Nature and Biodiversity

Wind, oil and aid: Everything to know about the environment this week

Wind turbines are pictured near Leipzig July 7, 2007. Climate change has risen to the top of the international agenda in recent months. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke (GERMANY)/File Photo

Milder wind speeds have caused problems in Europe this year. Image: REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

Joe Myers
Writer, Forum Agenda

Listen to the article

  • This weekly round-up brings you some of the key environment stories from the past seven days.
  • Top stories: New EU rules on state aid for green projects; New US tailpipe emissions rules; Milder wind speeds impacting European energy supply.
Have you read?

1. Environment stories from around the world

The Biden Administration has approved two new solar projects in the California desert and is working on permit applications for 50 more clean energy facilities, it announced on Tuesday.

The rapid intensification that turned this week's Typhoon Rai into the strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year surpassed all predictions, forecasters said, leaving nearly 400 people dead and almost a million displaced. While it's unclear exactly how global warming is affecting the intensification of such storms, the UN's climate change agency has found it is "likely that the frequency of rapid intensification events have increased over the past four decades" as temperatures rise.

The European Commission plans to finish next year its long-awaited rules on whether to label gas and nuclear energy as climate-friendly investments under EU green finance rules, its environment policy chief said on Monday.

Global oil demand roared back in 2021 as the world began to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, and overall world consumption potentially could hit a new record in 2022 - despite efforts to bring down fossil fuel consumption to mitigate climate change.

Ocean freight costs are likely to remain high in 2022 as investors and regulators scramble to accelerate decarbonization of the shipping industry and companies grapple with green financing, sources say. Shipping, which transports about 90% of world trade and accounts for nearly 3% of the world's CO2 emissions, is under growing pressure from environmentalists to deliver more concrete action including a carbon levy.

A new analysis has shown the impact of milder wind speeds across Europe. Windmills across the bloc generated less electricity which worsened a crunch that sent power prices to record highs as utilities had to buy more coal and scarce, costly, natural gas.

Devastation from tornadoes that slammed parts of the United States this month will push the insurance industry's 2021 bill for weather-related claims well above the predicted $105 billion, industry experts said, and premiums should rise on worries that climate change will drive more severe weather.

The United States needs to do a better job vetting which carbon capture projects to support with public funds and improve its oversight once the projects are underway, a government agency watchdog said on Monday.

Norway has granted 1 billion Norwegian crowns ($111 million) in support for three projects to produce emissions-free hydrogen and ammonia, aiding a transition to a low-carbon economy, the government said.

Discover

What’s the World Economic Forum doing about climate change?

2. EU lays out rules to allow more state aid for green projects

EU countries will be allowed to pump more money into green projects in climate, energy and the environment, while state support for fossil fuels will face more hurdles to be approved by Brussels, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

The Commission, which vets national governments' state aid to check that it does not distort competition in the European Union single market, set out the upgraded competition rules aimed at helping countries meet climate change targets.

The EU aims to cut its net greenhouse gas emissions 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels and eliminate them by 2050. That will require huge low-carbon investments, including extra energy sector investments of 350 billion euros ($395 billion) a year this decade.

"Although a significant share will come from the private sector, public support will play a role in ensuring that the green transition happens fast," EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said.

The new rules expand the areas where countries can offer support, including clean transport and energy efficiency in buildings.

Loading...

3. New US tailpipe emissions rules

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized new rules that will reduce tailpipe emissions through 2026, improving efficiency by 28.3% and avoiding 3.1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions through 2050.

The new rules will make it cheaper to drive and save consumers billions at the gas pump - reducing US gasoline consumption by more than 440 million barrels through 2050, a 15% reduction in US gasoline consumption.

But EPA says it will lead to more driving - meaning more congestion, and additional road deaths - since per-mile driving costs will decline, and $50 to $100 billion less in federal gas taxes collected through 2050.

2019 US carbon dioxide emissions, by source
Transportation is the US's biggest source of CO2 emissions. Image: EPA
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Future of the Environment

Related topics:
Nature and BiodiversityClimate Action
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Future of the Environment is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

Ground zero: why soil health is integral to beating climate change

Tania Strauss, Iliass El Fali and Pedro Gomez

November 22, 2024

2:15

More than a third of the world’s tree species are facing extinction. Here are 5 organizations protecting them

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum