[GWSG] NREL on solar; Biden's tax plan; envoy from Greenpeace; SLRx2; India xes diesel; How to Save the Planet

[Tilley, Al]

1. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has released Building a Solar-Powered Future which indicates how the economy could be 95% decarbonized by 2035 and 100% by 2050. The costs of the transition are expected to continue to decline, and solar power is imagined as interacting with other sources of energy and with technologies. Three scenarios present the current policies and trends, the decarbonization possibilities, and the prospect of decarbonization coupled with major electrification of buildings, transportation, and industry. https://www.nrel.gov/news/program/2022/building-a-solar-powered-future.html



2. The Biden administration’s proposed tax credits for renewable energy will have a 3-4:1 payback (and greater, if health savings are included), and be more efficient than a carbon tax in eliminating emissions. “It’s one of the most cost-effective climate policies the U.S. has ever considered, according to a new analysis.” Senator Manchin is said to like the proposal. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/02/bidens-biggest-idea-on-climate-change-is-remarkably-cheap-tax-credits/622027/?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_content=20220210&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20Daily

I usually don’t run articles on pending legislation but it seems important to understand this proposal.  Also, significantly good news is hard to resist even when prospective.



3. Jennifer Morgan, Co-Chair of Greenpeace International since 2016, has been appointed Germany’s special climate envoy. It is the same position as John Kerry holds for the US, a representative for international climate policy. Morgan is applying for German citizenship. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/09/germany-appoints-jennifer-morgan-ex-greenpeace-chief-climate-envoy



4. Undercutting of glaciers by warmed seawater can lead to sea level rise up to two times higher than projected. https://phys.org/news/2022-02-seawater-seep-glacier-sea.html



5. The Indian government intends to replace diesel energy in agriculture with renewable energy by 2024 as a part of a (suitably) urgent energy transition. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/renewables/india-to-replace-diesel-by-renewable-energy-in-agriculture-by-2024-says-power-minister/articleshow/89509418.cms



6. Mark Maslin’s How To Save Our Planet: The Facts builds a continuous argument of one sentence paragraphs from the beginnings of the universe to our future possibilities. Arranged around the history, uses, and misadventures of energy, it will give you some greatly illuminating (and well-based) information to deal with the usual misinformation on climate, and a bold and emphatic program of actions, from personal to intergovernmental. It is a book I intend to keep handy. The last half of the book furnishes the sources of its statements. Since the internet links are active in the online version, I intend to own that along with a hard copy. The best quick read around. Maslin is Professor of Earth System Science at University College London.

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