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Wave of nearshoring to Mexico limited by energy policy

Contradiction? While Treasury and Economy officials see nearshoring as an investment panacea for the country to boost growth that cannot be wasted, the government’s own energy policy has put its foot in its mouth, limiting expectations.

Nearshoring, or the relocation of companies to countries close to the markets they seek to reach, is on the lips of the public and private sector as the “golden opportunity” to further boost the manufacturing industry, the most important in the country, as geopolitics pushes companies to optimize their supply chains to reach the large U.S. market. Mexico is strategically positioned for that purpose.

Bank of America has published that nearshoring represents a “unique opportunity” for Mexico. Before being relieved of his post, the former Undersecretary of Industry and Commerce, Héctor Guerrero, said that Mexico could have “the regret of a lifetime” if it did not take advantage of the historic opportunity that was born after the pandemic to boost the arrival of foreign companies to the country, something that “would not happen twice”.

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According to estimates by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Mexico would be the country that would obtain the most profits from nearshoring in Latin America, with the potential to attract up to 35.3 billion dollars in investments per year.

In October alone, according to the Second Edition of Credit Suisse’s Nearshoring Tracker, it identified at least 20 investment announcements in Mexico related to nearshoring with an approximate value of 2.05 billion dollars.

The government’s hopes regarding nearshoring are not exclusive to the ex-official, but have been shared by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) as well as by the new head of the SE, Raquel Buenrostro, who assured that “we have a list, there are just over 400 companies that want to locate here in Mexico” with which meetings will be held to learn about their plans to set up in the country.

However, for some analysts, the statements made by public officials regarding the supposed “cascade” of investments due to nearshoring, come up against policies -such as the one in the energy sector- that have raised barriers to the arrival of productive capital.

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“Mexico is not prepared for this wave as it has not invested enough in the electricity sector, and U.S. companies that do not have a presence in Mexico are resisting. The current North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA) dispute between Mexico and the US/Canada is a testament to some of the concerns expressed by international FDI investors in Mexico,” says investment bank Morgan Stanley in its study Mexico’s Nearshoring Challenges and Opportunities Amid a New Era of Geopolitics.

In the study, Morgan Stanley estimates Mexico’s export growth potential at US$155 billion over the next five years.

However, the intention to concentrate the generation and supply of energy in the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) has become the main limitation for the arrival of new companies seeking to relocate in Mexico, a situation that is being resolved within the T-MEC and that poses uncertainties for the immediate future.

The country’s industrial parks association has already spoken out in this regard to request that the CFE guarantee a sufficient supply of electricity, particularly in the states receiving investments derived from the relocation. Sergio Argüelles González, president of the Mexican Association of Private Industrial Parks (AMPIP), said that the petitions “are moving forward”; while, recently, President López Obrador gave signs of looking for some alternatives by presenting the “Sonora Plan”, with which Mexico would be integrated to the North American electric car production chain, promoting the generation of solar energy in the north of the country through 5 new plants.

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But it is in the regulatory and legislative arena where energy uncertainty could affect the investment plans of companies interested in coming to Mexico, especially if the dispute with the United States has repercussions on the trade relationship.

“While the constitutional legal framework of the 2014 Energy Reform remains largely intact, most of the factors limiting energy investments relate to specific laws, which are often contested in domestic federal courts, international tribunals or dispute resolution mechanisms, such as trade panels and in-country tribunals. T-MEC,” the Morgan Stanley study added.

Currently Mexico’s dispute with its T-MEC partners remains in negotiations before escalating to a dreaded “panel,” a dispute settlement mechanism contemplated in the T-MEC through which the United States and Canada would have the right to claim multi-billion dollar compensation or impose tariffs on key Mexican products, if the outcome favors them.

Secretary Buenrostro recently said that the outcome of the negotiations with the U.S. will be announced in December, without giving further details.

Source: https://www.arenapublica.com/politicas-publicas/ola-de-nearshoring-mexico-limitada-por-la-politica-energetica

 

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Only 9 years left to save the climate

Beyond the trail of new commitments and the avalanche of reports that all climate summits usually leave behind, COP27 has so far left two particularly striking headlines, even if they seem to contradict each other. There are two pieces of news: one good and the other bad. The bad news is that the planet has only 9 years left to save the climate by really accelerating emissions cuts if it does not want to exceed the ‘extra’ warming of 1.5ºC by that date, which, in theory, should not be reached until 2100. The good news is that, in spite of everything, three of the world’s major polluters (China, India and Europe) are moving towards decarbonization faster than expected.

The report released during the summit by the Global Carbon Project, a world-renowned panel of more than 100 scientists studying the impact of carbon on the global climate, gave a clear picture of where things stand. In short, according to this study, there is a 50% chance that the fateful figure of 1.5ºC of warming with respect to the pre-industrial era will be exceeded in 9 years. That horizon was set for 2100, but not for the next decade, which only makes the forecasts much worse.

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The fact that there is half a chance that this rise will be so far ahead is practically playing Russian roulette, conclude the experts, who are committed to taking “radical and immediate” action to avoid being caught by the bullet in this fateful game.

Emissions increase in 2022

In fact, the latest data on global warming are not exactly in the planet’s favor. In 2021, emissions rebounded after the pandemic hiatus, and there was great expectation to know what would happen in 2022. Well, estimates from the Global Carbon Project suggest that this year will end with a further rise in CO2 emissions, specifically by 1% compared to 2021. It may not sound like much, but when immediate and drastic reductions are expected, any increase is tantamount to a defeat.

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The culprit for this increase in 2022 is the boom in the use of oil (its emissions are up by 2.2%) and coal (1%), because those caused by gas are down by 0.2% and those derived from the use of cement, by 1.6%. All the experts agree that the upturn in aviation following the pandemic is one of the main factors responsible for this 1% global increase in emissions in 2022.

How do we know that we have nine years to go to reach the 1.5°C rise? Fundamentally, the Global Carbon Project takes into account the number of gigatons of CO2 released into the atmosphere annually. Given that humanity will reach the 1.5ºC warming as soon as another 380 gigatons of CO2 are released and 40.6 will have been emitted in 2022 alone, it is easy to calculate when this ‘reserve’ of carbon dioxide that can still be released before reaching the fateful limit established by the Paris Agreement will be exhausted.

