members of the EU, the UK, Switzerland and Russia

More 30 countries around the world have been ordered to prove they are cutting emissions and easing the damage done to the planet.

 Natural History Museum

The European Court of Human Rights is forcing 33 governments to prove they are cutting emissions in line with the requirements of the 2015 Paris climate accord.

The court also rejected an attempt by those governments to overturn its decision to fast-track a lawsuit filed by six young Portuguese climate activists.

The activists claim the countries’ efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions are inadequate.

The governments asked the court to drop its priority status for the case and hear their argument that the case was inadmissible, the activists’ legal representatives said on Friday.

But the court dismissed the arguments against an urgent hearing and denied their application to defer scrutiny of their climate policies.

The governments now have until May 27 to submit their legal defence.

The activists are aged between 12 and 21.

Four of them live in central Portugal, where bushfires blamed in part on climate change killed more than 100 people in 2017.

The others live in Lisbon, a coastal city threatened by rising sea levels.

Scientists say the man-made emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide must end by 2050 at the latest to avoid pushing global temperatures beyond the threshold of 1.5°C set out in the Paris agreement.

Gerry Liston, legal officer at the Global Legal Action Network, an international non-profit organisation assisting the activists, said the group would provide evidence that European governments were failing to adopt measures sufficient to meet the requirements of the accord.

The organisation started a crowdfunding campaign to help support the activists.

They filed their claim last September at the court in Strasbourg, France.

On November 30, the court said it required a prompt response from the 33 countries named in the case, a move that activists said gave heart to their cause.

At the time, the court ordered the European countries to respond to the complaint and granted it priority status because of the “importance and urgency of the issues raised".

The countries named in the complaint are the 27 members of the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.

If the activists win, the countries will be legally bound to cut emissions in line with the requirements of the climate accord.

They will also have to address their role in overseas emissions, including those from multinational companies.


Updated: February 26, 2021 04:07 PM

Airbus reveals carbon footprint of its planes as it focuses on reducing emissions

Pressure increases on aviation industry to cut emissions

An Airbus A350 takes off at the aircraft builder's headquarters in Colomiers near Toulouse, France. The company on Friday unveiled the carbon footprint of its aircraft. Reuters

Airbus unveiled Friday the carbon footprint of its aircraft, a move that will help measure progress made by the aviation industry towards its goal of reducing emissions.

It is the first time an aircraft manufacturer has released lifetime carbon emissions of its aircraft, and Airbus executive vice president corporate affairs Julie Kitcher said it was an opportunity to increase transparency in the sector.

"We really want to demonstrate our commitment to driving decarbonisation of the sector," she said.

The industry currently represents 2 per cent of global CO2 emissions, according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation, but a forecast rise in passenger air traffic means it could add more pollution to the skies unless measures are taken rapidly.

And between the "flygskam" movement, a Swedish neologism meaning "flight shame", to increasing social responsibility expectations among investors, the industry is under mounting pressure to meet its promise to cut its carbon emissions by half from 2005 levels by 2050.


Airbus calculated that the 863 planes that it delivered in 2019 will emit 740 million tonnes of CO2 during an estimated 22 years in service.

As a point of comparison, France is estimated to have emitted 441 million tonnes of CO2 in 2019.

Airbus used the accounting measure for emissions used by most leading firms, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, including measuring the use of its products by consumers.

Airbus pointed out, however, that the efficiency of its planes is improving.

It calculated that the planes delivered in 2019 will produce on average 66.6 grams of CO2 per passenger per kilometre.

In 2020, that figure dropped to 63.5 grams per passenger kilometre.

The current commercial aircraft fleet, including older aircraft, is estimated to emit on average 90 grams per passenger kilometre, according to the NGO International Council on Clean Transportation.

It estimates that cars produce an average of 122 grams per kilometre, but that figures needs to be divided by the number of passengers in the vehicle to offer a real comparison.

While the information is useful, Airbus's Ms Kitcher pointed out that it only offers a snapshot of the situation today.

That is because the industry is hoping for the development of sustainable aircraft fuels (SAF) made from renewable sources to reduce its emissions.

The predicted carbon dioxide emission levels would drop if the aircraft that Airbus delivered in 2019 are certified to accept up to 50 per cent SAF, although the amount of green fuel available today is extremely low.

