21 November 2022

Sweden joins the Green Shipping Challenge

Sweden has joined the Green Shipping Challenge initiative led by the United States and Norway, which was launched earlier this week at the COP27 climate conference. Sweden presented three commitments to stimulate the transition to green shipping. All of them relate to cooperation involving the port of Gothenburg. The first involves the development of a green corridor between Sweden and Belgium. The second is an industry-wide cooperation that will make Gothenburg's port the first green electrofuel centre in Europe. The third commitment relates to cooperation on a green corridor between the ports of Gothenburg and Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Sweden sees the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping and at COP26, Sweden signed the Clydebank agreement on a green corridor, which stretches between two ports that are at least partially served by emission-free sea transport. Sweden has also signed a declaration to achieve zero emissions from shipping by 2050.

Press Release 

Norway's KLP to invest in renewable energy in Sweden

The Norwegian Government is still considering that the ground rent tax for wind power of 40% will be introduced retroactively on 1 January after a hearing by the end of the year, the Ministry of Finance confirmed this week. Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP), Norway's largest pension company, said that if the Government approves a tax on wind power, it would be more profitable to invest in renewable energy in Sweden than in Norway. To date, the company has invested NOK 23 billion in renewable energy projects in Norway. KLP also owns Trøndenergi who invests heavily in wind power in central Norway and is in danger of losing a lot of money if the new ground rent tax proposal is adopted. The executive director of KLP said that the tax change came very suddenly and that it would have been better to have a more predictable long-term planning process. KLP hopes that the authorities will take on board all the signals sent in the consultation and listen to the industry's views.  

Montel

Helbio’s hydrogen generator HHG 40 receives CE mark

Helbio, a subsidiary of energy systems company Metacon, has received CE marking approval for the first generation reformer-based hydrogen generator HHG 40. CE marking indicates that a product has been assessed by the manufacturer and deemed to meet EU safety, health and environmental protection requirements. The HHG system addresses the potential that exists in Europe and the world for the local production of large quantities of green, non-fossil hydrogen from biogas, independently of the grid. According to the company, calculations show that the theoretical potential of a fully developed HHG system could provide 100% climate-friendly and domestically produced green hydrogen fuel for half of Germany's motor traffic alone. Helbio’s current plan is to continue the development and production preparation of the HHG platform, while developing a portfolio of scaled-up versions with larger capacities.

Di, CE Marking

Coolbrook heats metals to 1,700°C and solves the problem of global warming at the same time

The World Steel Association estimates that the steel industry accounts for between 7% and 9% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The IEA says that while all of these energy-intensive industries are committed to reducing emissions, none are expected to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. But Coolbrook, an engineering company based in Finland, aims to change all that, saying it can electrify industrial processes up to 1,700°C through renewable energy. However, whether Coolbrook can move from a working pilot plant in the Netherlands to adopting its decarbonisation technology on a global scale is a matter of debate. If Coolbrook's technology is widely adopted, the company claims it could help reduce global industrial CO2 emissions by more than 25%, or 2.4 billion tonnes, per year. In addition to its own funding, Coolbrook has attracted financial support from the European Union, the Finnish and Dutch governments and a growing number of commercial partners. It has also established relationships with the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford in the UK and Ghent in Belgium, and is building supply chain links with high-end European engineering companies, including in the UK.

FT

COP27

COP27 ends with climate victims compensated. But the oil and gas industries escape

World negotiators finally reached a climate deal in Sharm el-Sheikh yesterday. COP27 summit makes a breakthrough for climate victims. The EU and 134 developing countries, including China, reached an "agreement in principle" at Cop27 to establish a loss and damage fund. Poor countries affected by climate change will receive financial assistance from rich countries, such as debt relief, insurance and a possible tax on oil and gas profits. The fund will support "vulnerable developing countries". There is no official definition of "vulnerable" in the UN climate process, but it has previously been applied to the poorest countries and small island states. The agreement also does not define who is responsible for making payments to the fund. The EU and the US have said they want to broaden the donor base in response to resistance from middle and upper income countries. Whether China and other large emerging economies such as Qatar, Kuwait and Singapore should contribute will be part of the discussion. These will be discussed and voted on at COP28 next year.

However, the final agreement includes the need for "low-emission" energy, which would allow continued production of fossil fuels when combined with carbon capture technologies. EU delegates and many of those involved in the talks were frustrated that they were unable to reach an agreement on accelerating the pace of emissions reductions and pushing for a reduction in the use of all fossil fuels after determined resistance from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Russia. EU climate chief Frans Timmermans said the outcome was "not enough to take people and the planet a step forward". German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, "The world is losing precious time to move to 1.5 degrees." Despite the lack of consensus on the issue, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also praised the establishment of the Climate Damage Fund, while expressing his dissatisfaction with the failure to meet global warming targets.

In its review of the negotiations, the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), observed disappointedly that “just a day before COP27 was scheduled to end, the draft decision looked to reaffirm adaptation as the global challenge the Paris Agreement had pronounced it to be, as well as recognizing the need for a coordinated global response. This kind of text would have done justice to the science gathered in February’s IPCC report... “But none of this language has made it into the decision on the global goal on adaptation or the cover decision, which urges governments to “adopt a transformational approach” to advancing climate adaptation but contains no vision nor details on how that could be achieved,” said SEI Senior Research Fellow Richard Klein.

Climatechangenews, climatechangenews, climatechangenews, FT, FT, SEI

What we're reading

• European industry pivots to US as Biden subsidy sends ‘dangerous signal’ (Financial Times)

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