Mission almost impossible

The authors of the report consider it unlikely that emissions can be curbed to the required extent in such a short time frame. In fact, to reach 2100 with a warming of ‘only’ 1.5°C would require declines every year until then similar to those recorded during the Covid pandemic in 2020.

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“We don’t have green growth once Covid is over. We still have an increase fueled by the use of fossil fuels,” notes Global Carbon Project member Philippe Ciais.

For his part, the executive director of the Global Carbon Project and Chief Researcher at the CSIRO Climate Science Center in Canberra (Australia), Pep Canadell, was quite clear in a recent meeting with journalists: the world is heading for 2.4ºC warming by the end of the century. The difference between 1.5ºC and 2.4ºC could be abysmal, according to all scientific studies, which paint a really bleak picture in the second scenario. And yet it already seems the most likely.

If carbon emissions into the atmosphere continue at the current rate over the next four or five years, the planet will exceed 2ºC. “We are heading straight for this scenario, even more than 2.4ºC,” he said. And he added that current extreme weather events already anticipate the future: “Climate extremes now go beyond what we had thought. Perhaps we have not imagined well what a world with 2ºC in excess will be like,” warned Canadell.

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Some glimmers of hope

But isn’t there positive news to hold on to? There is. On the one hand, the increase in emissions has not stopped, but it is slowing down. While during the 2000s it was rising at an annual rate of 3%, in the last decade it has only been rising at 0.5%. Moreover, three of the major CO2 emitters, China, India and Europe, are on track to reach their decarbonization targets earlier than initially planned in their national targets.

Another report, this one released by The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) and which coincides with other similar reports, details that China is giving an impressive boost to clean energies, so that emissions will fall by 0.9% in 2022. However, there are other factors involved, such as the slowdown in its economy and the high rate of reforestation being carried out by the Asian giant.

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In India, too, renewables are witnessing a phenomenal take-off. And, although this country is still highly dependent on coal (Indian emissions in 2022 are 6% higher than in 2021), it is expected that within this same decade we will see reductions of such a caliber that they will turn the tables, leaving coal as marginal compared to renewables.

The third industrial power with significant reductions, the European Union, will see its emissions fall by 0.8% in 2022, mainly due to the 10% drop in gas emissions, linked to the war in Ukraine.

In the United States, however, they will rise by 1.5%, driven by the increase in gas consumption, used to get rid of coal. But the US is now second only to China in terms of investment in solar and wind energy, to the point that by 2030 it will generate 85% of its energy from renewables.

The ECIU report considers that “rapid price reductions mean that wind and solar energy are now much cheaper than fossil fuels”, a fact that encourages many governments and investors to row in that direction.

“The time window is narrowing.”

However, despite these glimmers of hope, experts stress that “the time window is narrowing.” Promising hopes or commitments for the future are no longer enough, but concrete, immediate and far-reaching measures must be taken.

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Last month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced its forecast that fossil fuels will reach their peak consumption in 2030, after which they will begin to decline and be replaced by renewables. But the disappearance of hydrocarbons will not be abrupt and sudden, but rather a slow and gradual reduction, which will still cause a large volume of emissions into the atmosphere for many years to come.

Hence, the overall view of the situation casts more shadows than light on the future of humanity in the medium term.

Source: https://www.informacion.es/medio-ambiente/2022/11/17/alerta-cientifica-quedan-9-anos-78668205.html

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COP27: protection of the Amazon, key issue at climate change conference

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27), being held in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh, entered its second week of talks. The first drafts of the final agreement are already circulating among the representatives of the participating delegations and, at the same time, expectations are growing regarding the decisions, mainly political, to be reached in the coming days.

For Latin America, the announcements to protect the Amazon have gained relevance in this COP27. “We are going to put an end to the degradation process that our tropical forests are undergoing”, said the president-elect of Brazil, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, during the Charter of the Amazon event in which he participated on Wednesday, November 16. Lula da Silva will also participate in the International Forum of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change.

The Brazilian president announced the creation of a ministry of indigenous peoples in Brazil and proposed that COP30, in 2025, be held in a state – Amazonas or Pará – in the Brazilian Amazon. “It is important that it be in the Amazon. It is important that the people who defend the Amazon, the people who defend the climate, know what the region is like up close.”

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Lula da Silva’s announcements at COP27, on the position Brazil will take to confront climate change and protect the Amazon, have added to the prominence that the presidents of Colombia and Venezuela have had in this conference.

One day after COP27 began, on November 7, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, gave an energetic speech in which he stated that “overcoming the climate crisis implies stopping the consumption of oil and coal, and this stop consuming implies a profound transformation of the economy”. The Colombian president presented a decalogue in which he announced, among other things, a fund of 200 million dollars per year, for 20 years, to protect the Amazon rainforest located in Colombian territory.

Petro also shared a panel with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who referred to the responsibility “we South Americans have to stop the destruction of the Amazon and initiate a coordinated, efficient, conscious and active recovery process”.

Topics such as the responsibility of industrialized countries to assume the losses and damages to the most vulnerable nations; the reduction of fossil fuel consumption; the need to stop the deforestation of forests and, in particular, of the Amazon; and the financing to face climate change have been present during the first week of the conference being held in Egypt.

“We are on a road to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator,” said the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, in his opening speech at COP27. With a tone of extreme concern and, at times, even indignation, Guterres called for a “historic pact” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve the goal established in the Paris Agreement of not exceeding 2 degrees Celsius of temperature increase and, preferably, maintaining the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, although the latest global reports point to the fact that we are on our way to surpassing that figure.

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One such report was released on Friday, November 11 by the Global Carbon Project, amidst the anticipation of U.S. President Joe Biden’s speech at COP27. The document revealed that carbon emissions have not been reduced this 2022, on the contrary, according to this study, CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions from fossil fuels are expected to increase by 1% this year compared to 2021. According to this report, by 2022 the global figure will be 36.6 billion tons of CO2.

The Amazon in the climate debate

An important issue for South American countries, and for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, is the Amazon, an ecosystem that is also essential as a global climate regulator. “It is the largest carbon sink on the planet,” adds Alicia Guzman, co-director of Stand.earth’s Amazon Program.

Guzman explains that the conversation on the Amazon has been emerging as a key issue in this COP27. “What we are experiencing at the Amazon level, and on the part of governments, is precisely a work that has been constant during the last two years,” says Guzman and mentions the 80 to 25 Initiative -protection of 80% of the Amazon by 2025- approved in September 2021, which has been positioning itself thanks to the participation of indigenous peoples and some governments.