"If we had 50 per cent of SAF going into our aircraft today we could reduce the emissions of our aircraft flying already by 40 per cent," Ms Kitcher said.

An increase to 100 per cent SAF, the use of hydrogen produced in a renewable manner, or battery-powered aircraft could push down emissions even further.

But to reach the 2050 goals, as well as head towards zero emissions, requires a fleet of planes that is 90 per cent more efficient than those in 2005 given the expected increase in air travel.

Last year Airbus released three zero-emission concept planes powered by hydrogen that it said could enter service by 2035.

The aviation industry is also counting on better air traffic control and efficiency gains from engines to reduce CO2 emissions.


Published: February 26, 2021 04:19 PM

Machin out at CPPIB after overseas COVID vaccine controversy

Paula Sambo and Kait Bolongaro, Bloomberg News

Mark Machin resigned as head of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board after he went to the United Arab Emirates and received a COVID-19 vaccine, defying guidance from Justin Trudeau’s government to avoid international travel.

“After discussions last evening with the board, Mr. Machin tendered his resignation and it has been accepted,” CPPIB said in a written statement Friday morning. John Graham was named to replace him as chief executive officer.

The office of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland criticized Machin after the Wall Street Journal revealed the trip Thursday evening. Canada is still struggling to ramp up its own immunization campaign against the virus.

‘Very Troubling’

“While the CPPIB is an independent organization, this is very troubling,” Katherine Cuplinskas, a spokeswoman for Freeland, said by email. “The federal government has been clear with Canadians that now is not the time to travel abroad.”

The finance department was unaware of Machin’s trip, Cuplinskas said, referring further questions to the CPPIB.

Despite securing more doses per capita than any other nation, Canada has administered enough shots to vaccinate just 4.5 per cent of its population one time, compared with 29 per cent in the U.K. and 20.6 per cent in the U.S., according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. That’s because Canada has to import the vaccines, and shipments have lagged.

Travel Scandals

Recent public opinion has turned against officials who defy the government’s pleas to not leave the country: Rod Phillips, Ontario’s finance minister, was forced to resign on Dec. 31 after it was revealed he took a Caribbean vacation at a time when many businesses in the provinces were ordered to shut their doors to contain the virus.

With vaccine deliveries now accelerating after delays caused in part by export controls in the European Union, Trudeau maintains that every Canadian will be inoculated by the end of September

  

CPPIB chief's vaccine trip vexes Trudeau government

Kait Bolongaro and Paula Sambo, Bloomberg News

Feb 25, 2021

Justin Trudeau’s government criticized the head of Canada’s national pension fund for getting a COVID-19 vaccine in the Middle East as the northern nation struggles to ramp up its domestic immunization campaign.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Chief Executive Officer Mark Machin traveled to the United Arab Emirates to receive a first dose of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE shot, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

“While the CPPIB is an independent organization, this is very troubling,” Katherine Cuplinskas, a spokesperson for Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, said by email. “The federal government has been clear with Canadians that now is not the time to travel abroad.”

The finance department was unaware of Machin’s trip, Cuplinskas said, adding further questions should be raised with CPPIB.

Spokespeople for the Toronto-based fund, which has $475.7 billion (US$377.1 billion) in assets under management, didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment Thursday evening.


News of Machin’s trip abroad comes amid criticism over the pace of Canada’s vaccine rollout, which is slowest among Group of Seven countries except Japan. Despite securing more doses per capita than any other nation, Canadian public health authorities have given shots to just 4.5 per cent of the population, compared to 29 per cent in the U.K. and 20.6 per cent in the U.S., according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker.

With vaccine deliveries now accelerating after delays caused in part by export controls in the European Union and the U.S. decision to devote all of its doses to its own citizens, Trudeau maintains that every Canadian will be inoculated by the end of September.

Jake Tapper Says Joe Biden Is Like Donald Trump on Saudi Prince: 'Save MBS' Ass'

AND THEY BOTH BOMBED SYRIA 

IN THEIR FIRST MONTH

BY DARRAGH ROCHE ON 2/27/21 


CNN's Jake Tapper compared President Joe Biden to former President Donald Trump on Friday following the administration's decision not to sanction Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

A U.S. intelligence report published on Friday concluded that bin Salman, commonly known as MBS in the west, approved of the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

The Biden administration announced sanctions and visa bans aimed at citizens of Saudi Arabia but declined to target MBS specifically. Speaking to Senator Time Kaine (D-VA), Tapper harshly criticized the move.

