Co2 emissions

Laws against idling vehicle engines have been around for decades. However, enforcement has generally been lax or nonexistent. But now New York City and the District of Columbia are changing that by enlisting residents in the battle against vehicle emissions. NYC even has a generous bounty program where you can make thousands of dollars in your spare time.

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The United Nations (UN) released its 10th annual Emissions Gap Report 2019 today. The report presents the latest data on the expected gap in 2030 for the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C and 2C temperature targets.

For the first time, it looks at how large annual cuts need to be from 2020 to 2030 in order to meet the Paris goals. And that includes the electrification of transport.

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Transportation is the largest source of CO2 emissions, and the majority of that pollution comes from city and suburb driving. The New York Times created an interactive map that shows the amount of emissions from cars and trucks have risen since 1990. Florida’s auto-emissions rates in its metropolitan areas did not fare well, to put it mildly.

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• Donald Trump skips the G7 climate change meeting in France.
• More repercussions — both good and bad — from the Amazon forest fires.
• Thousands of fires are also burning in central Africa, but it’s not quite the same as the Amazon.
• Climate activists will fly drones at London Heathrow to pressure the UK government to reduce emissions.
• The Great Barrier Reef is rated as being in a ‘very poor’ state in a new report.
• And more…

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After an increase in 2018, energy-related CO2 emissions in the US are expected to decrease this year, and a drop in coal consumption is far and away the biggest reason for the change.

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The European Union’s statistical office estimates CO2 emissions in EU countries “significantly decreased” in 2018 compared to 2017.

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The UK’s Committee on Climate Change has released its anticipated report, and it’s recommending a new goal — net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

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EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler believes a huge surge in electric vehicle purchases was “the only way” for automakers to comply with fuel economy standards set by the Obama administration, according to a recent interview.

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Royal Dutch Shell is continuing its recent climate-forward push as the company announced plans to invest in natural climate solutions and reforestation programs, along with a group of new renewable energy-powered EV chargers in the Netherlands.

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A new campaign looks to draw attention to an overlooked approach for mitigating climate change and removing large amounts of carbon from the air — the restoration of natural ecosystems.

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Global energy demand grew at its fastest pace in the last decade in 2018, increasing CO2 emissions to a record high, according to a new report.

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The European Union has reached an agreement to set strict CO2 emissions standards for trucks.

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Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial, and political review/analysis of important green energy news.

Today on EGEB, the Tunisian government opens bidding for 5 new plants using photovoltaic technology. Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator announced that the government’s unambitious renewable energy target will be met by 2020. The town of Islip on Long Island want to valorize precious space wasted by a landfill by turning it into a solar farm.
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What goes up, must come down…but what was going down – is now going up.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has projected that the USA’s CO2 emissions from energy usage – burning oil, coal and gas – will increase in 2018. The main driver is a predicted increase in ‘heating degree days’ – number of days that Americans will need to warm their homes. Concurrently, an increase in ‘cold heating days’ – air conditioner needing days, the continued increase of oil burning in cars, and a decrease in hydroelectric generation will also affect the final balance of clean vs dirty energy production.

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Last weekend we reported on Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) slapping an important tax surcharge on the Tesla Model S after running some emission tests and rating its energy consumption at 444 Wh/km. After accounting for Singapore’s grid emission factor of 0.5 g CO2/Wh , the LTA determined that the Model S somehow ended up on the worst end of the global city’s scale for vehicle pollution (C3 band).

Tesla has now issued a response (you can read the full statement below) and claims that when the Model S tested by LTA left Tesla’s factory in 2014 (yes it took a while to import it), it had an energy consumption rated at 181 Wh/km, less than half of what Singapore’s transport agency is claiming. How can we account for the discrepancy? 
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