Although she mentions that there is still no regional pact to address this ecosystem, Guzman hopes that the attendance of Brazil’s president-elect, Lula da Silva, at COP27 will mark a change in the talks on the Amazon ecosystem, which includes nine South American countries: “It is expected that Brazil will once again occupy that position of leadership in the climate conversation, since any announcement Brazil makes for the Amazon has preponderance for the entire region”.

Brazil’s former environment minister, Marina Silva, present at COP27, has said that the fight against deforestation will be “a strategic priority” in Lula da Silva’s new government.

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The Amazon Viva Report, presented on November 8 at the COP by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), warns of the urgency of halting threats to the integrity of the Amazon in order to protect 80% of the rainforest by 2025 (80×25).

The report points out that without urgent action, the Amazon could reach a point of no return, which would directly affect the livelihoods of the 47 million people living in this ecosystem, as well as the 511 groups of indigenous peoples and 10% of the planet’s biodiversity.

The report also warns that if the Amazon is lost, it will be impossible to meet the goal of not exceeding 1.5°C in the coming decades. “The Amazon rainforest stores between 367 and 733 gigatons (Gt) of CO2 in its vegetation and soils. At the same time, the carbon stored for centuries in the Amazon is also being released at an accelerated rate due to deforestation, fires and unsustainable productive activities,” the document states.

“Science is saying that if something is not done, the Amazon is going to become a desert,” insisted Gregorio Diaz Mirabal, of the Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica (COICA), during an event open to the public at COP27.

The indigenous leader also complained about the non-fulfillment of the commitments signed in Glasgow, in 2021, which offered technical and financial support for the Amazon and called for a change in the attitude of the governments to confront the deforestation of the Amazon biome.

Liability for loss and damage

“This COP is particularly important because I believe that new issues are being put on the table, issues that were in a general discussion, but that had not become part of the negotiations,” says Ana Carolina González, Director of Programs at the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI). “One of them is the issue of loss, damage and reparation, which has to do with the impact that climate change is currently having on less developed countries,” she adds.

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The issue of loss and damage has gained relevance in this COP27 and has been incorporated into the official agenda, after intense negotiations in the days prior to the start of the conference.

What is being sought, explains González, is to guarantee effective compensation for the least developed countries which, at the same time, are the least responsible for the existence of these damages because they are the ones that pollute the least. “The role of the global south, of the developing countries, has been absent in these conversations. And for Latin America this is undoubtedly significant, especially given the major impacts of climate change and the environmental disasters we are seeing in the continent.

The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), presented in March 2022, warns about the effects of climate change in Latin America: rising sea levels, coastal erosion, ocean acidification and extreme droughts. The high temperatures recorded in the Amazon in recent years can be attributed to climate change, says the report.

“The countries that have historically caused climate change should pay for the impacts, that is, England, the United States, Europe, Australia, Japan, the large economies associated with expansionism and colonialism should pay much more than they are contributing,” says Carlos Tornel, a researcher at the University of Durham, in the United Kingdom, who specializes in the process of transition, justice and energy sovereignty. In this way, Tornel refers to what is known in English as “lost and damage”.

How effective have the discussions on climate change at the COPs held since 1995, and even since the Rio de Janeiro Summit in 1992, been over time? asks Tornel. If we look at the evidence,” he says, “we have already attended 27 COPs and throughout that time emissions have increased by more or less 65%.

Tornel mentions that originally the COPs were thought of as a process of democratic negotiation between countries, representatives of civil society and groups vulnerable to the effects of climate change; however, the Mexican researcher mentions that “the space has become an agenda that mainly benefits companies and the large polluting countries, that is to say, those of the northern hemisphere. Historically, since those 27 conferences, they have refused to deal with the issues that most affect those who are less responsible for the problem, but also more vulnerable, that is, the global south”.

“The issue of adaptation to climate change, loss and damage, and vulnerability are issues that directly concern Latin America in a year of many impacts,” says Laura Arciniegas, director of Global Stocktaking of the Paris Agreement of the organization Transforma.

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Greater support from developed countries to the developing world to address the impacts of climate change is one of the points that has created many expectations at the conference.

On this issue, the G77 -a group of 77 developing countries established in 1964- and China called on the richest nations to contribute financial resources to create a fund to address the losses and damages caused by climate change.

For its part, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), under the presidency of Argentina, presented a joint position paper at the climate conference showing a certain cohesion of the countries of the continent for the negotiations. “Historically, Latin America has been a very fragmented region,” says Antonio Hill, Energy Transition advisor at the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), although he stresses that “now there is a certain harmony among some governments in the region, such as Argentina and Chile. We are all interested in having a united voice so that they can collaborate and work strategically in the face of international negotiations”, adds the expert.

he path to an energy transition?

Another of the key issues being discussed at COP27 is the progressive elimination of all fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – and the transition to renewable energies. A debate that this year has as its backdrop the energy crisis, as a consequence of the war between Russia and Ukraine, and a planet in which the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly evident.

“The energy transition has been on the radar for some time now and the time has come to step on the gas,” says Antonio Hill of NRGI. “The industrialized countries are the ones that have least fulfilled their promises: the United States, as the biggest contributor to emissions, but there are also countries like Canada, Japan, Australia and the European Union. They all have a debt to the rest of the world and a responsibility to act,” he adds.

In this sense, Hill clarifies that in the case of Latin America the contribution in the reduction of emissions from fossil fuels is minimal compared to industrialized countries, since energy generation in Latin American countries comes, to a large extent, from renewable energy based on hydroelectric plants. However, Hill explains, the economic dependence of some countries in the continent on the exploitation of these raw materials must be taken into account. The case of Mexico, in relation to oil, and Colombia, with coal, are two examples of this dependence.

For this reason, Hill highlights the announcement made by the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, to propose a roadmap for the issue of fossil fuels. “The climate crisis can only be overcome if we stop consuming hydrocarbons. It is time to devalue the hydrocarbon economy with defined dates for its end and value the branches of the decarbonized economy. The solution is a world without oil and coal,” Petro said in his speech.

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The Mexican government also announced a new commitment to increase from 22% to 35% in the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. During a presentation at COP27, Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón spoke of a US$48 million investment in GHG reduction and clean energy generation. An announcement he made together with the U.S. presidential special envoy for climate, John Kerry.