"Nothing — nothing — for MBS. MBS is getting away scot-free. What do you make of that?" Tapper asked.

Kaine, who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2016, sought to defend the decision but Tapper pressed on with criticism.


"When it comes to accountability for the guy that was in charge, who ordered the brutal assassination, murder, of your constituent, a Washington Post columnist, for the crime of writing a column that said there should be more freedom and democracy in Saudi Arabia, MBS is getting away scot-free," Tapper said.

"How is that any different from Donald Trump? Joe Biden and Donald Trump have the same position — save MBS' ass!"

Kaine said "the positions are not the same" and pointed to Biden's different approach to Saudi Arabia.

"We're going to have to explore in Congress what more we can do," Kaine said.

Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 and the kingdom's authorities denied MBS played any role in his death. The journalist was resident in Virginia at the time.

The intelligence community concluded that MBS approved the killing because he had "control of decision making in the Kingdom" and due to the "direct involvement of a key adviser and members or Mohammed bin Salman's protective detail in the operation."

"Since 2017, the Crown Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdom's security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the Crown Prince's authorization," the intel report said.

On Friday, the Treasury Department announced sanctions on Ahmed al-Asiri, former deputy Saudi intelligence chief, according to Reuters. Sanctions will also be imposed on the Saudi Royal Guard's Rapid Intervention Force (RIF), along with visa restrictions for 76 individuals.

"As a matter of safety for all within our borders, perpetrators targeting perceived dissidents on behalf of any foreign government should not be permitted to reach American soil," said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a meeting with the US secretary of state in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on September 18, 2019. The Biden administration has declined to directly sanction the crown prince for his role in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Shift to renewable energy needed by

 2030-35, top researchers say

Leading energy experts are campaigning for a more rapid global energy transformation, saying the world must shift to nearly 100% use of renewable power sources within the next 10 to 15 years – "much sooner than 2050"

by  Jim Pollard

Asian News Today, Asia Pacific News Headlines Feb 14

Leading energy experts say countries around the world needs to transition to renewable energy in the next decade and a half if the world is to avoid extensive ecological damage.

File photo by Schwanberg Science Photo Library via AFP.


(ATF) A group of leading energy experts are campaigning for a rapid global energy transformation, saying the world must shift to nearly 100% use of renewable power sources within the next 10 to 15 years – "much sooner than 2050" – for the planet to avoid extensive ecological damage.

The 100% Renewable Energy (RE) Global Strategy Group, as they are called, released a 10-point declaration at a conference in Dubai this week.

Leaders of the group said that solar, wind and battery systems are already the cheapest and least environmentally damaging sources of power – and they are projected to become far cheaper in the years ahead.

They said "super-abundant" power would be available to all countries and all sectors of society and that switching to solar and wind power, primarily, would create millions of jobs and save trillions of dollars in social and health costs from polluting emissions and maintaining coal-fired, nuclear and oil-fuelled systems that are creating an environmental catastrophe.

Their key message is: "The transformation to 100% renewables is possible and will be coming much faster than the general expectation. A 100% renewable electricity supply is possible by 2030, and with substantial political will around the world, 100% renewable energy is also technically and economically feasible across all other sectors by 2035."

The 100% RE Global Strategy Group – made up of experts on solar power, renewables and "smart" power grids – say this change is already happening. Close to a dozen countries have already achieved this switch and another dozen have passed laws to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2030. Plus, a further 49 countries have passed laws to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2050, they say, along with 14 states in the US and 300 cities around the world.

But this transformation needs to happen more quickly, they say.

Prof Mark Jacobson from Stanford University said: “We have lost too much time in our efforts to address global warming and the seven million air pollution deaths that occur each year, by not focusing enough on useful solutions.

"Fortunately, low-cost 100% clean, renewable energy solutions do exist to solve these problems, as found by over a dozen independent research groups. The solutions will not only save consumers money, but also create jobs and provide energy and more international security, while substantially reducing air pollution and climate damage from energy. Policymakers around the world are strongly urged to ensure we implement these solutions over the next 10-15 years."

