Policy & Regulatory Solar and wind accounted for 20% of Jordan’s power mix in 2020 22 Jan 2021 Jordan intends to increase the share of renewables in its power mix to 30% in 2030, to become more self-sufficient. According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, solar and wind…
Volume 4 Issue 1, January 2021 Carbon trade-offs of animal agriculture Producing meat requires more land than plants, which could be restored into ecosystems that capture carbon. Hayek and colleagues quantify the carbon opportunity cost of extensive meat production and find that shifting to plant-based diets would capture a CO2…
Policy & Regulatory A US court vacates the ACE rule on coal-fired power plants’ emissions 21 Jan 2021 The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has vacated the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, issued in 2019, which gave States more time and authority to decide how to…
Policy & Regulatory Australia unveils a plan to develop the Beetaloo shale gas sub-basin 20 Jan 2021 The Australian government has released an AUD224m (US$173m) plan to accelerate exploration and development of the Beetaloo sub-basin in the Northern Territory (NT), which is expected to hold more than 200,000 PJ (nearly 5,700…
Policy & Regulatory The Netherlands’ first SDE++ round receives €6.4bn subsidy applications 18 Jan 2021 As part of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Transition Incentive Scheme (SDE++), the Netherlands has received 4,112 subsidy applications for projects that contribute to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the country. A total of €6.4bn…
Policy & Regulatory New York State (US) selects Equinor and BP for 2.5 GW offshore wind projects 15 Jan 2021 The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) (United States) has selected the Equinor – BP partnership to provide 2,490 MW of power as part of its second offshore wind solicitation….
Policy & Regulatory The Polish senate adopts offshore wind act, targeting 5.9 GW by 2030 14 Jan 2021 The Senate of Poland has passed the offshore wind act, which governs the method of obtaining state support for developers interested in building offshore wind projects in the country. The new regulation…
ISEE Bulletin January 2021 THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS Dear German, Here is your weekly ISEE News in Review. The Joint Conference of ISEE, ESEE, and DEGROWTH in collaboration with Manchester University, UK Building Alternative Livelihoods in times of ecological and political crisis Given the continuing pandemic, the joint conference…
Volume 2 Issue 1, January 2021 The processes leading to large earthquakes remain enigmatic. Using detailed seismic and geodetic data, this Review examines how tectonic deformation and evolving fault behaviour initiate large earthquakes, and proposes an integrated model accounting for the diversity of observations. See Kato and Ben-Zion. Image: Marco…
Policy & Regulatory EU endorses Spanish scheme to support energy-intensive companies 13 Jan 2021 The European Commission has authorised, under EU state aid rules, a Spanish scheme to partially compensate energy-intensive companies (i.e. with high electricity consumption relative to the value-added of production) for the cost incurred in Spain to fund…
Policy & Regulatory Norway unveils a comprehensive climate action plan to 2030 12 Jan 2021 The Norwegian government has unveiled a comprehensive climate action plan to 2030. The plan focuses on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are not included in the Emissions Trading System (ETS), including emissions from transport, waste, agriculture,…
Policy & Regulatory Turkey plans to tender 1 GW of solar capacity in early 2021 11 Jan 2021 Turkey has decided to launch 74 solar energy mini tenders with a total capacity 1,000 MW spread across 36 different regions, for its Renewable Energy Resources Zones (YEKA) before the end of March 2021….
