Chugging along – The average CO2 emissions of new cars registered in the EU, Iceland, Norway, and the UK in 2020 have decreased strongly compared to 2019, according to provisional monitoring data from the European Environment Agency, as manufacturers stepped up their efforts to raise the share of electric vehicles in their fleets. The data shows the average CO2 from the 11.6 million new passenger cars registered in 2020 in those 30 countries decreased by 14.5 g CO2/km, or 12% compared to 122.3 g CO2/km in the previous year. “This is by far the greatest annual decrease in emissions since CO2 standards started to apply in 2010,” the European Commission said, adding the main reason was a tripling in the share of EV registrations, which went from 3.5% in 2019 to over 11% in 2020. Despite the shrinking overall market for new cars due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the total number of EVs registered in 2020 rose to over 1 mln. Meanwhile, average CO2 from new vans sold in the EU, Iceland, Norway, and the UK in 2020 was 155.7 g CO2/km – a slight 2.3 g improvement on 2019.

The king is (almost) dead – Britain has committed to ending coal-fired generation from Oct. 1, 2024, the government announced early Wednesday, bringing forward its deadline by one year. The move is part of ambitious commitments to transition away from fossil fuels and decarbonise the power sector in order to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. This announcement confirms the intention set out by Prime Minister Boris Johnson last year, which kicked off a consultation into an earlier phaseout deadline than the previously agreed Oct. 2025 date. Coal’s share in the UK power mix has fallen from nearly 40% a decade ago to under 5% currently.

Change of Lev? – Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman on Tuesday said the country could seek to introduce a carbon tax, without providing further details. Israel’s new environment minister earlier this month pledged to try to advance legislation that would put a price on the country’s carbon emissions, but some observers cast doubt on the idea amid apparent opposition from the finance ministry. Tuesday’s announcement could signal a change in view, as the Bank of Israel has also recently voiced its support for carbon pricing. Israel last year started working on a strategy, with the central bank recommending the government set up an emissions tax for power, road transport, and cooking gas. (Jerusalem Post)

Methanol leapfrog – The world’s largest shipping firm, Maersk, has called for urgent action to address the climate crisis, saying it will turn first to green methanol, and later to green ammonia in order to reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, Euractiv reports. The problem is that methanol today is mostly made from coal or natural gas, said Morten Bo Christiansen, head of decarbonisation at Maersk. This is why Maersk is looking at green methanol made from biomass gasification, or so-called ‘power-to-X’ where biogenic CO2 is added to hydrogen. “And same with ammonia, made from hydrogen and then just adding nitrogen.” The hope is that these alternative shipping fuels will gradually become greener as biomass, ammonia, and hydrogen are produced in growing quantities using sustainable production methods.

ASIA PACIFIC

That’s a lot of hydrogen – Kazakhstan is planning to enter the emerging hydrogen market big time, with Kazakh Invest National Co. having partnered with Germany’s Svevind Energy to build 45 GW worth of solar and wind power capacity across the Central Asian nation. That will be used to power 30 GW of hydrogen electrolysers that can produce some 3 mln tonnes of green hydrogen annually, reports RenewEconomy.

Just come out and say it – Three major investor groups representing some of Australia’s biggest finance firms are calling for government regulators to force big companies to disclose how they plan to address financial risks from climate change. The coalition of investors is warning climate change is becoming a major threat to the global economy, reports Voice of America.

Lower your expectations – The Australian Office of the Chief Economist expects global trade in thermal coal to grow by 7 mln tonnes between 2020 and 2023, according to its latest forecast, a massive 65 mln tonne drop from its previous forecast, according to Argus. The revision in numbers is due to demand from Japan and South Korea falling faster than previously thought, while growth in Indian imports is slower than expected.