Another member of the group, Tony Seba, a lecturer at Stanford and well-known author, who founded RethinkX in the US, said his research had shown a decade ago that car manufacturers would shift to electric vehicles in 2020-21, as is currently happening.

“This group of researchers has developed dozens of science-based studies over several decades, using different methodologies, and covering hundreds of regions around the world. The conclusion is clear: a global energy system powered by 100% clean renewable energy is not just possible over the next 10-15 years, it can also save money, create jobs and wealth, save lives, and get humanity ahead of the curve to prevent runaway climate change,” Seba said.

“It is economically, socially, geopolitically and environmentally irrational for us to kick the can down the road to 2050.”

The five other members of the 100% RE Global Strategy Group are Prof Eicke Weber (Berkeley University, Freiburg, Germany), Prof Andrew Blakers (Australian National University, Canberra), Prof Christian Breyer (LUT University, Finland), Hans-Josef Fell (Energy Watch Group, Germany), and Prof Brian Vad Mathiesen (Aalborg University, Denmark).

Prof Eicke Weber said: "Bringing together this unique group of globally leading scientists allowed us to determine the key common elements resulting from all our studies on a world that is reliably supplied by 100% renewable energy in the near future, soon enough to avoid the most catastrophic effects of the looming climate catastrophe."

Brian Vad Mathiesen commented: “With low-cost renewable energy-based electricity in place in 2030 a parallel rapid transition and re-design of the national energy systems will be feasible, using a 'smart' energy system approach combining electricity with energy efficient buildings, district heating, electrified transport and industry, as well as energy storage. We provide a deep understanding of the technical solution; decision-makers now need to re-design the energy markets for the re-designed energy systems.”

The Strategy Group's declaration and key findings of their research from the past two decades were summarized and presented at a conference of the 2021 Partner Meeting of the Desert Energy Initiative Dii in Dubai. Their declaration and other material can be found at www.Global100REStrategyGroup.org.

Their statement said: "The Earth's climate emergency requires the completion of a zero-emissions economy much sooner than the generally discussed target year of 2050. A target year needed for ending our CO2 and other climate-warming and air pollutant emissions is proposed to be 2030 for the electric power sector and soon thereafter, but ideally no later than 2035, for other sectors.

"The central question of [our] studies was whether and how it is possible to achieve the goal of 100% supply of the world's energy demand with renewable energies already by 2030 for the electricity demand, and 2035 for the total energy demand. The core solution to meeting this timeline is to electrify or provide direct heat for all energy and provide the electricity and heat globally with 100% clean renewable energy."

In addition to the seven initial signatories, dozens of invited academics and other researchers in the renewables field have supported their statement.

"Over 300 cities worldwide have passed laws to reach 100% renewable electricity by no later than 2050; and over 280 international businesses have committed to 100% renewables across their global operations. However, only Denmark has passed laws to reach 100% renewable energy across all sectors, and it is by 2050," the group said.

"In the public debate, policies to reach 100% renewables across all energy sectors are few in number, and by 2035 are non-existent. Some have considered such policies impractical. Based on old data, even major bodies, such as IRENA and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), have only demanded to achieve 70% RE by 2050. The EU as a whole has only a 32% RE target in total energy by 2030, Germany has only a 65% target in the electric power sector.

Coal and bio-mass habit threatens India’s 'solar-power revolution' 

New Delhi has made some big promises on updating the country’s energy menu but with coal still accounting for 70% of electricity generation and a voracious domestic energy appetite, change is going to be difficult 

by Tim Daiss

Comment and Opinion Feb 16

India’s energy use has doubled since 2000, with much of that demand still being met by coal.

India, the world’s second most populous country after China, and the third largest energy consumer, keeps making energy headlines as it tries to meet its seemingly insatiable energy demand while also battling problematic greenhouse gas (GHG) emission levels.

The latest salvo in the country’s war to ramp down its carbon footprint came last week when the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) said that India is entering a “solar-power revolution” that could match coal as its top electricity source within two decades, or even sooner.

“As things stand, solar accounts for less than 4% of India’s electricity generation, and coal close to 70%,” the agency said in its newly released India Energy Outlook 2021.
Read more: China showbiz shares surge amid new year box office boom

By 2040, coal and solar converge in the low 30%s in the Outlook’s so-called Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS), while this switch is even more rapid in the other two scenarios given.

