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Welcome to Zeroing In by Speed & Scale, where we cut through the noise to deliver a data-driven update on progress toward net zero. |
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NEW EV ON THE ROAD. China’s BYD is rolling out the Seal, an $11,000 sedan. This new vehicle is designed to compete with the market-leading Tesla Model 3, but at a price point nearly $30,000 lower. Dramatic price drops will accelerate the adoption of EVs. In a parallel to China’s dominance in solar power, BYD has become the world leader in the EV market, blowing away the competition in Japan, Germany, and South Korea. |
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AS THE WIND BLOWS. Even as renewables get dramatically cheaper, it’s not smooth sailing. Supply chain problems bedevil renewable companies everywhere we look—including Orsted, a global pioneer, which recently announced delays for three offshore wind installations off the U.S. coast. These supply chain issues undermine the scaling of offshore wind, an industry we’re relying on to deliver clean energy and help get us to net zero by 2050. |
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🚗 1.0 – Electrify Transportation |
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This week’s TED-Ed video gives us a peek under the hood of your car. Gas-powered vehicles run on combustion; small explosions create energy that helps move the car’s wheels. But explosion-powered driving is pretty inefficient. EVs are a logical alternative. Watch to see why: |
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💡 2.0 – Decarbonize the Grid The United States’ first-ever auction for leases to develop offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico drew little interest, with only one of three available tracts sold. The offshore wind industry faces challenges from inflation and rising construction costs. EU fossil generation hits a record low as demand falls and solar pushes ahead. With Saudi Arabia extending oil production cuts through the end of 2023, energy prices will be a topic for 2024 election debates. Even at temperatures approaching -30°C, heat pumps outperform oil and gas heating systems–a fact that should help scale this clean energy alternative. The U.S. accounts for one third of the planned expansion of global oil and gas production by 2050, more than Canada, Russia, or the United Arab Emirates.
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🌳 4.0 – Protect Nature Wildfires have diverted our attention from the climate crisis happening underground: our decimated groundwater supply. Wildfires are turning our forests into climate foes, not friends. In an ominous trend, Canada’s forests have emitted more carbon than they’ve absorbed in every year since 2001. And the trend is accelerating.
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🧱 5.0 – Clean Up Industry First, the bad news. The proposed U.S.-EU “green steel” trade deal, which would make it harder to import steel from plants with high carbon emissions (namely from China), has hit a wall. The stalemate could bring back tariffs on billions of dollars of transatlantic trade. But there’s good news, too. A $1.6 billion investment moved a plan for the world’s first large-scale green steel plant closer to reality. Manufacturers call the first in flight liquid hydrogen plane a watershed moment for the aviation industry. Volcanic lithium deposits could meet surging U.S. demand for the metal, saving money and limiting downside for the environment.
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🏛️ 7.0 – Win Politics and Policy African leaders called for debt relief and climate financing to help the continent triple its proportion of electricity generation from renewable sources by 2030 from a 2019 baseline, part of the first Climate Declaration. A California bill one-ups proposed SEC rules by forcing big businesses to report on Scope 3 emissions. After passing the State Assembly this week, the bill is heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. Countries have made only limited progress in staving off the most dangerous effects of global warming, according to the first official report card on the Paris Agreement. The EU votes to increase the share of renewable power in its energy mix from 30 percent to 42.5 percent by 2030.
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💰 10.0 – Invest! In a retort to the GOP war on “woke investing,” venture capital and private equity investors invested over $2 billion into nearly a dozen climate tech companies in one day. Despite getting hammered at hearings on Capitol Hill this summer, BlackRock plows ahead with decarbonization investments, including a new stake in sustainable EV battery maker Ascend Elements.
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For more, follow Speed and Scale on Twitter. |
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