Green Transportation

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Washington Post is reporting that Joe Biden will make Pete Buttigieg his secretary of transportation and Jennifer Granholm his secretary of energy. This is very good news for climate policy. Energy is perhaps the most important portfolio in the Biden cabinet, since it is key to greening America and […]

China

The EV Onslaught: 80% of Norway’s New Cars Plug-Ins, as they soar 190% in EU, 120% in China

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Cleantechnica reports that if you consider pure electric automobiles alongside plug-in hybrids, plug-in vehicles accounted for 80% of new car registrations in Norway in November. This is a 20% increase year over year. And, gasoline cars fell to only about 10% of new car purchases. Volkswagen’s new ID.3 soared in […]

Climate Crisis

One last Time, Trump lies to the International Community about the Climate Emergency and Green Energy

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – DW gives a clip of Trump’s unhinged video rant to the G20 summit against the Paris Climate Accord on Sunday, which is being held virtually this year. Trump said, according to Kevin Liptak at CNN, “The Paris accord was not designed to save the environment, it was designed to kill […]

Climate Crisis

We only need $1.5 Trillion to meet Paris climate goals, a fraction of what Gov’ts are spending on Pandemic Relief

The Conversation

By David L. McCollum | – As of late summer, governments around the world had pledged US$12.2 trillion of relief in response to the coronavirus pandemic. That’s around 15% of global GDP, three times larger than government spending put forward during and after the 2008-2009 global financial crisis and enough for every adult in the […]

Climate Crisis

Importance of Middle East Plummets as Britain, Ireland, Denmark announce 2030 Funeral for New Gasoline Cars

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Middle East is likely to plummet in significance for the United States over the next two decades. Let’s face it, the main reason we hear so much about Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (as opposed to Senegal and Uruguay) is that they produce petroleum, and the world transportation […]

Environmentalism

As Wind, Solar, surge, Renewables to be Globe’s largest Source of Electricity by 2025

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The International Energy Agency just issued a report concluding that wind and solar are growing rapidly, unlike beleaguered fossil fuels, and that in only five years they will be generating a third of the world’s electricity, overtaking coal. They will overtake natural gas sooner, in 2023. Coal is the dirtiest […]

Climate Crisis

Europeans express relief, hope for climate cooperation after Biden win

Clean Energy Wire

By Kerstine Appunn, Charlotte Nijhuis, Benjamin Wehrmann and Julian Wettengel | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – European leaders, researchers and media commentators breathed a collective sigh of relief following Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential elections and expressed hope for a new partnership on combating climate change. The news fuelled expectations that […]

Germany

Greek Island going completely Green with Electric Vehicles, with Help of Volkswagen

Clean Energy Wire

By Charlotte Nijhuis | – ( Clean Energy Wire) – Volkswagen (VW) and the Greek government are planning a pilot project to introduce fully electric mobility on an island in the southeastern Aegean Sea, business daily Handelsblatt reports. In the next two years, all cars, trucks, motorcycles and buses on the island of Astypalea are […]

Acidification of Oceans

The Black Hole of Depressions: Doing nothing about Climate Emergency could cost more than all the Wealth in the World

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A study in Nature Communications has found that if you add in variability to calculations of the impact of climate change, the upper range of the damage it could do to property is $563 trillion.* That is in the worst case scenario where the world does virtually nothing to stop […]