Policy & Regulatory Croatia releases a new low-carbon development strategy 8 Jun 2021 Croatia has unveiled a new low-carbon development strategy. The country foresees a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from the 1990 level under two scenarios. The first scenario, which considers a 33.5% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030…
Volume 5 Issue 6, June 2021 Flexible pollinators Female longhorn bee (Melissodes sp.) on orange sneezeweed (Hymenoxys hoopesii) at Hannagan Meadow in Arizona. Native bees that are flexible in their interaction patterns are able to colonize different habitat patches in the landscape. This interaction flexibility could be a potential mechanism…
Volume 11 Issue 6, June 2021 Cloud feedbacks Whether clouds will warm or cool the planet under climate change is uncertain. Writing in this issue, two separate studies investigate the climate impacts of clouds. Mülmenstädt et al. show that overestimates of precipitation from warm clouds lead to substantial biases in…
Policy & Regulatory Canada unveils a US$795m renewable investment program 4 Jun 2021 The Canadian government plans to invest CAD964m (US$795m) over four years to support smart renewable energy and grid modernization projects. The Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program aims to lower emissions by investing in clean energy technologies, like…
Policy & Regulatory Angola unveils a new Nationally Determined Contribution 2 Jun 2021 Angola has unveiled a new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The country commits to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2025 below a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario by 14% using its domestic resources (unconditional target) or by 24% with international support…
Table of Contents: May 2021 Author Correction | 26 May 2021 Author Correction: Evolution of aseismic slip rate along plate boundary faults before and after megathrust earthquakes Toshihiro Igarashi & Aitaro Kato Communications Earth & Environment 2 , Article number: 103 | doi: 10.1038/s43247-021-00186-8 Comment | 26 May 2021 Downside up: Science matters…
Public webinar – Global Energy Trends 2021 – 01/06/2021 or 03/06/2021 2020 has been a year in which the whole world has been shaken. Now it’s time to understand the 2020 results through concrete figures and analysis, to anticipate future evolutions on the global energy markets. Register to the 01/06/2021…
Actualidad científica: Del 1 al 28 mayo, 2021 BIOLOGÍA DEL DESARROLLO Las franjas blancas del pez payaso La formación de las rayas de estos peces está regulada por la anémona de mar en la que se refugian los juveniles. Noticias falsas ¿Qué personas son más propensas a difundir noticias falsas?…
Volume 6 Issue 5, May 2021 Preventing the cross-over Polysulfide-based redox flow batteries have great potential for grid-scale storage, but they suffer from performance deterioration primarily due to active species cross-over through membranes. Yi-Chun Lu and team develop a Nafion-based membrane that prevents the cross-over and enables these batteries to…
Companies RWE sets up an US offshore wind JV, Orsted an offshore wind JV in Japan 21 May 2021 RWE Renewables and National Grid have agreed to jointly develop offshore wind projects in the coastal region of the Northeast United States and to jointly bid in the upcoming New York…
Volume 4 Issue 5, May 2021 Engineering orbital orientation for greener battery cathode chemistry The current reliance of the cathode of lithium-ion batteries on cobalt poses challenges in terms of sustainability. Xia and colleagues engineer the atomic orbitals to realize a high-performance cathode that is based on environmentally friendly and…
Policy & Regulatory UAE renews its commitment to cut CO2 emissions by 70% by 2050 19 May 2021 The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has renewed its commitment to cut the country’s CO2 emissions by 70% by 2050 (as defined in the Energy Strategy 2050) and…
Policy & Regulatory Japan proposes to upgrade 2030 renewables target to 35-39% of power mix 17 May 2021 Japan is considering raising the share of renewables in its power mix to 35%-39% (including hydropower) in 2030. The country currently aims to raise the share of renewables in its power mix to…
Volume 2 Issue 5, May 2021 Successful discovery and operation of geothermal resources requires a thorough understanding of the heterogeneous geological subsurface. This Review discusses the key geological factors that contribute to the effective exploration of intermediate- to high-temperature geothermal resources used for power generation and direct use applications. See…
Policy & Regulatory Taiwan will tender 15 GW of offshore wind capacity until 2035 12 May 2021 Taiwan intends to increase the volume tendered in its upcoming offshore wind Round 3 from 10 GW to 15 GW. The authorities plan to add 1.5 GW/year of offshore wind capacity from 2026 until…
Policy & Regulatory Indonesia plans to convert 5.2 GW of diesel-fired capacity to renewables 11 May 2021 The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) of Indonesia will issue a decree to convert diesel-fired power plants that are still operating in the country into renewables projects. The conversion projects will be…
Volume 11 Issue 5, May 2021 Forest carbon dynamics Forests take up and store large amounts of carbon but are vulnerable to disturbances, such as this forest in West Virginia that is recovering from major deforestation and livestock grazing. In light of the growing importance of forests in the context…
Policy & Regulatory Algeria plans to tender 1 GW of solar projects in June or July 2021 7 May 2021 Algeria plans to tender 1 GW of solar capacity divided into ten slots of 100 MW each between June and July 2021. The auction will be open to projects planned with foreign…
Volume 5 Issue 5, May 2021 Bioherm biodiversity More than 1,200 animal taxa were recorded on Halimeda bioherms in the Great Barrier Reef. Most (78%) were invertebrates, such as this crinoid (feather star) photographed within a Halimeda algal meadow at 26-m water depth. See McNeil et al. Image: Kent Holmes….
