US wins in controversial WTO ruling against India’s solar push
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has dealt a blow to India’s ambitious National Solar Mission, sparking warnings from green groups that the trade watchdog is undermining the Paris Agreement’s efforts to mobilise investment in clean energy. The US had brought a complaint against the Indian government-funded mission, the centrepiece of India’s national climate action plan submission under the Paris Agreement, arguing a “domestic content” clause requiring part of the solar panels to be produced in India was in violation of international trade rules. Green groups blasted the decision, saying it sets a worrying precedent where trade law trumps the Paris climate accord, and accusing the US of hypocrisy. But others were more optimistic, pointing out that the domestic content requirement covered just 5% of India’s planned solar expansion. Tarun Kapoor from India’s ministry of renewable energy, said the decision would not affect India’s wider plans. (BusinessGreen; ClimateHome)
China will “far surpass” 2020 climate target, says envoy
China’s lead climate envoy has hinted the country could exceed planned greenhouse gas cuts for 2020 by up to 10 percent, as the economy slows and coal use falls. Addressing a conference in Hong Kong, Xie Zhenhua said the country would likely “far surpass” a goal to slash the carbon emissions in a unit of GDP 40-45 percent on 2005 levels by 2020. “China’s market for coal consumption has started to become saturated and should gradually decline,” he added. The government had investments of $628 billion in the green economy planned up to 2030, Xie said, but admitted more support needed to be directed towards emissions data reporting, which experts say is unreliable. (Climate Home)
Employees
Mark Zuckerberg tells Facebook staff to stop defacing Black Lives Matter slogans
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reprimanded employees following several incidents in which the slogan “black lives matter” was crossed out and replaced with “all lives matter” on the walls of the company’s Menlo Park headquarters. “‘Black lives matter’ doesn’t mean other lives don’t – it’s simply asking that the black community also achieves the justice they deserve,” Zuckerberg wrote in an internal Facebook post. Zuckerberg expressed dismay that, despite his “clear communication” at a company Q&A session that such behaviour was “unacceptable”, employees had continued to change the messages. The slogan has come to signify the resurgent civil rights movement that has arisen in response to police killings of unarmed black men across the US. Like much of the tech industry, Facebook’s workforce is overwhelmingly white and male. Of the company’s nearly 5,500 employees, only 81 are black, according to its most recent diversity report. (Guardian)
Strategy
Honda reveals plan for zero emission vehicles to dominate fleet
Honda’s president and chief executive Takahiro Hachigo has announced a new overarching strategy for the company that will see it drastically expand its range of zero emission vehicles. Hachigo said the company had set an aspirational goal of generating two thirds of overall unit sales from plug-in hybrid/hybrid vehicles and zero-emissions vehicles, such as fuel cell vehicles and battery powered electric vehicles (EVs), by around 2030. He added that the EV push would be accompanied by plans to “proactively pursue electrification of lawn mowers and construction machines and enhance the lineup of automated machines that come after the electric robotic lawnmower”. “Through these initiatives, Honda – the world’s largest powertrain manufacturer whose broad range of businesses includes motorcycles, automobiles and power products – will strive to become a company that leads the world’s CO2 reduction efforts.” (BusinessGreen)
Report: Electric cars will represent 35 percent of all car sales by 2040
Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) look set to sky-rocket over the next 25 years with Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) predicting that, by 2040, they will represent 35 percent of all new car sales. In a new study BNEF predicts that that the presence of EVs in the global automotive market will be 90 times larger in 2040 than in 2015, with sales reaching more than 40 million. The researchers suggest that this shift will have implications beyond the car market – the growth of EVs during that timeframe would displace 13 million barrels of crude oil each day, they said. “At the core of this forecast is the work we have done on EV battery prices. Lithium-ion battery costs have already dropped by 65 percent since 2010,” said BNEF’s lead advanced transportation analyst Colin McKerracher. With new battery innovations now hitting the EV market, including charging concepts from Tesla and Google, BNEF predicts that the cost of EVs will continue to fall as driving ranges and charging infrastructures increase. (edie)
Image source: Electric Car recharging by Michael Movchin / CC BY-SA 3.0
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