Policy & Regulatory South Korea’s updated NDC targets 24.4% GHG emissions cut by 2030 8 Jan 2021 South Korea has updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The updated target is to reduce the total national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 24.4% by…
Volume 11 Issue 1, January 2021 Intraspecific diversity for future crop resilience Sweet potato can grow at altitudes ranging from sea level to 2,500 m above sea level and come in varieties ranging in colour from white to yellow, orange or purple, such as those from Nyeri in the central…
Policy & Regulatory China plans to launch its national ETS in February 2021 7 Jan 2021 China plans to launch its national emissions trading scheme (ETS) in February 2021. Under the new rules, more than 2,200 companies above a cut-off point of 26,000 tCO2eq/year of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, equivalent to a…
Policy & Regulatory Ethiopia’s updated NDC targets 12% GHG emissions cut by 2030 6 Jan 2021 Ethiopia has updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The country is committing to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 12.4% in 2030 compared to a…
Volume 5 Issue 1, January 2021 Early hominin microevolution Specimen DNH 155 from Drimolen, South Africa is the best-preserved cranium of Paranthropus robustus yet known, and its anatomy as well as its chronological and geographical provenance document microevolutionary change within the species. See Martin et al. Image: Jesse Martin and…
Policy & Regulatory Argentina unveils its 2nd nationally determined contribution 5 Jan 2021 The government of Argentina has updated its nationally determined contribution (NDC). The country has pledged not to exceed net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 359 MtCO2eq by 2030, which represents a total decrease in emissions of 19% by…
Policy & Regulatory UK-EU Brexit trade deal allows unchanged access to EU energy market 4 Jan 2021 The UK government has concluded a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union. The energy part of the new agreement allows the country virtually unchanged access to the EU electricity and gas market,…
Table of Contents: December 2020 Comment | 23 December 2020 The other side of sea level change Matthias Prange, Thomas Wilke & Frank P. Wesselingh Communications Earth & Environment 1 , Article number: 69 | doi: 10.1038/s43247-020-00075-6 Article | 23 December 2020 Higher than present global mean sea level recorded by…
Policy & Regulatory Greece approves 2.8 GW of renewable energy projects 28 Dec 2020 The Greek Ministerial Committee for Strategic Investments has approved four renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of 2.8 GW and requiring an investment of over €2bn. Egnatia Group will invest €888m to develop 1.5 GW of solar…
Actualidad científica: Del 1 al 28 diciembre, 2020 TEORÍA DE LA COMPUTACIÓN Nace el campo de la estupidez artificial Raimundo Ayala Diseñan una máquina capaz de concebir hipótesis pseudocientíficas y teorías de la conspiración. El hallazgo promete arrojar luz sobre uno de los rincones más olvidados de la mente humana….
Policy & Regulatory Norway’s supreme court confirms governments plans for Arctic oil exploration 24 Dec 2020 The Supreme Court of Norway has upheld governments plans for Arctic oil exploration. The court ruled that ten exploration licenses in the Arctic awarded in 2016 did not violate Norway’s constitution and the European…
Policy & Regulatory China plans to lift restrictions on foreign investment in energy sector 23 Dec 2020 The Chinese State Council Information Office has released a white paper on the country’s energy development and major policies and measures for energy reform, which plans to lift foreign investment restriction on coal,…
Los regalos de la naturaleza De México para el mundo ¿Y tú, a qué te comprometes? Panel de información sobre COVID: Consulta tu localidad #SabrososSanosSustentables Naturalista destacado Calendario de eventos De México para el mundo Nuestro país es uno de los 8 centros de origen de plantas cultivadas en el…
Policy & Regulatory Peru’s updated NDC targets 30% GHG emissions cut by 2030 22 Dec 2020 The government of Peru has updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The country pledges to limit its greenhouse gas (GH) emissions to 208.8 MtCO2eq in 2030, which represents a non-conditional reduction of 30% compared to…
Policy & Regulatory The EU sets annual emissions limits for non-ETS sectors over 2021-2030 21 Dec 2020 The European Commission has set out the annual emission allocations (AEAs) for 2021-2030, under the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR). The ESR sets binding annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets for Member States for 2030, which…
Policy & Regulatory Germany amends its EEG 2021 to support 2030 targets 18 Dec 2020 The Bundestag has passed the amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG 2021), which intends to raise the share of renewable energies in gross electricity consumption to 65% by 2030. In addition, the amendment…
Policy & Regulatory The EU plans to exclude oil and gas projects from infrastructure funding 17 Dec 2020 The European Commission has proposed to revise TEN-E Regulation, which governs cross-border energy infrastructure planning and help implement projects of common interest (PCIs), to focus on the upgraded 2030 climate and energy…
Policy & Regulatory European Commission approves €30bn SDE++ Dutch renewable support scheme 16 Dec 2020 The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, the €30bn Stimulering Duurzame Energieproductie ("SDE++") scheme to support projects to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Netherlands. The scheme, which will run until 2025, will…