Always exceptions – The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will provide support for exports from coal power plants if they come with emissions-cutting steps such as CCS and co-firing ammonia, JBIC Governor Tadashi Maeda said Tuesday. The G7 nations pledged earlier this month to rapidly scale up technologies and policies that accelerate the transition away from unabated coal capacity, including ending new government support for coal power by the end of this year. JBIC plans to support using ammonia or hydrogen as a co-firing fuel in thermal generation, with the understanding that they are needed to slash CO2 in a transition period. Ammonia is seen as a potential effective future energy source as it does not emit CO2 when burned. The state-owned bank announced a new three-year business plan through Mar. 2024, under which it will provide finance to help expand renewables and create a hydrogen supply chain as well as transition finance to support CCUS and ammonia co-firing projects. JBIC will continue financing upstream development of LNG and gas-fired power generation projects as part of transition finance, Maeda said. (Reuters)

AMERICAS

Moving along — The Senate of Canada approved a bill on Tuesday afternoon that would install five-year GHG reduction budgets and a mid-century commitment to net zero emissions. Legislation C-12 — “An Act respecting transparency and accountability in Canada’s efforts to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050” – fulfils a campaign pledge from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last year to increase Canada’s climate ambition. Under the proposal, the 2050 net zero goal would be codified, and the bill would bind current and future governments to set five-year emissions reduction targets, report their progress, and make adjustments if they fall behind.

California vibes — Canada will ban the sale of new gasoline-power cars and light-duty trucks by 2035, Prime Minster Justin Trudeau’s government said Tuesday, according to a Reuters report. Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the move would align Canada’s electric vehicle targets to those in the US, with California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) being among the first US states to roll out the target. Canadian province Quebec made a similar announcement last year.

Ditch the market – New York’s Climate Justice Working Group raised concerns on Monday afternoon about market-based programmes being used to help reach the state’s ambitious 2050 carbon neutrality goal. The advisory group specifically called out New York’s tentative support of the proposed Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) that would create a fuel sector cap-and-trade programme in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. The group said cap-and-trade programmes have inherent design flaws that result in environmental racism. TCI has faced significant push back from environmental justice groups while developing a proposed regulation over the past two years, with only four of the 12 jurisdictions – Rhode Island, Connecticut, Washington DC, and Massachusetts — opting into the system.

SHIPPING

Three if by sea – Three global players – Barry Rogliano Salles (BRS), Deltamarin, and Bureau Veritas – are forging a partnership to offer a range of decarbonisation tools and services to the shipowning community. The trio will assess the operational and retrofit solutions required by shipowners to reach their emissions reduction and performance targets. This will include assessments of engine power limitations, propulsion optimisation, and energy saving devices, use of new fuels, wind propulsion and other options. Deltamarin – a leading ship design, offshore engineering, and marine construction specialist – will focus on calculations and engineering optimisation solutions; classification society Bureau Veritas will provide MRV and compliance services; and shipping broker BRS will be focused on optimising the financial performance and cost control aspects of projects including the use of carbon credits, as well as working with shipyards carrying out vessel modifications and retrofitting work. (Splash)

VOLUNTARY

Grenville green – The united counties of Leeds-Grenville in Ontario will sell carbon credits from a 15,000-acre forest in North Grenville. County council entered into a century-long carbon development and marketing agreement on June 24 with Bluesource Canada. The county estimates it will rake in C$4.7-7.7 mln in the first 30 years of the 100-year deal. County Forest Manager Geoff McVey said the municipality is being “rewarded for maintaining or increasing the forest stock” while insuring the forest is maintained without have to go to taxpayers for money. (Brockville Newswatch)

AND FINALLY…

Updates available – Attempts to sue polluting companies and governments over their responsibility for climate change would have a greater chance of success if they made better use of the latest science, according to a study by Oxford University researchers. The paper, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, finds that the growing ability of scientists to link emissions with specific damages caused by climate change, known as attribution science, could provide further evidence in lawsuits. Litigation has become an increasingly important tool used by campaigners seeking to force governments and companies to curb emissions, with more than 1,500 climate-related lawsuits filed around the world to date, including a number of recent high-profile cases have succeeded. However, for the most part they have failed because plaintiffs have not been able to link definitively the harms caused by climate change with GHG emissions, writes DeSmog. The study by the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme and Environmental Change Institute finds that many lawsuits have not used the latest advances in attribution science as evidence.

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