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Despite economic disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a growing number of countries, companies and financial institutions are committing to quit coal and are beginning to ditch oil and gas projects, too.
In this episode of Political Climate’s special DITCHED series, host Julia Pyper speaks to Tim Buckley at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) about what’s driving the increase in fossil fuel exits around the globe, including in historically coal-dependent economies such as China and India. Buckley argues the pandemic was a “wake up call” to financiers who realized, looking at the virus’ impacts, that the cost of climate inaction, would be higher than making the transition now.
Buckley is bullish on renewable energy as it has accelerated every month this year, especially solar because the cost is dropping so fast. In November 2020 the price of solar hit its lowest price ever in India — dropping 15% over the last six months — causing a major energy disruption and putting us on a path toward decarbonization, and much faster than previously estimated.
Will 2020 prove to be a tipping point in the energy-finance transition?
Recommended resources:
IEEFA: Why 2020 is turning out be a pivotal year for fossil fuel exits
IEA: Renewable power is defying the Covid crisis with record growth this year and next
Scaling production of EVs in the U.S. will require a ramp-up in domestic battery production. Now there’s good news on that front. A battery factory in Georgia can move forward after LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation (South Korean companies), two of the world’s biggest electric vehicle battery manufacturers, settled a dispute.
Why This Matters: The dispute threatened U.S. production of EVs. SK has contracts to produce batteries for electric Ford F-150 pickup trucks and Volkswagen SUVs.
by Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer Right now, 95% of American public school buses run on diesel fuel, but that could soon change thanks to part of the Biden administration’s massive infrastructure proposal. The new Clean Buses for Kids Program would electrify at least 20% of the country’s iconic yellow school bus fleet. It would […]
by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer In February, the governors of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware voted unanimously to ban fracking in the Delaware River Basin, but Republican-led lawsuits are seeking to stop this action. The ban prevented the natural gas industry from blasting up to 4,000 wells in the basin, serving a blow to the […]
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