The free rider problem in climate action arises when some countries or actors benefit from the efforts of others to mitigate climate change without contributing their fair share. Since the atmosphere is a global common good, actions taken by one country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions benefit the entire world, … [continued]
Recently John Haffner, responsible for sustainability at Hong Kong’s US$1.4 billion annual revenue Hang Lung Property Group, reached out to me. ReThink HK, which bills itself as Hong Kong’s best-attended and most ambitious business event for sustainable development, was hosting a debate he would be part of in front of … [continued]
The latest installment of the ongoing seminar series on global decarbonization that I’m leading for India’s utility professionals under the auspices of the India Smart Grid Forum was on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). It’s an overly hyped, overly hoped for solution that isn’t and won’t scale remotely economically. When … [continued]
Germany may not have liked being pulled into Donald Trump’s closing arguments at the debate last night, or maybe it did, but in either case, the country has responded. In particular, the German Foreign Office took to X to correct the record. As I wrote earlier today, in his closing … [continued]
Coal generation in China continues to fascinate the world, and for good reason. Last year’s emissions from that source alone were in the range of 6.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide, over double global aviation and shipping emissions combined. The big headlines in the past year were reserved for China’s … [continued]
U.S. exports of thermal coal to Asia and Africa surged in the first half of 2024, helping to drive overall U.S. coal exports (thermal and metallurgical) to 53 million short tons (MMst) from 49 MMst in the first half of 2023. Exports of thermal coal from the United States to … [continued]
For close to twenty years, it’s been clear that electrifying everything is a key climate change wedge. Mark Z. Jacobson’s work in the USA and then internationally with his 100% Renewables by 2050 modeling laid much of the groundwork for this. Luminaries from around the world, such as Saul Griffith, … [continued]
Under the auspices of the India Smart Grid Forum, the think tank founded as an umbrella organization over India’s 28 state utilities to provide thought leadership, share leading practices, and bring international insights to India, I’m delivering bi-weekly webinars framed by the Short List of Climate Actions That Will Work. With the … [continued]
Coal stockpiles at U.S. electric power plants totaled 138 million short tons at the end of May, the most since the first half of 2020 when the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic reduced electricity demand and coal consumption. In the United States, coal is typically consumed by power plants following … [continued]
In my regularly iterated Short List of Climate Actions That Will Work, there’s a big broom: Price Carbon Aggressively. In the maritime shipping world, it would be a big trawler net that scoops up emissions regardless of technology, allowing the market to figure out the cheapest way to achieve decarbonization. … [continued]
