[Jan 22-28'24] Stories of progress are key

Propane industry wants to fool you, EU achieve 8% emissions reduction, we need stories about progress and Exxon sues to get rid of activist shareholder.

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.

🙀 The propane industry is trying to dupe you

😻 EU achieve 8% reduction in emissions YoY 2023

😼 Why we need stories about progress

💩 Exxon sues to keep activist shareholder off agenda

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👩‍⚕️ Status: Climate & Science

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

[#iceberg] — Iceberg A23a, weighing approximately one trillion metric tons, has broken free from the ocean floor in November 2023 and is now drifting away from the Antarctic Peninsula. It spans an area of 1,544 square miles and is heading towards the southern Atlantic Ocean. As it enters warmer waters, it will gradually shed and disintegrate, providing nutrients to the surrounding ecosystem.

[#snow] — A recent study by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory suggests that cleaner, whiter snow could help offset the loss of snowpack caused by global warming. The study found that pollution and dust that create "dirty" snow play a significant role in the melting process. By considering factors such as pollution, dust, rising temperatures, and the different shapes of snow grains, scientists were able to show that while the snowpack will continue to decrease due to warming, cleaner snow can help mitigate the loss.

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📰 The 7 Grand Challenges

⚡️Decarbonize Electricity

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

[#solarinsects] — A study conducted at two solar energy sites in Minnesota found that the restoration of native grasses and wildflowers led to an increase in insect populations, including pollinators. The researchers observed an increase in native plant species diversity, flower abundance, and the abundance and diversity of native insect pollinators. The findings suggest that properly sited solar-pollinator habitats can contribute to biodiversity conservation and provide pollination services to adjacent agricultural fields.

[#nuclear] — Nuclear power generation is expected to break records in 2025 as more countries invest in reactors for a low-carbon global economy. Renewable energy is also projected to overtake coal as a power source. China, India, Korea, and Europe are likely to have new reactors, while Japan and France will see increased output. The growth in renewable energy will cover the additional electricity demands, and renewables will make up about a third of global electricity generation by early next year.

[#chinagrowth] — Clean energy, particularly in the form of electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy, was the main driver of China's economic growth in 2023. The analysis highlights significant investments in EV manufacturing capacity, battery production, EV charging infrastructure, energy efficiency, electricity storage, railways, nuclear power, and electricity grids. This shift towards clean technology manufacturing has positioned China as a major player in the global clean energy market. The boom in clean-energy manufacturing has also led to a decrease in prices for solar panels and batteries, accelerating the adoption of clean-energy technologies worldwide.

[#geothermal] — Kenya has become a world leader in clean energy thanks to its vast geothermal resources found beneath the Great Rift Valley. With close to 300 geothermal wells and a combined capacity of 799MW, Kenya sources up to 91% of its energy from renewables, with 47% coming from geothermal power. The country hopes to transition fully to renewables by 2030 and has the potential to increase its geothermal capacity to as much as 10,000MW. This has made a significant contribution to a cleaner world and reduced reliance on fossil fuels.

🏘 Reduce impact of urban and rural areas

Lowering the impact of urban and rural areas.