Why are we celebrating?

 

Why are we celebrating?

Spanish version here

The eighth issue of Bloomberg Green’s magazine is here. Usually we save the last page for just optimistic developments — as covering the climate beat, with its ominous indicators and frequent disasters, can sometimes hide progress.

But you can find reasons to feel positive about the future across this entire issue. Much of the focus throughout is on new technologies that will help clean up the emissions causing the climate crisis. Several of those stories are already available to read online. Take, for example, this startup that’s using rust to create cheaper, more sustainable batteries. Or this tractor in England that runs on methane from cow manure, a technology that could put a dent in the greenhouse gas footprint of the agriculture industry if rolled out on farms worldwide.

There are also solutions you might not initially think of as cleaner tech. For instance, this company in South Africa is trialing toilets that work without running water or electricity. In the US, ships ferrying construction materials to an offshore wind farm are now equipped with AI-detection technology to avoid collisions with whales. 

Also in this issue: read about the oil executive hand-picked by the United Arab Emirates to the control the world’s climate progress, the clean tech competition between the EU and US, the Florida governor who wants to save the environment and kill ESG, the Walmart director who’s decarbonizing employee commutes, the Navy’s plan for climate-friendly homes, a medieval English village's struggle against the sea, and tips for becoming a better recycler.

Now, on to the good climate news...

Green Jobs Explode

In the six months after President Joe Biden’s game-changing ­climate bill became law in August, companies announced more than 100,000 new clean energy jobs in the US, according to an analysis by the nonprofit advocacy group Climate Power.

The EU Accelerates Renewables

Europe’s effort to ditch Russian ­fossil fuels led to the beginnings of a remarkable clean energy transition. Solar installations across Europe last year increased by a record 40 gigawatts, or 35%, to 209 gigawatts, from 2021.

Installing solar panels onto the roof of a home in Spain in September. Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg

Effort to Curb Methane Grows 

Ever since COP26 in Glasgow, nations have been signing on to a global pledge to cut methane emitted from oil and gas wells, coal seams, landfills and livestock such as cows. The total number of countries backing the pledge exceeded 150 at the end of last year.

A Boost for Sustainable Clothing

Victoria’s Secret & Co. now has a bra with pads that can be recycled, a step toward preventing waste at the end of garments’ lives. Typical bra pads contain polyurethane foam, a material that can’t be melted down and extruded. The pads in the new product, named the Forever Bra, are made of a proprietary fabric that can be transformed into new bras.

Making Cleaner 

MetalSteel production accounts for about 7% of the world’s carbon emissions. It’s proven to be fiendishly difficult to decarbonize, but British researchers discovered that it’s possible to use a form of the mineral perovskite to capture carbon dioxide that steelmaking blast furnaces produce. This could potentially cut the industry’s emissions, without needing expensive new equipment.

Carbon Capture Picks Up Steam

Investment in carbon capture and storage reached a record $6.4 billion last year. The US led, accounting for 45% of global investment, according to research from BloombergNEF, which also noted a significant uptick in financing for these ­projects in Asia.

Elephants Fight Climate Change

There’s another reason to love the pachyderm: Its diet has a climate benefit. Elephants like to eat from small, leafy trees, leaving larger ones in the area with more space to grow. This allows the latter, which can absorb more planet-­warming CO2, to flourish, according to a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

 

Photographer: Chris Jek/AFP/Getty Images

A Pact to Protect Land and Water 

 
At a United Nations conference in December, 195 countries reached a landmark agreement to protect and restore at least 30% of the Earth’s land and water by 2030. Wealthier nations also committed to pay an estimated $30 billion a year by the end of the decade to poorer nations for biodiversity ­protection. Poor nations have a disproportionate share of biodiversity and shouldn’t have to bear the brunt of the conservation costs alone. 

 The Biggest Auto Market Loves EVs  

In China more than 1 in 5 new cars sold in 2022 was electric. The appeal for owners is enhanced by two-way chargers, which allow electric vehicles to double as a source of energy for day-to-day living as well as for emergencies. EV makers are even pitching their products as “batteries on wheels.”

Reason to worry 5.64 million In square miles, this is how much sea ice covered the Arctic Ocean at peak extent in early March. This year's maximum Arctic ice measurement was the fifth lowest since satellite records began in 1979.

Finding solutions “This is a real estate strategy with a decarbonization goal. Capitalism will look at this successful strategy, and replicate it, creating ripples through the built environment.” Joseph Sumberg Head of Galvanize Real Estate An arm of billionaire Tom Steyer’s investment firm Galvanize Climate Solutions will begin buying and upgrading property across the US this summer and fall, aiming to cut the portfolio’s greenhouse gas emissions to net zero in three years.

Fuente: https://www.bloomberg.com/green