The SDS, for its part, examines how India could mobilise an additional surge in clean energy investment to produce an early peak and rapid subsequent decline in emissions, consistent with a longer-term drive to net zero.

The Outlook added that the “dramatic turnaround is driven by India’s policy ambitions, notably the target to reach 450 gigawatts (GW) of renewable capacity by 2030.”

The extraordinary cost-competitiveness of solar, which out-competes existing coal-fired power by 2030, even when paired with battery storage, is also a contributing factor, it said.

It added that the scenario doesn’t even come close to exhausting the scope of solar to meet India’s energy needs, particularly for other applications such as rooftop solar, solar thermal heating, and water pumps – all three areas that can be ramped up quickly and at economies of scale.
RAMPANT DEMAND

Achieving this level of solar build-out while reducing its coal usage needed for power production, however, will be no small feat for the country of some 1.2 billion people given its rampant energy and electricity demand coming amid rising incomes and improved standards of living.

India’s energy use has doubled since 2000, with much of that demand still being met by coal – the dirtiest burning fossil fuel – oil, also a dirty burning fuel source, and solid biomass, which includes the burning of wood, charcoal, and other residues for heating and cooking purposes.

Currently, around 32% of total primary energy used in India is derived by bio-mass, a primary factor in the country’s GHG emissions – the third largest in the world after China and the US.

More troubling for India’s GHG emission reduction goals, biomass is still integral for remote villages and urban clusters with decentralised settlements. As such, it is often the fuel of choice for many in the country.
BIOMASS POWER

Biomass is also still being promulgated by the government for industrial usage as well. India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set a national target to achieve 10 GW of installed biomass power by 2022.

The country currently has 5+ GW capacity biomass powered plants, while 83% are grid connected while the remaining 17% are off-grid plants.

Not only does India have to grapple with its bio-mass quandary, but its coal usage and production as well.

Here’s a case in point. In July, New Delhi announced the auction of 38 new coal mines with an annual production capacity nearly one third of current national total output. As an incentive, it also reduced upfront payments, relaxed payment schedules, and offered rebates in revenue shared with the government for early coal production.
NET EXPORTER

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the time that he wanted the country to become a net coal exporter. However, seemingly in contradiction, he also said a few months later that India would become the major driver of global energy demand in the years to come, but would also hold down carbon emissions even as its power consumption soars.

However, even given the IEA’s positive forecast that solar could match or even exceed the country’s coal capacity within two decades, coal would still comprise at least 30% (nearly one third) of the country’s energy mix by the end of the 20-year forecast period.

Other countries for their part, including the UK, France, Germany, and others have all pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050. Given the almost frantic carbon reduction push in Europe underway as well as increased green hydrogen energy investment, and even moves to divest funding away from liquified natural gas (LNG) projects, it appears that 2050 date could be reached early for some.
ENERGY MIX

For India, its ability to meet increased electricity demand while keeping Modi's pledge of less carbon intensity will depend on how quickly and efficiently it can phase out coal's dominance in its energy mix and replace them with renewable sources, solar, wind and now green hydrogen and LNG. This includes reducing coal as part of India’s energy mix by even more than the IEAs forecast.

Notably, New Delhi recently pledged to transform India to a natural gas-based economy by 2030, moving from gas making up just over 6% of its energy mix to 15% by 2030.

Much of that infrastructure is already being put in place in the way of pipelines, associated grids, LNG import terminals, and LNG fuelling stations for large trucks to help replace diesel burning engines.

LNG for its part, while still a fossil fuel, has a lower carbon footprint than both coal and oil, while there is also now a drive underway in a number of countries to make LNG production facilities reduce their carbon footprints by using renewables to replace feed gas for operations as well as utilising carbon capture and storage technologies.

Sinopec ramps up hydrogen pivot, others need to follow

China's largest oil and gas giant is aiming to be the country's top hydrogen company; It has announced plans to build 1,000 hydrogen refueling and retail outlets, and plans to build 7,000 distributed solar power generation stations by 2025

by Tim Daiss  

A worker walks past a Sinopec storage tank. China's largest oil and gas giant is aiming to be the country's top hydrogen company. It has announced plans to build 1,000 hydrogen refueling and retail outlets by 2025. File photo by Reuters.