“I believe that on energy transition issues there is much that we can contribute as a region in terms of a global agenda, because in Latin America you have an important block of countries dependent on oil revenues such as Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico, even Brazil, then, we must define which are the routes to ensure that these countries can reduce dependence on these fossil fuels in a given period of time,” says Ana Carolina González of NRGI.

In this sense, González considers that the countries that have polluted the most should be the first to stop producing fossil fuels but, at the same time, Latin American nations “should not wait for the others to go first, but start planning their own energy transition and this process of diversification of the export production matrix”.

For his part, Carlos Tornel, of Durham University, points out that “the most important thing [for climate change] is to eliminate the use of fossil fuels. It’s as simple as that”, but to achieve this, the researcher says, it is necessary to “de-globalize economies and make them local” and “deploy renewable energy such as wind and solar on a scale that is in the interests of most people”.

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As talks continue this week at COP27 on reducing the use of fossil fuels and transitioning to clean energy, an analysis by Global Witness, in partnership with Corporate Accountability and Corporate Europe Observatory, identified that there are at least 636 oil industry lobbyists at the conference, up from 503 in Glasgow at COP26 in 2021.

This second week of COP27 is expected to be intense with the arrival of new political actors, a series of negotiations to be finalized, as well as discrepancies in the talks and climate goals of the countries. A week that is expected to come to an end with concrete agreements by Friday, November 18.

Source: https://es.mongabay.com/2022/11/proteccion-a-la-amazonia-tema-protagonico-en-la-cop27

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Mexico will double its clean generation capacity, projects SRE

The Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, committed to “double Mexico’s clean energy generation capacity” with an additional investment of 48 billion dollars for a joint renewable energy generation project with the United States.

This, as part of the voluntary actions to which the country will commit in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to mitigate climate change at the United Nations Conference (COP27) taking place in Egypt, in addition to the summit between the T-MEC partners, which includes Canada, in order to increase the goal from 22% to 35% in the reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030.

“President López Obrador has decided to expand national targets from 22% to 35% in greenhouse gas emission reductions, in order to accelerate the energy transition in North America,” explained Ebrard, accompanied by U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry, at a press conference.

“That means doubling efforts in the next eight years, compared to the original plans for this decade,” according to the foreign minister.

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Thus, with the support of the United States, it is estimated that an additional investment of approximately 48 billion dollars will be required between 2022 and 2030, which will be mobilized from the public and private sectors of both nations, explained the Mexican foreign minister.

Mexican and U.S. officials did not specify an amount of U.S. financial support for this task, which will involve “doubling Mexico’s clean energy generation capacity,” said Ebrard.

The announcement, which will involve a large renewable energy project called Sonora on the U.S.-Mexico border, “will be one of the most important topics at the next summit” of the three partners next month, Ebrard added.

“This is a vision, not just an announcement,” Kerry added.

Previously, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Mexico must increase clean energy production faster than the United States to ensure it meets the demand for goods made with more environmentally friendly inputs, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said last Thursday.

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During an event in San Luis Potosí, the official added that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador asked him to attend the COP27 climate summit taking place from November 6 to 18 in Egypt.

During Kerry’s visit to the state of Sonora last month, the foreign secretary said the countries shared a vision of increasing solar, geothermal, wind and hydroelectric production.

Mexico also presented Kerry with its so-called Sonora Plan, a push to turn the hot, arid border state into a green energy hub with solar farms and lithium production.

Appearing before deputies last week, Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) Director General Manuel Bartlett said that 13 hydroelectric plants are being upgraded and three other agricultural dams are being equipped to transform them into hydroelectric plants. Also under construction is the 1,000 megawatt Puerto Peñasco Photovoltaic Power Plant in Sonora, which to date has installed more than 16,000 solar panels, and at the same time, the 25 megawatt Húmeros III Geothermal Power Plant, located in the state of Puebla, is being developed.

“These projects, in their totality, add up to approximately 9,000 megawatts, and an investment in the order of 9,000 million dollars, through various financing mechanisms,” he said.

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In addition, for this year 78 billion pesos have already been spent, with which the CFE seeks to generate 54% of the electricity required by the country, seeking to take the lead in the transition to renewable energy.

Source: https://www.dossierpolitico.com/vernoticias.php?artid=273689&relacion=&tipo=Principal&categoria=2

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More than 1,000 Chinese shipments of photovoltaic equipment blocked in the U.S. on suspicion of forced labor

Reuters, the British news agency, reported that more than 1,000 shipments of solar energy components, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, have been blocked at U.S. ports under enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).

China’s Xinjiang region, which is home to approximately 50 percent of the world’s supply of polysilicon, an essential material in conventional solar modules has come under scrutiny for its human rights abuses and forced labor of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China. Beijing has repeatedly denied allegations of forced labor.

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The UFLPA establishes a “rebuttable presumption” that goods from the region are made with forced labor, and places the burden of proof that imported goods have no connection to forced labor on buyers. To comply with the UFLPA, companies must provide a comprehensive supply chain map, a complete list of all workers at a facility, and proof that the workers were not subjected to conditions typical of forced labor practices and are there voluntarily.

Companies such as Coca-Cola and Nike lobbied against the UFLPA, as their supply chains are deeply embedded in the Chinese economy.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection told Reuters that it has seized 1,053 shipments of solar energy equipment between June 21, when the UFLPA went into effect, and Oct. 25. Customs said none of the shipments have yet been released.

Three of Reuter’s sources were told that the shipments include solar panels and polysilicon cells, totaling 1 GW of capacity, and were made primarily by three of China’s largest PV suppliers. They are Trina Solar, JinkoSolar and Longi, which together account for about one-third of panel supplies to the United States, Reuters said. Other reports have said the impact may be even greater than that.

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In August, ROTH Capital Partners said more than 3 GW of components were being held up in customs. It estimated that between 9 and 12 GW of solar modules could be prevented from entering U.S. markets by the end of the year.

At a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijan said the forced labor allegations are, “the lie of the century fabricated by a small group of anti-Chinese individuals.”

“The U.S. side should immediately stop the unreasonable suppression of China’s PV enterprises and release the seized solar panel components as soon as possible,” Lijan said.