Policy & Regulatory Poland unveils its recovery and resilience plan 5 May 2021 Poland has submitted an official recovery and resilience plan to the European Commission. The country has requested a total of €23.9bn in grants under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and €12.1bn in loans. The plan includes measures…
Policy & Regulatory Denmark allocates €1.1bn for energy transition 3 May 2021 Denmark has submitted its DKK11.6bn (€1.9bn) recovery and resilience plan to the European Commission as part of the Next Generation EU, a €750bn temporary recovery instrument (2021-2027) aimed at addressing the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more…
Actualidad científica: Del 1 al 30 abril, 2021 Infecciones bacterianas Moléculas termosensibles permiten a las bacterias evadir al sistema inmunitario Marta Pulido Salgado En respuesta a la fiebre, los microorganismos activan mecanismos de protección frente a la acción de defensa del organismo. EVOLUCIÓN Los colores de advertencia de los animales…
Policy & Regulatory The United States offers US$8.25bn in loans for power grid upgrades 29 Apr 2021 The US Department of Energy has announced the availability of up to US$8.25bn in loans from its Loan Programs Office (LPO) and the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) to expand and improve the US power…
Table of Contents: April 2021 Article | 26 April 2021 Global-scale patterns of observed sea surface salinity intensified since the 1870s W. John Gould & Stuart A. Cunningham Communications Earth & Environment 2 , Article number: 76 | doi: 10.1038/s43247-021-00161-3 Article | 20 April 2021 Closure of the Proterozoic Mozambique Ocean…
Policy & Regulatory Italy allocates €68.6bn for energy transition 27 Apr 2021 The Italian prime minister has presented the €248bn National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) to the Chamber of Deputies. The reform program will be submitted to the European Commission on 30 April 2021 as part of the Next Generation…
Volume 6 Issue 4, April 2021 Making contacts The power conversion efficiency of mainstream silicon photovoltaics is expected to saturate at 24% yet the use of charge-selective contacts that also minimize charge recombination could enable further improvements. Towards that aim, Richter et al. demonstrate a 26.0%-efficient solar cell by redesigning…
Sustainable Solutions for Pollution Control | April 28 Pollution is a threat globally but most of the impacts are local and away from the source making policy solutions hard to implement. Join global researchers for a virtual conference discussing the latest research in pollution control and potential solutions. Register now…
Policy & Regulatory South Korea raises renewables obligation for power companies to 25% 20 Apr 2021 The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has increased the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) from 10% to 25%. The RPS obliges power companies with a capacity higher than 500 MW to produce 25% of…
Volume 2 Issue 4, April 2021 Estimates of global dryland changes are often conflicting. This Review discusses and quantifies observed and projected aridity changes, revealing divergent responses between atmospheric and ecohydrological metrics owing to plant physiological responses to elevated CO2. See Lian et al. Image: Felix Cesare / Getty Images….
Energy & Climate Markets The 1.4 GW NordLink interconnector (Norway-Germany) is commissioned 14 Apr 2021 The German and Norwegian power transmission system operators (TSOs) TenneT and Statnett have fully commissioned the 1.4 GW NordLink interconnector between Germany and Norway. The €1.5-2bn interconnection project comprises a bipolar high-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea interconnector, which…