(ATF) China has been slow to start reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to some of its neighbors, while a growing number of European nations are way ahead of Beijing on this critical front. Now, however, one Chinese state-run oil major is trying to pick up the slack.

Sinopec, China’s largest oil, gas, and chemical giant in terms of revenue, has announced a green pivot to more hydrogen production and even solar power generation build-out. It aims to become China’s top hydrogen company by 2025 by increasing investment in hydrogen for the country’s transport sector – the world’s largest, as well as refining hydrogen related products.

To achieve its goal it will move away from so-called grey hydrogen, produced by natural gas and as such still a CO2 emitter, to blue hydrogen, which is also produced from fossil fuels but uses carbon capture storage technology (CCS) for greenhouse gases. Brown hydrogen is produced through coal-gasification and has the highest carbon footprint of all hydrogen production. Green hydrogen for its part, with no GHG emissions, is produced by renewables, namely solar and wind.

Sinopec plans to build 1,000 pure hydrogen refueling and hydrogen integrated retail outlets, that also sell conventional fuels, by 2025, an Argus report said on Wednesday.

It also plans to build 7,000 distributed solar power generation stations by the same date.

However, Sinopec hasn’t disclosed CAPEX figures for either plan. The energy giant already produces some 3.5 million tonnes per annum of hydrogen.

In November, the company made incremental moves in the right direction when it launched its first onshore wind power project. The 20MW project, located in Dali in China's northwestern Shaanxi province is being developed by Sinopec Star Co, a clean-energy subsidiary of that previously focused only on geothermal development.

Can China rein in its GHG emissions?

The timing of Sinopec’s new plan comes as Beijing tries to draw a harder line over its massive carbon footprint. China remains by far the world’s largest GHG emissions violator, followed by the US and India.

In mid-January, an environmental report by China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, released a scathing report slamming the country’s influential National Energy Administration (NEA) for allowing the coal industry to push ahead with its massive over-construction of new coal projects, while also skirting environmental regulations which could put President Xi Jinping’s 2060 carbon neutral goal in jeopardy.

Bowing to what can only be described as a rare public rebuke, the NEA, on February 5, issued a new draft carbon policy proposing that China generate 40% of its electricity from nuclear and renewable sources by 2030. Of that 40% benchmark, 25.9% is earmarked to come from technologies other than hydropower, including solar, wind and nuclear. China currently generates around 28% of its electricity from renewables – mostly hydropower.

However, what was missing in the draft plan was as telling as what was included. The NEA didn’t even mention the role that hydrogen could play in helping the country clean up its GHG quandary.

Part of that reason could be that even though China is the world’s largest hydrogen producer, its mostly brown hydrogen, with most of it being used in the industrial sector.

So, there is no word yet how, or if, Sinopec’s new plan will fit into the NEA’s draft policy.

However, the oil major could also be bowing to political pressure from Beijing to reduce its carbon footprint while also trying to make a blue hydrogen and solar pivot. China, however, still has no green hydrogen policy, while others in the region are pushing ahead.

Japan seeks to commercialize hydrogen power generation as well as international hydrogen supply chains and cut hydrogen power generation costs. Australia, for its part, set a National Hydrogen Strategy in late 2019 that aims to make the country a major global hydrogen player by 2030.

Yet, for China to achieve its carbon neutral 2060 goal, as well as Xi’s pledge of reaching peak emissions within the next 10 years – still a goal that raises more questions than it answers – it has to turn to both blue and green hydrogen not only for its transportation sector but for its power generation sector as well.

It also needs to reconsider its pivot to natural gas even though the fuel emits around 50-60% less CO2 as coal. Beijing mandated that gas make up around 10% of its energy mix by 2020, and 15% by 2030, with additional earmarks after that.

China also needs to phase out its massive coal power generation sector by 2040. As such, its over-reliance on coal and recent coal power plant build-out is inconsistent with its commitments under the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, according to a recent Carbon Tracker report.

Hopefully, Beijing’s recent NEA admonitions are a step in the right direction to remedy this.

Moreover, for China to play catch up with Japan, Australia and a growing number of European nations, including Germany, the UK and France, that have already pledged 2050 carbon neutral goals, and announced major green hydrogen investment goals, its other oil majors will have to follow Sinopec’s lead in both the transportation and power generation sector.