Better late than never
9th June 2019 – Better late than never
People Change:
Our World in Data reports that Global population growth has dropped from 2.2% per annum in 1963 to around 0.1% now. For the first time there are more people over 64 than children younger than 5. Bangladesh is the most densely-populated large country in the world, with 1,252 people per square kilometre.
Globally, a new study estimated that more than two billion additional people could be at risk for dengue fever in 2080 compared with 2015 under a warming scenario roughly representative of the world's current emissions trajectory. West Nile disease has been reported in Greece for the first time.
Algeria and Argentina have eliminated malaria.
Climate Change and the Environment:
The European Parliament passed a ban on single-use plastic items in late March 2019, including a target to recycle 90% of plastic beverage bottles by 2029. Canada will ban many single-use plastic items by 2021, including bags, straws, cutlery and stirring sticks, to cut harmful waste damaging the country's ecosystems. In May, the United Kingdom followed suit with a plastic ban by 2020. Officials estimated 4.7 billion plastic straws and 316 million plastic stirrers are used in England every year.
[My recent travels took me to both the EU and Canada. As I travelled I found myself noting all the single use plastic items a traveller encounters daily. In hotel rooms there is often a complimentary bottle of water and a couple of plastic glasses in a plastic bag. Bathroom toiletries are in little plastic bottles. At breakfast, butter, jam and yoghurt are all in plastic containers, while condiments are in plastic sachets. In the supermarkets, fruit and vegetables are wrapped in plastic. I don’t know if aircraft are going to be exempt, but the pillows, blankets and headphones come wrapped in plastic and the food trays have plastic cutlery, dishes and wrapping. The only group who seem plastic free are French boulangeries who deliver baguettes and croissants in paper bags – no wonder they are extra delicious!]
Green parties made significant gains in the recent EU elections, while across the ocean Canada’s Green party came very close to power in Prince Edward Island and now form the official opposition.
A study by Fauna & Flora International shows that between 400,000 and one million people are dying each year as a result of mismanaged plastic waste.
Ljubljana and Sweden’s Ekulstina have both been applauded for their recycling successes.
Kenya’s Sanergy has introduced a modern system toilet system for slum dwellers. Faeces are collected and fed to the larvae of black soldier flies which in turn are used for animal feed, while the much reduced residue is used as a fertiliser.
A UN report on the extinction of species found that around one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within decades, more than ever before in human history.
Another paper in Nature concluded that 571 plant species had definitely been wiped out since 1750 but with knowledge of many plant species still very limited the true number is likely to be much higher. The plant analysis found Hawaii had the most recorded extinctions (79), followed by the Cape provinces of South Africa (37), with Australia, Brazil, India and Madagascar also among the top regions.
A group of 215 of the world’s biggest companies representing nearly US$17 trillion in market capitalisation have valued the climate risks to their businesses at almost US$1 trillion, with many of these risks expected to hit within the next five years.
Food and Water
Several of Australia’s capital cities are facing water shortages much like Cape Town did several years back.
In a paper in Nature, scientists concluded that only 90 of the world’s 250 longest rivers do not have their flows impeded by dams and other manmade obstacles.
A global study of hundreds of rivers around the world tested for levels of common antibiotics found 65 percent of all samples contained some concentration of antibiotics, with the worst cases showing levels more than 300 times higher than the generally accepted safe threshold.
Low Cost Renewable Energy
The renewable energy industry employed 11 million people worldwide in 2018.
Renewables provided 47% of Germany’s electrical power between January and May 2019. During this period a further 1.6 GW of renewable capacity was installed in the country. The USA experienced its best first quarter ever for new solar installations with 2.7 GW of new capacity; for the first time Florida outperformed California with 860 MWdc installed in Florida compared to California’s 538 MW.
South Australia is expected to be carbon neutral by 2030 despite the antics of the new federal government. The United Kingdom and New York have both committed to being carbon neutral by 2050.
