Volume 14 Issue 3
October 5, 2022 – October 30, 2022
Andrew Ji ‘25 | Cameron Farid ‘26 | Elinadav Frank ‘26 | Wilder Crosier ‘25 | Hagop Alajajian ‘26
U.S. Emissions Set to Decline but Global Climate Pledges Fall Short of Goals, U.N. Says
October 27, 2022 | The Wall Street Journal | Eric Niiler
Despite legislative action to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and projections of decline over the next few years, the UN stated on Thursday that global action remains too slow to effectively contain the worst effects of climate change. “Only a root-and-branch transformation of our economies and societies can save us from accelerating climate disaster,” said Inger Anderson, the director of the program which published the report.
The report analyzed the gap between emission projections and the pledges made in the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, updated at last year’s climate summit in Glasgow. Current progress falls far short of the 2015 goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, with temperatures predicted to rise by 2.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. In order to limit warming to the original goal, nations would have to cut use of fossil fuels by 45% by the end of the decade, the report stated.
In the meantime, progress has been made through energy legislation, with emissions levels also projected to increase by 11% by 2030, down from 14% in last year’s report. An IxEA report released last week also projected that it expects global demand for fossil fuels to peak later this decade, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine spurring national governments to accelerate shifts towards alternative energy sources despite short-term increases in burning coal. - AJ
Azerbaijan’s Response To Russia’s Invasion Has Included Plans For Increased Energy Exports To Europe
Oct 28, 2022 | Forbes Magazine | Joseph Hammond
Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the dissociation of the EU from Moscow’s energy imports, a key focus has been searching for alternative energy sources. One country which has pledged to import more energy into Europe has been Azerbaijan, a country which exported around $5.5 billion in 2021 in petroleum, ranked 16th worldwide. In order to acquire enough energy to increase imports to Europe, investment into development of renewable energies may increase, which holds much potential given consistently high wind speeds in the region. Projections of their potential wind energy production reach up to 800mW per year. Officials including Azerbaijan’s ambassador to the US have repeatedly stated their planned participation in natural gas exports to help stabilize the global energy market and help solve the energy crisis through diplomatic gestures. - EF
Rather than an endlessly reheated nuclear debate, politicians should be powered by the evidence
October 30, 2022 | The Guardian | Adam Morton
Peter Dutton, the Australian liberal party leader, suggests that the government is not yet able to implement the expansion of renewable energy, since the “technology doesn’t yet exist at the scale that is needed to store renewable energy for electricity…” However, research suggests otherwise. David Osmond, an engineer with global energy developer WindLab, demonstrates through experimentation over 61 weeks that 98.9% of demand can be met by wind and solar energy. Osmond argues that technology exists in society, and it's relatively cheap for energy storage compared to other options. With cost management, design, and engineering, action plans like the one by the Australian Energy Market Operator, which pushes for “83% of renewable generation by 2030, 96% by 2040 and 98% by 2050 as the best, most likely option,” can lead to a successful transition in the energy market. –HA
America’s Only New Nuclear Plant Inches Closer to a Long-Delayed Start
October 28, 2022 | Wall Street Journal | Jennifer Hiller
After years of setbacks, the Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia is nearing completion. The plant began loading fuel in October and is expected to start delivering power by March. Thanks to their ability to offer energy independence as well as their lack of emissions, nuclear reactors are currently experiencing a revitalization in America. However, Vogtle has dampened the excitement around nuclear for utility companies and investors. Originally set to open in 2016 with a budget at half its current $30 billion price tag, the new plant has shown the many challenges of building large nuclear reactors. The project has provoked more excitement for small modular reactors, which are a potential cheaper alternative to large-scale plants. In the face of these set-backs, Vogtle’s progress is nevertheless an exciting step towards more nuclear power in America. –WC
China Opens World’s First Commercial Scale CO2-to-Methanol Plant
October 28, 2022 | Gasworld | Anthony Wright
The world’s first large scale CO2-to-Methanol plant was put online recently in China. Construction finished earlier this year and the plant began production of methanol in the 3rd quarter. The facility has the capacity to use 160,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually to produce 110,000 tonnes of methanol by using a variety of catalysts. This is a more sustainable process than typical methanol production, which involves fossil fuels like coal. It has the capacity to cut CO2 emissions by 95%, nitrogen oxides by 80%, and completely eliminate sulfur oxide and particulate matter emissions.
Methanol is a fuel commonly used across a variety of industries, such as in the production of plastics. It can also be used as a direct fuel source for cars or can be converted into gasoline. Thus, plants like this allow the world’s existing fossil infrastructure to exist without the need to directly extract and refine fossil fuels from the ground. Additionally, this technology may be key to solving the energy storage issue. Instead of building massive batteries using often hazardous metals to store energy, synthetic fuels with high energy densities can be used to do so in a way infrastructure is more adjusted to.
A key question is, why isn’t this technology more mainstream? A predominant issue here is cost. Oil and gas from the ground are cheap. Companies have been working for decades to find efficient, cheap ways to extract oil, and synthetic fuels face a longer timeline to become competitive, if ever. However, the fact that the technology does indeed exist as a proof-of-concept demonstrates future potential innovations in energy. - CF
