This week’s Current Climate, which every Saturday brings you the latest news about the business of sustainability. Sign up to get it in your inbox every week.
On Wednesday, United Nations researchers warned that humanity is moving “perilously close to the brink” of multiple environmental tipping points that could be disastrous to both people and the environment. Their report identifies six key risks that the world should aim to avoid. The first is the number of plant and animal extinctions, which has been accelerating due to human activity and could result in the collapse of entire ecosystems. Groundwater is another major issue – the report finds that about half the world’s largest underground reservoirs are being depleted at a faster rate than they’re replenished. The good news is that several of these tipping points are interrelated, so action to stave off one also helps to ameliorate others.
“As we indiscriminately extract our water resources, damage nature and biodiversity, and pollute both Earth and space, we are moving dangerously close to the brink of multiple risk tipping points that could destroy the very systems that our life depends on,” said Zita Sebesvari, lead author of the report and deputy director of UN University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security. “We also lose some of our tools and options to deal with future disaster risk.
The Big Read
Global Fossil Fuel Demand Will Peak By 2030 Amid ‘Unstoppable’ Shift To Green Energy, IEA Says
Rising global demand for oil, gas and coal are set to peak by 2030 as the world moves towards clean energy sources, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday, urging investors to get behind renewables and ditch fossil fuels.
Sustainability Deals Of The Week
Electric Trucks: Struggling electric truckmaker Nikola got some good news — and much needed cash — after an arbitration panel in New York said the company’s disgraced founder Trevor Milton needs to reimburse it for $165 million related to an SEC probe and fine.
EV Charging: BP’s electric vehicle charger unit ordered $100 million worth of Tesla ultra-fast chargers for rollout in the United States, the first deployment of Tesla’s chargers on an independent network.
Iron Batteries: Inlyte Energy, which is developing batteries for the electric grid that utilize iron and table salt rather than more expensive components, announced it raised an $8 million seed round.
Renewable Energy: The state of New York has awarded contracts to the AES Corporation to build wind and solar projects across the state.
The Big Transportation Story
A Cruise robotaxi operation in San Francisco.
getty
California DMV Halts Cruise’s Self-Driving Robotaxis Statewide
Among the promises of autonomous vehicles is that they can play a role in reducing automotive CO2 emissions since they’ll be electric and can help reduce traffic deaths and injuries because they’ll be fundamentally safer than human-driven autos. The latter looks increasingly problematic after the California Department of Motor Vehicles yanked General Motors-backed Cruise’s permits to operate its robotaxis across the Golden State after determining that they’re “not safe for the public’s operation” and that the cars pose “an unreasonable risk to the public.”
Other Sustainability News
New research suggests that pretty simple diet changes – like swapping chicken for beef – both cuts carbon emissions and improves your health.
Auto company Jaguar announced that it will be spending about $300 million to build a new EV testing center.
El Niño will be firmly in place this winter, which could potentially bring about even more extreme weather than what we’ve seen in 2023 so far.
Ford executive chair Bill Ford says there’s a political divide over EV adoption, and looking at state-by-state policies seems to bolster his case.
What Else We’re Reading This Week
Hertz Misses Profit Estimate as Tesla Price Cuts Hit Fleet Value (Bloomberg)
US Justice Department issues subpoenas to Tesla in ongoing probes (Reuters)
America’s Trade War With China Spills Into Clean Energy (Heatmap)
