Record EU emissions reductions, CATL 1.5 million km battery, and more electric trucks coming

Hi everyone, I’m starting to settle into a rhythm of every second Thursday for this newsletter. I’d love to hear from you - is that too much, not enough, just about right… what do you think? Feel free to hit Reply and let me know.

I came across the cartoon below on Threads recently, and it speaks to how many of us feel when we are bombarded by climate news, I gotta think. Now imagine if you’re a climate scientist hearing that news all day every day. I can’t imagine!

In the News: Technology Meets Sustainability

Some of the news stories that have caught my eye in the last two weeks

• Record reduction of EU emissions in 2023 due largely to boost in renewable energy - There was a 15.5% decrease in EU emissions reported in the EU ETS in 2023, compared to 2022 levels. Emissions from electricity production decreased by an impressive 24% compared to 2022. This decrease is due to a substantial increase in renewable electricity production, and industry had a reduction of around 7%. Unfortunately aviation is up 10%, but the overall decrease is a big win. Link.

  

• CATL announces electric vehicle battery with 1.5 million kilometer warranty - If you have ever heard someone say that one of the issues with TVs is that you have to replace the battery after 3-5 years, you know they’re talking rubbish. My own Kia Niro came with a 7 year warranty, for example. EV batteries are completely coddled, and engineered to outlive the vehicle they come in. And just this week, CATL, the world’s largest manufacturer of batteries for EV’s announced that they have created an EV battery with 1.5 million kilometer warranty (that’s close to 1 million miles). This battery will be for buses and trucks initially, but the technology will make its way into smaller vehicles as well. Link.

• Norway could become first country to have more electric cars than petrol - And speaking of EVs, Norway is the country leading the world in EV adoption, with typically over 90% of new vehicles sold being electric. And now, it seems that the number of EVs on the road in Norway is set to overtake the number of petrol cars, sometime later this year. This is an incredible milestone, which will be further strengthened when Norway outlaws the sale of ICE vehicles at the start of next year! Link.

  

  
  

• New Pollution Rules Aim to Lift Sales of Electric Trucks - And it is not just cars, the Biden Administration announced a regulation designed to turbocharge sales of electric or other zero-emission heavy vehicles, from school buses to cement mixers, as part of its multifront attack on global warming. The regulation is similar to the EV regulations rolled out in the EU in 2020 in that it limits the amount of pollution allowed from trucks across a manufacturer's product line over time. It is then up to the manufacturer to decide how to comply. This should have a big impact on some of th most polluting vehicles, as well as reducing costs for the truck operators as electric vehicles are cheaper to fuel and maintain. Link.

  

  
  

• Just 57 companies linked to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions since 2016 - And finally, if you’ve ever felt guilty for your carbon emissions, or been made to feel guilty by fossil fuel executives saying consumers are to blame, it turns out that 80% of greenhouse gas emissions since 2016 (after the signing of the Paris Accord) came from just 57 companies. The biggest emitter was Exxon, followed closely by Shell, BP, Chevron and TotalEnergies.
   

  

Blog posts

Some of my latest writings on my blog

• Sustainability Through Innovation: Insights from Siemens' Sustainability Journey - In a recent episode of my Climate Confident podcast I spoke to Siemens Smart Infrastructure CTO, Thomas Kiessling, and we discussed the company's tech-driven sustainability efforts. Siemens halved its CO2 footprint by 2020, and is targeting net zero emissions by 2030. We talked in detail about how they use IoT and AI to optimize energy use, demonstrating the transformative power of technology in creating a cleaner, more sustainable world. Link.
  

  

Podcast Highlights

In case you were unaware, I publish two weekly podcasts:

1. Climate Confident - every Wednesday I publish a new episode where I highlight successful climate emissions stories and strategies in order to educate and inspire more people to act, and

2. Sustainable Supply Chain - this is a rebrand of my former Digital Supply Chain podcast. In this podcast, every Monday I publish a new episode where I talk to supply chain execs with a strong focus on thought leadership, best practices, and trends in supply chain sustainability

Latest episodes

• Climate Confident

  • From Leftovers to Energy: Synthica's Circular Solution - this episode featured Grant Gibson, Chief Development Officer at Synthica Energy, discussing the company's focus on developing anaerobic digestion facilities across the U.S. to produce renewable natural gas from industrial byproducts, particularly from the food and beverage industry. Emphasizing the environmental benefits, Gibson shared Synthica's journey from its inception, the technical and market challenges faced, the significance of creating circular economy solutions, and the company's efforts in community engagement and education on renewable energy careers. Link.

• Sustainable Supply Chain

  • Eco-Logistics Unveiled: DutchX's Electrifying Approach to Delivery - in this fascinating episode of the Sustainable Supply Chain podcast I featured Marcus Hoed, co-founder of DutchX, a tech-enabled sustainable delivery company in the U.S. We discussed the innovative use of e-bikes, e-quads, and e-vans for efficient and environmentally friendly last-mile delivery solutions. Marcus emphasized the company's commitment to sustainability, safety, and transparency in supply chain operations, alongside plans for expansion and the use of technology to enhance employee and customer experiences. Link.

In coming episodes of the podcasts I will be talking to companies like Thinaer, Schneider Electric, EcoVadis, and more.

Be sure to follow the podcasts in your podcast app of choice to ensure you don’t miss any episodes.

Featured Charts

• It can be challenging to compare the price of fueling a petrol/diesel vehicle versus an EV, so I thought this approach by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland was an excellent approach - price per 100km driven. You can clearly see from this that EVs are significantly cheaper to fuel (and that is not taking into account at all any special tariffs utilities have for EVs, or the ability to charge them for free from solar panels, or at your local store!).
  

  

• If you hear people saying that climate action will hurt our economies, show them this graph. All these countries (and more), grew their economies from 2005-2020 while reducing their emissions!

  

  
  

• And finally, you know how folks who oppose wind turbines are always saying that they kill birds, well, yes they do, but far less (orders of magnitude less), than cats, buildings, and cars. So if they’re really concerned about bird life, perhaps their opposition is misplaced…

  

This Edition’s Thought-Provoking Quote

• "I’d put my money on sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that. I wish I had more years left." - Thomas Edison
  

  

  
  I too wish we had started sooner on the renewables path, but now that we are firmly on it, there’s no turning back, and our energy systems are getting better every day!

Engage

• If you made it this far, well done! If you liked this newsletter, or learned something new, feel free to share this newsletter with family and friends. Encourage folks to sign up for it.
  Do please get in touch with me with your thoughts and suggestions on how I can improve the newsletter, or with any other suggestions you may have.

• Finally, since being impacted by the tech layoffs, I'm currently on the market for a new role. If you know someone who could benefit from my tech savvy, sustainability, and strong social media expertise, I'd be grateful for a referral.