Module supply problems have been an ongoing issue in the United States, exacerbated by COVID-19-related shutdowns, rising shipping costs, semiconductor supply chain problems, and enforcement of UFLPA and other trade and labor laws.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) noted that U.S. solar developers planned to install 17.8 GW of capacity this year. However, in six months, only 4.2 GW has been commissioned. From January to June 2022, about 20 percent of planned PV capacity was delayed, according to the EIA. Reports show that solar installations were delayed by an average of 4.4 GW each month, compared with monthly average delays of 2.6 GW during the same period last year.

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At the RE+ conference in Anaheim, California, this September, Trina Solar marketing managers told pv magazine that they were confident in the high degree of traceability of their products and support for supply chains.

“We have realized that the supply chain cannot be centralized in one place and customers also want independence. Our medium-term strategy is to have a clear fragmentation of products and markets, as well as to geographically diversify our supply chain. Different markets require different supply chains,” said Helena Li, president of Trina’s global cell and module business.

In an email, JinkoSolar said it is working with Customs Border Patrol on documentation that its supplies are not tied to forced labor and is “confident that the shipments will be admitted.”

Marty Walsh, U.S. Secretary of Labor: “The world and the American people cannot tolerate the presence of products manufactured under the exploitative conditions suffered by Uighurs and other ethnic minority groups in their global supply chains.”

Source: https://www.pv-magazine-mexico.com/2022/11/14/por-sospecha-de-trabajos-forzados-mas-de-1000-envios-chinos-con-equipo-fotovoltaico-bloqueados-en-estados-unidos

 

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Global energy investment to increase by more than 8% in 2022

Investment is critical to address multiple aspects of the current energy crisis: relieving pressure on consumers, moving the world onto a net-zero emissions path, stimulating economic recovery and, for Europe in particular, reducing dependence on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Governments, companies and investors face a complex situation in deciding which energy projects to support, with urgent short-term needs that do not automatically align with long-term goals. Much depends on these choices.

Investment.

From tracking trends across sectors, technologies and regions, global energy investment will increase by more than 8% in 2022 to reach a total of $2.4 trillion, well above pre-COVID-19 levels, according to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Investment is increasing in all parts of the energy sector, but the main boost in recent years came from the power sector, mainly in renewables and grids, and from increased spending on end-use efficiency. Investment in oil, gas, coal and low-carbon fuel supply is the only area that, in aggregate, remains below levels seen before the pandemic in 2019. This is despite sky-high fuel prices that are generating unprecedented windfall profits for suppliers. Net revenues for the world’s oil and gas producers are forecast to double by 2022 to an unprecedented $4 trillion.

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Nearly half of the additional $200 billion in capital investment in 2022 is likely to be consumed by higher costs, rather than generating additional energy supply capacity or savings. Costs are rising due to multiple supply chain pressures, tight markets for skilled labor and services, and the effect of higher energy prices on essential building materials such as steel and cement.

These cost pressures are most visible in fuel supply, but are also affecting clean energy technologies: after years of declines, solar panel and wind turbine costs increased by 10% to 20% since 2020. Cost inflation concerns are a drag on companies’ willingness to increase spending, despite strong price signals.

Easing the burden on consumers is an immediate priority for many policymakers. The total energy bill paid by the world’s consumers is likely to exceed $10 trillion for the first time by 2022, hitting the poorest parts of society hardest and putting pressure on governments. to cushion the blow through fiscal measures and price interventions.

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High prices are encouraging some countries to increase investment in fossil fuels as they seek to secure and diversify their sources of supply. However, lasting solutions to the current crisis lie in accelerating clean energy transitions through increased investment in efficiency, clean electricity and a variety of clean fuels. These elements are central, for example, to the European Union’s REPowerEU plan to reduce dependence on Russia. There are many ways to respond to the immediate energy crisis that can pave the way to a cleaner, more secure future.

Investment in clean energy is finally starting to pick up and is expected to exceed $1.4 trillion by 2022, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the growth in total energy investment. The average annual growth rate in clean energy investment in the five years following the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015 was just over 2%. Since 2020, the rate has increased to 12%, well below what is required to meet international climate targets, but nevertheless an important step in the right direction. The highest levels of clean energy investment in 2021 were recorded in China ($380 billion), followed by the European Union ($260 billion) and the United States ($215 billion).

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Transition.

Gains have been supported by the increasing cost competitiveness of many clean energy technologies and by policy and fiscal measures enacted to support transitions, often as part of efforts to ensure sustainable post-pandemic recoveries. The IEA estimated in early 2022 that governments around the world allocated $710 billion for long-term clean energy and sustainable recovery measures.

Renewable energy is at the center of the positive trend. Despite rising costs in recent months, clean technologies such as wind and solar PV remain the cheapest option for new power generation in many countries, even before factoring in the exceptionally high prices seen in 2022 for coal and gas. Renewables, grids and storage now account for more than 80% of total power sector investment.

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Solar PV accounts for almost half of new renewable energy investment, with spending split evenly between large-scale projects and distributed solar PV systems. The focus of wind power is shifting offshore. While 2020 was a record year for onshore deployment, 2021 was a record year for offshore, with more than 20 GW in service and about $40 billion in spending. Investment in improved efficiency is another major area of growth, driven by higher fuel prices and government incentives. A 16% increase in building efficiency investment in 2021 led the way. Policymakers are trying to move the global annual rate of building retrofits above the 1% mark, where it has stagnated for many years, and many countries, especially Japan, China and some in Europe, are increasingly emphasizing high energy performance standards for all new work.

The upward trend in efficiency spending is expected to continue in 2022. Rising fuel prices are generating growing interest in technologies such as electric heat pumps for heating (sales of which grew by 15% in 2021). However, efficiency investment faces headwinds, with higher borrowing costs, flat household incomes and lower consumer and business confidence. As always, continued government support is a key factor in shaping corporate and consumer demand.

Electrification.

Electrification of mobility is a key contributor to increasing clean end-use spending by consumers. Electric vehicle sales more than doubled in 2021 over the previous year and continue to increase strongly in 2022. In 2012, only 120,000 electric vehicles were sold worldwide. In 2021, more than that number were sold every week. One uncertainty is whether automakers can keep up with orders, given the supply chain issues (especially regarding the critical minerals involved) and the global shortage of semiconductors.

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Electrification is not just about cars; sales of electric two- and three-wheelers have increased, and investment in electrification of buses and commercial vehicles is also strong. Most electric buses are still deployed in China, but investment elsewhere is growing. In early 2022, India ordered more than 5,000 electric buses for five major cities, awarded at half the price achieved in previous tenders.

