This week’s Current Climate, which every Saturday brings you the latest news about the business of sustainability. Sign up to get it in your inbox every week.
Earlier this week, the Energy Information Administration released its International Energy Outlook through the year 2050. Among some of the more interesting findings is the agency’s projection that greenhouse gas emissions will continue to grow throughout the period, despite more renewable energy sources, thanks to rises in both population and income, which will offset the transition to the less carbon-intensive energy sources.
That said, renewable energy generation is expected to increase somewhere between 30 to 76%, with between 81-95% of new electric capacity installed in the coming years to be using zero-carbon technologies. The agency also projects that electric vehicles will “account for between 29% and 54% of global new vehicle sales by 2050” with China and Western Europe leading the market for these vehicles.
You can read the agency’s full energy outlook here.
The Big Read
U.S. Amps Up Clean Energy Push With $50 Billion ‘Hydrogen Hub’ Plan
Hydrogen has drawn substantial new attention and investment dollars in recent years as a compelling, flexible tool in the fight to slow climate change, particularly for forms of the elemental fuel derived from non-carbon sources. On Friday, the Biden Administration amped up efforts to create a new, clean hydrogen economy by designating seven hubs across the U.S., covering 16 states to scale up its use for a range of industrial and transportation applications. The hub will share $7 billion of funds set aside in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021 and may see $43 billion in private sector investment in a broad range of projects aimed at curbing overall U.S. carbon emissions and creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs.
Read more here.
Sustainability Deals Of The Week
Beanless Coffee: Atomo Coffee, which aims to use upcycled materials to create a more sustainable coffee (without actual coffee beans) debuted its first espresso at New York’s Gumption Coffee in Times Square.
Carbon Credits: CNaught, which sells carbon credits to customers like DuckDuckGo and Zeelo, announced it has raised $2.25 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Greaycroft.
Community Solar: Perch Energy, which works as a servicer to connect solar power developers to consumers, announced it has raised a $30 million series B round led by Nuveen.
Solar Thermal Systems: U.K.-based Naked Energy announced its first installation of its solar thermal solution in North America at Creighton University in Omaha.
The Big Transportation Story
One Of Hong Kong’s Oldest And Biggest Shipping Companies Is Looking To Startups For New Ways To Go Greener
Wah Kwong, led by chairman Hing Chao, is diving into the startup world in search of new ideas to cut carbon emissions, making investments in a wind-power startup in Ireland, forming a strategic partnership with a Shenzhen-based AI startup and establishing a dedicated sustainability investment unit in London.
Read more here.
Other Sustainability News
After a brief rebound in 2020, the oldest ice floating in the Arctic Sea appears to have resumed its melt toward oblivion, according to new data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
More than 40% of Antarctica’s ice shelves have shrunk over the past 25 years, a new study found, due to the effects of human-induced global warming.
Scientists warn that dengue fever could soon become a constant presence in the United States as rising temperatures make new parts of the world hospitable to vectors of disease.
Autonomous vehicle company Cruise announced it plans to make improvements to its services to ease interactions between its fleet and first responders.
What Else We’re Reading This Week
AI could consume as much energy as Argentina annually by 2027 (Popular Science)
Saturday’s Eclipse Will Wreak Havoc on America’s Solar Power (Heatmap)
US electric-vehicle sales hit record high, Tesla loses market share (Reuters)
Toyota, Idemitsu tie up to mass-produce all-solid-state batteries (Reuters)
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