Solarpower Europe, the European solar trade body expects, 128 GW of new PV capacity globally in 2019, with China likely to bring around 43 GW online and Europe 20.4 GW. In 2020, global solar installations are expected to reach 144 GW, while in the following three years new PV additions are forecast to total 158 GW, 169 GW and 180 GW, respectively.
A new report analysing 10 solar markets throughout Africa claims that the continent’s PV market could expand from about 5 GW at present to up to 30 GW by the end of the next decade.
The IEA predicts 67% drop in nuclear power plants in operation by 2040.
Norway’s parliament voted plans into law for the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest and which manages US$ one trillion of Norway’s assets, to sell off investments in eight coal companies and an estimated 150 oil producers. The fund will retain stakes in oil companies which are limiting their exposure to fossil fuels by investing in clean energy technologies.
The working paper prepared by the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department estimated that, in 2017, global fossil fuel subsidies grew to $5.2 trillion, representing 6.5 per cent of combined global GDP.
Road transport accounts for more than 40% of global oil demand. The industry’s growth has been responsible for more than half of total oil demand growth since 2000.
The government of Queensland, which is embroiled in trying to make life difficult for the nascent solar PV industry, has approved the Adani cola mining project.
Mass Data Mining and Storage
Heathrow Airport is pioneering face recognition software across its operations.
Automation Based Unemployment
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have embedded artificial intelligence into an accelerated process for screening new perovskite compounds as they search for those with the potential to be used in high efficiency solar cells.
Britain’s Fieldwork Robotics has announced the successful completion of early field trials of a raspberry-harvesting robot which is able to find ripe fruit and pick them without bruising the delicate berries.
Autonomous Electric Vehicles
Edinburgh and Amsterdam are the latest cities in the process of banning cars from their city centres. However, Madrid’s new conservative government has cancelled the low emissions city centre project.
According to a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), electric vehicles could account for more than half of all passenger cars and buses sold throughout the world within the next two decades. Sliding lithium-ion battery costs will make EVs cheaper than internal combustion engine vehicles by the mid- to late-2020s.
The Electric Vehicle Outlook 2019 published by BNEF predicts electric vehicles making up 57% of all new passenger vehicle sales in 2040. In fact, global sales of conventional passenger cars might have already passed their peak. BNEF also predicts that ride sharing services will continue to grow, with one-in-five passenger trips to be completed through a ride sharing service. Dramatic falls in battery costs will continue to drive down the cost of electric vehicles. Prices for lithium-ion batteries have fallen by 85% since 2010. Demand for lithium-ion batteries is expected to grow by more than ten-fold over the next 10-years. However, shifting transport from fuels to electric technologies will result in a predicted increase in global electric consumption by 6.8% by 2040.
Consumers worldwide bought 47.5 million new cars in 2001, and 81.4 million last year. China’s growth in that time, from 2.4 million to 28 million, comprised 76 percent of the world’s increase in demand.
Uber and Volvo unveiled the third generation, self-driving Volvo XC90, predicted to be safer than your average Volvo driver.
Germany’s Lilium has unveiled the world’s first all-electric jet-powered five-seater air taxi which is capable of traveling up to 300 km an hour with zero operating emissions. Uber electric air taxis are to take flight in Melbourne from 2020. Amazon has received the green light to use drones for deliveries. However, it seems that Walmart owns more drone related patents than Amazon.
Increasing Inequality
In the 35 advanced economies, labour’s share of income dropped from 54% in 1980 to 50.5% in 2014.
South Africa
South Africa has introduced a carbon tax. Whether it will be effective remains to be seen as cash-strapped Eskom and Sasol are likely to request exemption. Both these companies are being sued by environmental lawyers because their emissions have made the area bordering Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumulanga one of the most polluted areas on the globe.
Nomfundo Maseti, of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, told a panel discussion at the event in Lisbon the financial crisis at national utility Eskom meant contracts signed with renewable energy project developers between 2011 and 2013 must be torn up in order to protect Eskom finances. This could lead to even more litigation.
