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Governor’s climate budget: one step forward, one step back

by Ellie Cohen, CEO, The Climate Center California Governor Gavin Newsom recently released his proposed climate budget of $12.5 billion over five years to boost resilience, curb greenhouse gas pollution, and tackle the wildfire crisis. Note that his entire proposed budget for next year alone is $222 billion. While we are grateful that the Governor … Read more

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British carbon tax leads to 93% drop in coal-fired electricity

by University College London, Phys.org Highlights: The carbon tax legislation, known as the Carbon Price Support, has resulted in a 93% decrease of electricity generated by coal in the UK. The tax was introduced in 2013 but the energy sector saw a vast decrease in coal dependency once the tax was increased in 2015 Coal … Read more

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California moves to tackle another big emissions source: fossil fuel use in buildings

by Justin Gerdes, Greentech Media Highlights: The California Public Utilities Commission has dedicated $45 million to heat pump water heater incentives. Around $4 million will be exclusively for low-income residents. Since 90% of heat pump water heaters and furnaces in California are powered by natural gas or propane, the heat pump water heater incentives will … Read more

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Nordic steel giant to use renewable hydrogen to produce fossil-free steel by 2026

Steel production factory by knollzw found on https://www.needpix.com/photo/1179741/industry-blast-furnaces-steel-production-industrial-heritage-heavy-industry-iron

by Michael Mazengarb, Renew Economy Highlights: Swedish Steel is working towards using renewable hydrogen to decarbonize their industrial steel process by 2026 A shift to renewable hydrogen could reduce Finland’s greenhouse gas emissions up to 7% and Sweden’s emissions up to 10% Steel manufacturing is one of the world’s largest consumers of fossil fuels, and … Read more

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The Climate Center Lauds Governor Newsom’s Energy Vision: Proposes Details on How to Implement Vision

Santa Rosa, CA – The Climate Center lauds Governor Newsom for the high-level vision articulated in his energy, climate and wildfire speech earlier today before the Public Policy Institute of California. “Kudos to Governor Newsom for articulating a compelling vision for a clean, decentralized, reliable, safe and affordable future electricity system in California,” said Ellie Cohen, … Read more

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Green Deal law to make EU’s energy shift irreversible

by Ewa Krukowska, Bloomberg, January 28, 2020 Highlights The European Union is drafting a measure, titled the Green Deal, to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions entirely by 2050 in hopes to become the world’s first carbon neutral continent.  The EU wants to make their new climate law irreversible  The Green Deal is meant to keep Europe … Read more

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Tropical forests losing ability to absorb CO2, study says

by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, January 27, 2020 Highlights Tropical forests are losing their ability to capture carbon dioxide from the air due to deforestation.  The boreal forests found in cool temperature, high mountain ranges are sequestering more CO2 than tropical forests due to the rise of the CO2 Fertilization Effect Roughly 30% of all … Read more

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Spain declares a national climate emergency

by John Bowden, Bloomberg, January 21, 2020 Highlights Spain has declared a climate emergency and intends to write legislation to be sent to parliament in the next 100 days.  The European Union Parliament declared a climate emergency in November and Spain is following their lead by setting a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 Spain is … Read more

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Corporate clean energy buying leapt 44% in 2019, sets new record

Solar Panel Power Generation. by mrganso found on https://www.needpix.com/photo/1123513/photovoltaic-system-solar-solar-energy-solar-panel-photovoltaic-renewable-energy-revolution-power-generation-solar-field

by BloombergNEF Highlights: Corporations bought a record amount of clean energy through power purchase agreements, or PPAs, in 2019, up more than 40% from the previous year’s record. The majority of this purchasing occurred in the United States. BloombergNEF’s 2020 Corporate Energy Market Outlook found that approximately 19.5GW of clean energy contracts were signed by … Read more

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New policy roadmap to combat wildfires, prevent power shutoffs and increase community resilience

Oakland, CA — Climate and clean energy experts released a new policy roadmap today to guide California state policymakers who want to use clean energy to combat wildfires and power outages. The roadmap details proposals that would accelerate the clean energy transition, transform the outdated investor-owned utility business model, and modernize the power system. “The 2020 wildfire season might … Read more