There are signs of life among important new and emerging technologies, where absolute investment remains relatively small but growth rates are high.

Investment in battery energy storage is reaching new highs and is expected to more than double to nearly $20 billion by 2022. This is led by grid-scale deployment, which accounted for more than 70% of total spending in 2021. The project pipeline is immense, with China targeting around 30 GW of non-hydro energy storage capacity by 2025 and the United States has more than 20 GW in grid-scale projects planned or under construction.

Hydrogen.

The momentum behind low-emissions hydrogen has been bolstered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has bolstered political support, especially in Europe. Companies focused on clean hydrogen are raising more money than ever, and the value of a portfolio of leading companies in this space has quadrupled since the end of 2019. Annual investment in low-carbon hydrogen is around $500 million. To supply the additional 15 million metric tons of hydrogen envisioned in the REPowerEU plan, it is estimated that cumulative capital investment of around $US600 billion would be needed globally through 2030, with 60% of this for infrastructure outside the European Union.

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Plans for around 130 commercial-scale CO2 capture projects in 20 countries were announced in 2021. They aim to source CO2 from a variety of applications, including hydrogen and biofuel production, which combined account for almost half of the newly announced projects.

The momentum behind emerging early-stage technologies is being maintained by increasing public financial support for energy innovation. New companies in the United States and Europe have raised record funds, particularly for promising energy storage, hydrogen and renewable energy technologies.

While global investment in clean energy is now well above where it was when the Paris Agreement was signed, the increase has been concentrated in the advanced economies of the West and China. Clean energy spending in emerging and developing economies (excluding China) remains stagnant at 2015 levels. These funds are going further than they used to, as technology costs are significantly lower than they were. There are some bright spots: utility-scale renewables in India, distributed wind and PV in Brazil, among others. But overall, the relative weakness of clean energy investment in much of the developing world is one of the most worrying trends.

Costs.

Investment in many emerging and developing economies relies more on public sources. State-owned enterprises account for about half of energy investment in these countries. However, public funds are often scarce, many state-owned utilities are heavily indebted, and the worsening global economic outlook reduces the ability of governments to finance energy projects. Of the stimulus spending mobilized to support a sustainable recovery, more than 90% is in advanced economies. High capital costs and rising borrowing costs threaten to undermine the economic attractiveness of capital-intensive clean technologies: a 2 percentage point increase in the cost of capital for solar PV and wind can lead to a 20% increase in overall levelized costs.

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Much more needs to be done to close the gap between emerging and developing economies’ one-fifth share of global clean energy investment and the fact that they contain two-thirds of the world’s population. Additional financial and technical support, including concessional capital, private sector capital and inflows from international carbon markets will be crucial. If investment in clean energy does not pick up quickly in emerging and developing economies, the world will face a major dividing line in efforts to address climate change and achieve other sustainable development goals.

Source: https://www.la-razon.com/energias-negocios/2022/11/11/la-inversion-mundial-en-energia-aumentara-mas-del-8-en-2022

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U.S. blocked more than 1,000 shipments of solar energy components at its ports due to slave labor in China

More than 1,000 shipments of solar power components worth hundreds of millions of dollars have piled up at U.S. ports since June under a new law banning imports from China’s Xinjiang region over concerns about slave labor, according to federal customs officials and industry sources.

The previously unreported level of bans and goods held up at ports of entry reflects how a policy aimed at increasing pressure on Beijing over its Uighur detention camps in Xinjiang risks slowing the Biden administration’s efforts to decarbonize the U.S. power sector to fight climate change.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 1,053 shipments of solar power equipment between June 21, when the Uighur Forced Labor Protection Act went into effect, and Oct. 25, it told Reuters in response to a public records request, adding that none of the shipments had been released.

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The agency did not disclose the manufacturers or confirm details about the amount of solar equipment in the shipments, citing federal law protecting confidential trade secrets.

However, three industry sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the detained products include polysilicon panels and cells likely amounting to 1 gigawatt of capacity and are made primarily by three Chinese manufacturers: Longi Green Energy Technology Co Ltd, Trina Solar Co Ltd, and JinkoSolar Holding Co (JKS.N).

Combined, Longi, Trina, and Jinko typically account for as much as one-third of U.S. panel supplies. But the companies have halted new shipments to the United States out of concern that additional shipments will also be stopped, industry sources said.

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China denies abuses in Xinjiang, and Beijing initially denied the existence of detention camps, but later admitted it had set up “vocational training centers” needed to curb what it said was terrorism, separatism and religious radicalism in Xinjiang.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular press briefing on Friday that claims about the use of forced labor in Xinjiang were “the lie of the century fabricated by a small group of anti-China people” and would hamper the global response to climate change … .

“The US should immediately stop the unreasonable suppression of China’s photovoltaic enterprises and release the seized solar panel components as quickly as possible,” he said. In an email, Jinko said it is working with CBP on documentation showing that its supplies are not linked to forced labor and that it is “confident the shipments will be admitted.”

Longi and Trina did not respond to requests for comment.The bans are a challenge to U.S. solar development at a time when the Biden administration is seeking to decarbonize the U.S. economy and implement the IRA, a new law that encourages clean energy technologies to combat climate change.

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Solar installations in the United States slowed 23% in the third quarter, and nearly 23 gigawatts of solar projects were delayed, largely due to an inability to obtain panels, according to trade group American Clean Power Association. ACP urged the Biden administration to expedite the import investigation process.

“After more than four months of reviewing solar panels under the UFLPA, none have been rejected and instead remain stuck in limbo with no end in sight,” it said in a statement.

The UFLPA essentially assumes that all Xinjiang products are made with forced labor and requires producers to show sourcing documentation of imported equipment down to the raw material to prove otherwise before imports can be authorized. CBP did not comment on the length of the detentions or say when they might be released or refused. “Ultimately, it depends on how quickly an importer can produce sufficient documentation,” said CBP spokeswoman Rhonda Lawson.

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Longi, Trina and Jinko get most of their polysilicon from U.S. and European suppliers such as Hemlock Semiconductor, a Michigan-based joint venture between Corning Inc and Shin-Etsu Handotai Co Ltd, and Wacker Chemie of Germany, industry sources said.

