[Apr 1-7'24] Fossils pivots out of renewables

Imminent insect demise, geothermal gaining momentum, big oil tried for homicide and fossils pivoting out of renewables.

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Weekly Climate 🎉

References: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5] and [6].

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‼️News you can’t miss

Here’s one important scary/bad (🙀), good (😻), interesting (😼) and fossil (💩) news item.

🙀 New report: Immenint insect demise

😻 Geothermal gaining momentum in the US

😼 Should big oil be tried for homicide?

💩 So much for fossil fuel decarbonisation efforts

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👩‍⚕️ Status: Climate & Science

Let’s look at how we’re doing this week!

[#acceleration] — This article from Carbon Brief examines the recent "acceleration" in global warming and discusses how it aligns with scientific expectations. The analysis finds increasing evidence of an acceleration in the rate of warming over the past 15 years, which is consistent with projections from climate models and the IPCC's sixth assessment report. The article also highlights the potential factors contributing to this acceleration and emphasizes the importance of distinguishing short-term climate variability from long-term changes. Overall, the findings suggest that the current acceleration in global warming was expected and is largely attributed to human activity.

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📰 The 7 Grand Challenges

⚡️Decarbonize Electricity

Clean electricity is the one do-or-die challenge we must solve.

[#energystorage] — Solar and wind energy could potentially be stored as heat using materials such as salt, air, bricks, and hand-warmer gel (yes the gel used in hand-warmers, not a typo). This alternative method of energy storage aims to provide heat to manufacturers and ensure a stable energy supply during times of scarcity. Start-ups are exploring the industrialization of heat storage, which offers advantages such as wide availability, minimal degradation, and long-term storage capabilities. The use of molten salt, bricks, and phase-change materials shows promise in storing energy at a lower cost compared to other storage technologies like lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen. However, the thermal storage industry faces challenges in terms of awareness, commercial risks, and competition from established technologies.

[#geothermal] — Geothermal energy is gaining momentum in the US due to new techniques, government support, and the need for continuous clean power. Geothermal capacity could increase 20-fold by 2050, generating 10% of the country's electricity. The Biden administration has funded projects to make geothermal energy available across the entire US. While expansion will require time and significant investment, advocates believe it is within reach. Enhanced geothermal systems, which use fracking techniques, show promise in powering millions of American homes. New drilling techniques allow geothermal energy to be extracted from hot rocks anywhere underground. Dozens of companies are pursuing geothermal plans, encouraged by recent legislation. The potential for geothermal energy is vast, with superhot rock energy alone capable of meeting global electricity demand nearly eight times over.

🏘 Reduce impact of urban and rural areas

Lowering the impact of urban and rural areas.

[#EVspeedbump] — According to BloombergNEF, electric vehicle (EV) sales reached 4.4 million units in Q4 2023 and 13.7 million units in 2023, accounting for 18% of total passenger vehicle sales worldwide. While EV sales are projected to continue rising, a potential slowdown in growth rates is expected due to regulatory changes in Europe, market saturation in China, and uncertainty surrounding the US presidential election. BNEF forecasts EV sales to reach 16.7 million units in 2024.