Marine Cloud Brightening, Europe withdraws from Energy Charter Treaty
Dengue in new areas; A Future Made in Australia - PM announces new legislation; Interconnection delays in the US
Marine Cloud Brightening
Small solid or liquid particles (aerosols) in the atmosphere give water droplets a surface to condense on to. This can increase the density of clouds, making them more opaque. This cause the clouds to reflect more sunlight back into space, less sunlight reaches the Earth surface and the planet is cooler.
That is the basis of possible climate change fixes called “Marine Cloud Brightening” or “Solar Geoengineering” or “Solar Radiation Modification”.
The aerosols can come from biological emissions and sea spray, as well as particulate matter from burning fuels. In weather data from satellites, more cloud cover has been seen over oceans in areas where ships travel (called “ship tracks”) due to emissions from the ships. As limits are set on burning fossil fuel and particulate matter pollution, these ship tracks are reducing.
To artificially induce more reflective clouds, scientists have suggested spraying seawater in small droplets into the atmosphere. One such experiment was started in Australia in 2020 to reduce ocean temperatures around the Great Barrier Reef.
Another started last week in California.
New research also looked at cloud cover after volcanic eruptions in Hawaii and found that aerosols from volcanic plumes induced a cooling effect, not by making the clouds denser (as thought earlier) but causing more clouds to be formed. Comparing this to a similar previous study on weather data during volcanic eruptions in Iceland, researchers conclude that the approach would work better in the tropics.
Our results also suggest that the most practicable approach would be to seed clouds under humid and stable conditions where cloud cover might substantially expand; even if clouds are missed and seeding is into clear sky, the hygroscopical-swelled aerosol can also contribute a large cooling.
…Seeding clouds under dry conditions could lead to reduction of cloud cover and warming, opposing the intention to increase reflected solar radiation to space. This best practice would be particularly effective in tropical oceans where incoming solar radiation is strong and background environment is clean (that is, clouds are more ‘pristine’).
More research is ongoing to determine how much cooling can be produced from geoengineering, and what would be the effect on weather and rainfall in the region where it is done as well as across the planet.
Innovation News | Research in nature geoscience | More research on geoengineering
Europe to withdraw from Energy Charter Treaty
The European Parliament has voted to withdraw the European Union from the Energy Charter Treaty.
The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is a multilateral trade and investment agreement applicable to the energy sector that was signed in 1994 and entered into force in 1998. The European Union is a Contracting Party to the ECT, together with Euratom, 23 EU Member States, as well as Japan, Switzerland, Turkey and most countries from the Western Balkans and the former USSR, with the exception of Russia and Belarus which signed the agreement in 1994 but never ratified it.
Eleven Member States (Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal) and the UK, representing more than 70% of the European population, have already decided to exit the ECT.
The treaty primarily allows the fossil-fuel industry to invest in and serve the countries that are parties to the treaty. It is also used to resolve disputes between companies and the state they’re operating in.
The ECT has enabled multinational fossil fuel corporations to sue European governments that implemented policies aimed at phasing out fossil fuels or advancing a just energy transition. Recent cases demonstrate that the ECT not only obstructs climate action but also hinders states’ ability to navigate the energy crisis and transition. In 2021, German coal firms RWE and Uniper sought €2.4bn in damages from the Dutch government over its 2030 coal phase-out deadline. In 2022, Italy was ordered to pay British oil company Rockhopper € 250 million in compensation for its decision to ban offshore oil developments along the coastline, a practice that was denounced by Italian coastal communities.
Changes to the Treaty have been proposed (but not finalised) to align with the Paris Agreement, but the European Parliament says those are insufficient to meet climate targets. Moreover, EU member countries that had withdrawn from the Treaty could still be sued under its terms if the Union remained a member to the Treaty. EU may now move to a coordinated exit of all member states from the ECT.
ECEEE | European Parliament Report
Top Stories
Australia’s reef management agency, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, conducted an aerial survey of 1080 reefs and found more than 10 percent of coral cover was bleached in 60% of the reefs surveyed. Bleaching of reefs is attributed to heat stress - “Sea surface temperatures are up to 2°C above average across the Marine Park for this time of year”. Here’s a video on what bleaching looks like and how satellite data, aerial surveys, diver surveys and drones are used to track bleaching.
In the US, a typical power generation project “built in 2023 took nearly 5 years from the interconnection request to commercial operations , compared to 3 years in 2015 and <2 years in 2008”. About 12,000 projects with a total 1,570 GW capacity are awaiting grid connections. 95% of these are solar, storage and wind projects. Capacity in queue has risen not just because of more projects, but larger projects requesting grid connection - the size of the average solar plant requesting connection in 2023 is 2.5 times higher than its 2015 counterpart.
Active capacity in queues (~2,600 GW) is twice the installed capacity of U.S. power plant fleet (~1,280 GW); greater than peak load and installed capacity in all ISOs
Insufficient transmission capacity and lengthy processes for interconnection are some of the reasons for the backlog.
Higher temperatures and erratic rainfall mean more mosquito outbreaks, and in places that didn’t have them earlier. In 2023, both California and Italy had higher than before populations of the dengue-causing Aedes mosquito. The insects are spreading westward and upward in Europe.
Europe is experiencing a warming trend where heat waves and flooding are becoming more frequent and severe, and summers are getting longer and warmer. This creates more favourable conditions for invasive mosquito species such as Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti. Ten years ago, in 2013, the Aedes albopictus mosquito was established in 8 EU/EEA countries, with 114 regions being affected. Now in 2023, the mosquito is established in 13 countries and 337 regions. ECDC
The dengue outbreak in Latin America is especially severe this year with Brazil getting a million cases in just a few weeks. The Federal District of Brazil had already surpassed its 2023 dengue case count by Feb 17 this year. And children are the worst affected
those under 5 have the highest mortality rate of any age group, followed by those age 5 to 9. Adolescents between 10 and 14 have the highest number of confirmed cases.
A vaccine developed in the US has been licensed by a public research institute in Brazil but production has not yet started.
The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) announced earlier this week that under its Corporate Net-Zero Standard, companies could now use environmental attribute certificates (carbon offsets) to offset Scope 3 emissions beyond limits. SBTi previously did not encourage use of carbon offsets. SBTi staff are protesting the decision, claiming it could lead to greenwashing by companies.
News from governments
US and Japan will partner to speed up development and commercialisation of fusion energy. The partnership will focus on developing technology together, possibly sharing access to facilities, building supply chains and skill development. Innovation News | DoE Press Release
Australia’s Prime Minister has announced his intent to create a Future Made in Australia Act to
boost investment in hydrogen, green metals and advanced manufacturing
set up domestic supply chains for clean energy projects
help domestic businesses and communities to benefit from the move to a net zero economy
transform Gladstone into an international industrial centre
safeguard The Great Barrier Reef and Daintree
build railways, infra and ports
The European Union, under its Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), is inviting projects to apply for funding from a €850 million pool to boost “trans-European networks in the energy sector”. Funding will be awarded both for studies and projects for electricity, gas, smart grids, hydrogen and CO2 networks. EC Press Release | EU Call for Proposals
You can read over 150 stories from April 11 on Telborg.
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Soumya Gupta
Founder, Telborg.com | SummaryWithAI.com