A Wacker spokesman would not comment on the U.S. detentions, but said the company sources quartzite from suppliers in Norway, Spain and France. “Our procurement strategy gives us every reason to be sure that the products used in our supply chain are manufactured with respect for human rights,” spokesman Christof Bachmair said.

Hemlock said in a statement that it sources all metallurgical-grade silicon from suppliers that use quartz mined in North and South America. CBP previously said it had stopped about 1,700 shipments worth $516.3 million under UFLPA through September, but had never before detailed how many of those shipments contained solar equipment.

The EU has also proposed a ban on Xinjiang products, but has not implemented it.

Source: https://www.infobae.com/america/eeuu/2022/11/11/estados-unidos-bloqueo-en-sus-puertos-mas-de-mil-envios-de-componentes-para-energia-solar-por-el-trabajo-esclavo-en-china

 

 

 

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Fear or hope at COP27?

Ask two climate experts at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) to describe how they feel about the future, and their answers are likely to be radically different. “We are witnessing progress beyond expectation,” one will say, while the other will lament that we are heading headlong and in a row over the cliff. Could they both be right?

In fact, both have ample evidence for their assertions, and only by balancing the two perspectives will we be able to strike the sense of urgency that the climate crisis demands.

To inspire hope, the first expert might point out that the cost of solar power has dropped by 99% since President Jimmy Carter put panels on the White House roof in 1979, and that 2022 already looks to be a peak year for renewables. Electric car sales are growing so fast that the internal combustion engine is already in permanent decline. In Indonesia, the rate of forest loss has fallen for five years in a row, thanks to innovative partnerships between government, business, civil society and technology experts.

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Moreover, nearly 100 countries – representing more than 75% of global emissions – have committed to achieving net zero emissions by mid-century. And the United States has just made a huge bet on its green future with the Inflation Reduction Act, which could mobilize nearly $800 billion or more in climate-related investments.

Lest we think we’ve solved the issue, however, our gloomy expert might point out that with just 1.1 Celsius of warming, climate change is already generating unprecedented costs. Disastrous floods in Pakistan this summer left a third of the country under water, while southeastern North America is suffering its worst drought in 1,200 years. In China, droughts have affected hydropower production and forced the closure of factories. The Great Barrier Reef has suffered six mass bleaching events since 1998, and in East Antarctica, where temperatures were a staggering 38.5º above normal, a massive ice shelf collapsed, the first such event in at least half a century.

To make matters worse, Russia’s war in Ukraine has spawned a race for fossil fuels, and corporations, banks and governments are having more difficulty than expected in keeping their climate promises. We are on track for temperature increases well above the 2°C threshold set in the Paris climate agreement. It would be hard to recognize a planet this hot today.

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A major recent study by the Systems Change Lab – an initiative organized by the World Resources Institute, the Bezos Earth Fund and its collaborators – sheds light on both realities and points to a new way of understanding change. On the pessimistic side, none of the 40 sectoral transformations needed to respond to the climate crisis in this decade are on track yet.

For example, the coal phase-out needs to be accelerated by six, the equivalent of retiring 925 average-sized coal plants per year. Similarly, annual deforestation rates should fall 2.5 times faster, and the recent increase in crop yields needs to be accelerated by about seven times to feed a growing population without encroaching on forested areas. All of these transformations depend on global climate finance, which would have to increase eightfold from current levels.

But the report also explains that change is rarely linear and that exponential progress – a sudden “hockey-stick” acceleration – is possible when there is strong leadership and the right supportive policies. Over the course of just two years, from 2019 to 2021, solar power generation increased by 47% globally, and wind power grew 31%, significantly outpacing analysts’ predictions. And between 2013 and 2021, the global share of carbon-free bus sales grew from 2% to 44%, a 20-fold increase in less than a decade.

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Moreover, we know that some systems can be pushed toward positive tipping points – such as price parity between current fossil fuel sources and renewables – after which change can no longer be halted. We must do our utmost to reach these tipping points as soon as possible. If you think about how little is left of humanity’s carbon budget, we can no longer afford to push only the lowest-cost options. We need systemic change in all areas of human activity, from how we grow our food and power our homes to how we build our cities and transport our goods and ourselves.

Accelerating the transition to a net-zero emissions economy will require incentives, new regulations and laws, behavioral changes, innovation and strong leadership. We are about to enter the fourth year of the decisive decade to avoid catastrophic climate change. We must move mountains, whatever the cost.

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World leaders meeting at COP27 this month should not wring their hands in despair or blithely declare that victory is just around the corner. Instead, they should ponder carefully what needs to be transformed and what needs to be done to cross essential tipping points. This is the time when we must create the conditions for more positive change to become irresistible and irrepressible. That would make all those carbon-emitting flights worthwhile.

Source: https://www.elnacional.com/opinion/temor-o-esperanza-en-la-cop27

 

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The world is falling short of meeting climate goals. There are 4 major culprits.

Seven years after the Paris Agreement, in which leaders pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst effects of climate change, the world is still not on track to meet those goals.

New data released by Climate Action Tracker, an independent research group, ahead of this week’s United Nations climate change summit reveals the gap.

None of the world’s largest emitters – China, the United States, the European Union and India – have reduced their emissions enough to meet the Paris Agreement targets.

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Together, the three countries and the European bloc account for more than half of historical emissions of planet-warming gases, which include carbon dioxide and methane.

The United States is the largest historical emitter and China is the largest current emitter.

Their policies have a huge impact on the future of the Earth’s climate.

The outlook for how much the world is expected to warm has improved as governments have adopted policies to reduce emissions and renewable energy has increased.

But it has not been enough to guide the world toward the future envisioned by the Paris Agreement, which sought to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius and make a good-faith effort to stay at 1.5 degrees.

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The trajectories of the four largest emitters reveal both progress toward emissions reductions and major challenges ahead.

China

Over the past two decades, China’s emissions have soared as the country has developed economically at a breakneck pace.

Mainly due to its reliance on coal, one of the highest emitting fuels, China now accounts for nearly one-third of all man-made greenhouse gases, more than the United States, Europe and Japan combined.

But China also has the world’s largest renewable energy projects.

The country now produces and uses the vast majority of the world’s wind turbines and solar panels.

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It is the world leader in hydropower and continues to expand its already large nuclear power capacity.

According to projections by Climate Action Tracker and other monitoring organizations, China’s emissions are peaking, years before the Chinese government pledged to reach that target.