People Change:
Our World in Data reports that Global population growth has dropped from 2.2% per annum in 1963 to around 0.1% now. For the first time there are more people over 64 than children younger than 5. Bangladesh is the most densely-populated large country in the world, with 1,252 people per square kilometre.
Globally, a new study estimated that more than two billion additional people could be at risk for dengue fever in 2080 compared with 2015 under a warming scenario roughly representative of the world's current emissions trajectory. West Nile disease has been reported in Greece for the first time.
Algeria and Argentina have eliminated malaria.
Climate Change and the Environment:
The European Parliament passed a ban on single-use plastic items in late March 2019, including a target to recycle 90% of plastic beverage bottles by 2029. Canada will ban many single-use plastic items by 2021, including bags, straws, cutlery and stirring sticks, to cut harmful waste damaging the country's ecosystems. In May, the United Kingdom followed suit with a plastic ban by 2020. Officials estimated 4.7 billion plastic straws and 316 million plastic stirrers are used in England every year.
[My recent travels took me to both the EU and Canada. As I travelled I found myself noting all the single use plastic items a traveller encounters daily. In hotel rooms there is often a complimentary bottle of water and a couple of plastic glasses in a plastic bag. Bathroom toiletries are in little plastic bottles. At breakfast, butter, jam and yoghurt are all in plastic containers, while condiments are in plastic sachets. In the supermarkets, fruit and vegetables are wrapped in plastic. I don’t know if aircraft are going to be exempt, but the pillows, blankets and headphones come wrapped in plastic and the food trays have plastic cutlery, dishes and wrapping. The only group who seem plastic free are French boulangeries who deliver baguettes and croissants in paper bags – no wonder they are extra delicious!]
Green parties made significant gains in the recent EU elections, while across the ocean Canada’s Green party came very close to power in Prince Edward Island and now form the official opposition.
A study by Fauna & Flora International shows that between 400,000 and one million people are dying each year as a result of mismanaged plastic waste.
Ljubljana and Sweden’s Ekulstina have both been applauded for their recycling successes.
Kenya’s Sanergy has introduced a modern system toilet system for slum dwellers. Faeces are collected and fed to the larvae of black soldier flies which in turn are used for animal feed, while the much reduced residue is used as a fertiliser.
A UN report on the extinction of species found that around one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within decades, more than ever before in human history.
Another paper in Nature concluded that 571 plant species had definitely been wiped out since 1750 but with knowledge of many plant species still very limited the true number is likely to be much higher. The plant analysis found Hawaii had the most recorded extinctions (79), followed by the Cape provinces of South Africa (37), with Australia, Brazil, India and Madagascar also among the top regions.
A group of 215 of the world’s biggest companies representing nearly US$17 trillion in market capitalisation have valued the climate risks to their businesses at almost US$1 trillion, with many of these risks expected to hit within the next five years.
Food and Water
Several of Australia’s capital cities are facing water shortages much like Cape Town did several years back.
In a paper in Nature, scientists concluded that only 90 of the world’s 250 longest rivers do not have their flows impeded by dams and other manmade obstacles.
A global study of hundreds of rivers around the world tested for levels of common antibiotics found 65 percent of all samples contained some concentration of antibiotics, with the worst cases showing levels more than 300 times higher than the generally accepted safe threshold.
Low Cost Renewable Energy
The renewable energy industry employed 11 million people worldwide in 2018.
Renewables provided 47% of Germany’s electrical power between January and May 2019. During this period a further 1.6 GW of renewable capacity was installed in the country. The USA experienced its best first quarter ever for new solar installations with 2.7 GW of new capacity; for the first time Florida outperformed California with 860 MWdc installed in Florida compared to California’s 538 MW.
South Australia is expected to be carbon neutral by 2030 despite the antics of the new federal government. The United Kingdom and New York have both committed to being carbon neutral by 2050.
