I’m not quite finished my latest book review so in the meantime here are some recent news reports about climate and clean energy that have caught my eye.
👎 In April, Donald Trump asked oil executives to contribute $1-billion (yes, one billion) to his reelection campaign in exchange for gutting government policy on clean energy and electric vehicles. No one should have any doubt what climate policy would look like under a second Trump administration, or who would be writing that policy.
- Washington Post: What Trump promised oil CEOs as he asked them to steer $1 billion to his campaign
- New York Times: At a Dinner, Trump Assailed Climate Rules and Asked $1 Billion From Big Oil
👎 So it’s no wonder a recent survey of climate scientists found many of them in despair. According to The Guardian, 77% of IPCC climate scientists surveyed expect global temperatures to rise by at least 2.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, well above the Paris Agreement targets. One scientist said:
“The world’s response to date is reprehensible – we live in an age of fools.”
👍 On a more encouraging note, a report from Ember, a climate think tank, showed that renewables accounted for a record 30% of electricity generation worldwide in 2023. Last year also probably marked the peak in carbon emissions from the power sector.
👍 Finally, California’s electricity grid has just surpassed 10 gigawatts of installed battery storage capacity. The batteries are charged from solar panels during the daytime and then discharged after dark. Battery capacity on California’s grid is now large enough to start displacing natural gas for electricity generation in the evening hours.
Have a great week!
Unsolicited Feedback 
Thanks for highlighting both the positive and the negative issues. I’m currently reading Brian McLaren’s new book, “Life After Doom.” It’s giving me all the feels about the possibilities and (mostly) poor choices we’re currently making regarding our world’s climate.
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I’m interested in what you think of it. I hope he’s not assuming that doom is inevitable. I think we can still avoid worst case outcomes.
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So far in the book, McClaren seems to be taking us on a journey through the spectrum of outcomes, from the best (avoiding disaster) to the worst (and handling it with as much grace and humanity as possible). It’s disturbing and sobering. But he, you, and I are still hoping that we will avoid worst case outcomes! 😉
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