Analyses show China’s emissions rate neither growing nor declining between now and 2025, before gradually declining.

China’s peak will occur at a much lower per capita emissions level than countries such as the United States.

However, because China’s emissions are so high, no other country will be more crucial to reducing global emissions.

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Despite agreeing to do so at the last global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, the Chinese government has not published an updated set of 2022 emission reduction commitments.

Amid diplomatic tensions with the United States, Chinese officials suspended dialogue in early August between the two countries. on climate targets.

United States The United States is by far the largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases and remains one of the largest when measured per capita.

This year, the Biden administration passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which included the largest infusion of federal funds the country has ever made into carbon-free energy initiatives.

The act is expected to significantly reduce U.S. emissions, but not enough to fully meet the commitment to cut emissions at least in half by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.

Because of the country’s huge role in greenhouse gas emissions and its dominant position in the world’s largest lending institutions, many others expect the U.S. government to play a leadership role in both setting ambitious emissions reduction targets and helping historically smaller and poorer nations adapt to the destabilizing effects of global climate change.

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European Union

Of the world’s largest emitters, the European Union has been most affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which fundamentally altered the global market for fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, the burning of which generates most of the world’s emissions.

In the short term, most of the 27 constituent countries of the European Union have been scrambling to find new sources of fuel as part of efforts to reduce overdependence on Russian supplies.

Germany, for example, has increased coal mining and coal imports to shore up energy reserves ahead of winter, when consumption increases.

European countries are now facing record energy prices, some of which have fallen on consumers, prompting demands for quick fixes.

European leaders have put forward a plan to dramatically increase investment in renewable energy infrastructure.

Imports of solar panels are soaring.

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Electric heat pumps are replacing gas in European homes at a record pace.

The European Union is already far ahead of other major emitters in its transition from fossil fuels to renewables and is the closest of the big four to achieving its emissions reduction commitments.

India

India, like most developing countries, has not announced a specific timetable for reaching its emissions peak.

Its leaders say it should not be required to do so, given how little it has contributed to historical emissions and how much it needs to develop its economy to lift hundreds of millions of citizens out of poverty.

India’s emissions are rising steadily, though nowhere near the rate at which China did during its decades of rapid development.

Like China, India has relied heavily on coal for fuel, although it has also been investing in large-scale renewable projects.

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This year, India modified its emissions reduction commitments, but did not change its 2070 target date for achieving net-zero emissions, the term used to indicate when a country cancels out its greenhouse gases through emissions cuts and measures to remove them from the atmosphere. such as protecting forests that absorb and store carbon dioxide.

Projections show that India’s emissions will exceed those of the European Union sometime next year.

They also show that India’s population exceeds that of China.

India’s per capita emissions rate is very low:

Less than half that of the European Union and less than one-third that of China.

Source: https://www.clarin.com/new-york-times-international-weekly/mundo-quedando-corto-cumplir-metas-climaticas-4-grandes-responsables-_0_DirIaWbu3l.html

 

 

 

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Elmsbrook, the first community in the UK to achieve net zero emissions

The climate emergency continues to plague the planet. The spiral of consumption and pollution in which we are immersed is having increasingly dire consequences: according to data from the United Nations (UN), cities consume 78% of the world’s energy and produce more than 60% of greenhouse gas emissions. Against this backdrop, the UN’s challenge is clear: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2030 and to zero by 2050.

The good news is that many cities have already embarked on this path, and some are already close to achieving this goal. This is the case of Elmsbrook, a residential complex with 393 homes located 18 kilometers northeast of Oxford, where its inhabitants walk every day among a multitude of green spaces with plots, various playgrounds, sports and recreational facilities, meadows, ponds, a country park and dozens of interconnected paths for pedestrians and bicycles, with specific lanes for them.

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Elmsbrook is the first phase of North West Bicester, the UK’s first eco-town, according to A2Dominion, the developer, which expects to complete the project in the next few years with 6,000 homes. Sustainability in this eco-town is in every nook and cranny, not just in transportation and buildings. Residents can pick fruit from trees and grow their own produce in community plots and gardens. Care for biodiversity thus becomes another pillar: there are also bird cages, bee hives and insect hotels.

“I’ve always been interested in environmental issues, and, now, as I get older and have a family of my own, it’s even more important to me. I’m inspired by the projects I see in the UK where people are thinking differently about sustainability.” These are the words of Melissa Noakes, Director of Sponsorships and Events at Santander UK, who says that, precisely, Elmsbrook has inspired some of the financial institution’s sustainability goals. “We have this development next to our offices in Milton Keynes. We see how you can cycle anywhere and all the houses have solar panels on the roofs. They are totally sustainable, something that led me to think that we have to work together both individually and collectively to think about our impact on the planet, and especially the carbon footprint we leave.”

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Elmsbrook, a source of inspiration in F1

This has been the source of inspiration and the starting point for the challenge Santander has set itself in its return to Formula 1 as a Ferrari sponsor: to drive a sustainable model for racing in particular, and for the automotive sector in general. “We have a key objective with F1 and, to achieve it, we need a whole range of new technologies,” says George Bridges, senior advisor to the executive chairman of the Santander Group.

To this end, the bank is going to help the Scuderia in its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, thanks to its accumulated experience of having achieved it two years ago. To this end, it offers the Italian brand a range of solutions focused on the development of technological advances that contribute to the sustainability of the sector and of F1, which has the ambition of reaching net zero emissions by 2030.

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For some time now, racing has been moving in this direction, starting with the cars. Aerodynamics, brake design… The teams’ investment in technological advances has precisely enabled the automotive sector to combat carbon emissions. Since 2014, the fuel efficiency of single-seater racing cars has improved by 50%; and, in 2026, the progress will be even greater, because F1 is set to introduce a new carbon-neutral engine.

“We were the first bank in the world to finance renewable energy and our investment banking business has teams specialized in advising large clients on their green transition (…). In addition, our auto finance business in Europe, the United States and other markets is supporting the development of sustainable mobility solutions,” confirmed the bank. Therefore, with this sponsorship and working closely with Formula One Management (FOM), owner of F1, and Ferrari, “we have the opportunity to drive change, helping to reduce CO₂ emissions”.

Source: https://www.elconfidencial.com/medioambiente/2022-11-09/elsbrook-reino-unido-emisiones-netas-bra_3519628