Solarpower Europe, the European solar trade body expects, 128 GW of new PV capacity globally in 2019, with China likely to bring around 43 GW online and Europe 20.4 GW. In 2020, global solar installations are expected to reach 144 GW, while in the following three years new PV additions are forecast to total 158 GW, 169 GW and 180 GW, respectively.
A new report analysing 10 solar markets throughout Africa claims that the continent’s PV market could expand from about 5 GW at present to up to 30 GW by the end of the next decade.
The IEA predicts 67% drop in nuclear power plants in operation by 2040.
Norway’s parliament voted plans into law for the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest and which manages US$ one trillion of Norway’s assets, to sell off investments in eight coal companies and an estimated 150 oil producers. The fund will retain stakes in oil companies which are limiting their exposure to fossil fuels by investing in clean energy technologies.
The working paper prepared by the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department estimated that, in 2017, global fossil fuel subsidies grew to $5.2 trillion, representing 6.5 per cent of combined global GDP.
Road transport accounts for more than 40% of global oil demand. The industry’s growth has been responsible for more than half of total oil demand growth since 2000.
The government of Queensland, which is embroiled in trying to make life difficult for the nascent solar PV industry, has approved the Adani cola mining project.
Mass Data Mining and Storage
Heathrow Airport is pioneering face recognition software across its operations.
Automation Based Unemployment
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have embedded artificial intelligence into an accelerated process for screening new perovskite compounds as they search for those with the potential to be used in high efficiency solar cells.
Britain’s Fieldwork Robotics has announced the successful completion of early field trials of a raspberry-harvesting robot which is able to find ripe fruit and pick them without bruising the delicate berries.
Autonomous Electric Vehicles
Edinburgh and Amsterdam are the latest cities in the process of banning cars from their city centres. However, Madrid’s new conservative government has cancelled the low emissions city centre project.
According to a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), electric vehicles could account for more than half of all passenger cars and buses sold throughout the world within the next two decades. Sliding lithium-ion battery costs will make EVs cheaper than internal combustion engine vehicles by the mid- to late-2020s.
The Electric Vehicle Outlook 2019 published by BNEF predicts electric vehicles making up 57% of all new passenger vehicle sales in 2040. In fact, global sales of conventional passenger cars might have already passed their peak. BNEF also predicts that ride sharing services will continue to grow, with one-in-five passenger trips to be completed through a ride sharing service. Dramatic falls in battery costs will continue to drive down the cost of electric vehicles. Prices for lithium-ion batteries have fallen by 85% since 2010. Demand for lithium-ion batteries is expected to grow by more than ten-fold over the next 10-years. However, shifting transport from fuels to electric technologies will result in a predicted increase in global electric consumption by 6.8% by 2040.
Consumers worldwide bought 47.5 million new cars in 2001, and 81.4 million last year. China’s growth in that time, from 2.4 million to 28 million, comprised 76 percent of the world’s increase in demand.
Uber and Volvo unveiled the third generation, self-driving Volvo XC90, predicted to be safer than your average Volvo driver.
Germany’s Lilium has unveiled the world’s first all-electric jet-powered five-seater air taxi which is capable of traveling up to 300 km an hour with zero operating emissions. Uber electric air taxis are to take flight in Melbourne from 2020. Amazon has received the green light to use drones for deliveries. However, it seems that Walmart owns more drone related patents than Amazon.
Increasing Inequality
In the 35 advanced economies, labour’s share of income dropped from 54% in 1980 to 50.5% in 2014.
South Africa
South Africa has introduced a carbon tax. Whether it will be effective remains to be seen as cash-strapped Eskom and Sasol are likely to request exemption. Both these companies are being sued by environmental lawyers because their emissions have made the area bordering Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumulanga one of the most polluted areas on the globe.
Nomfundo Maseti, of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, told a panel discussion at the event in Lisbon the financial crisis at national utility Eskom meant contracts signed with renewable energy project developers between 2011 and 2013 must be torn up in order to protect Eskom finances. This could lead to even more litigation.
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