Pricewaterhousecoopers
Date: 2021-02-08
In Johannesburg, PriceWaterhouseCoopers South Africa (PWC) is reporting South Africa remains one of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters and ranked the the country the worst G20 performer in terms of carbon intensity.

According to the Net Zero Economy Index, South Africa recorded a 1.3 pct increase in carbon intensity for the second consecutive year compared to a 2.4 pct fall globally in 2019.

The index compares the amount of CO related emissions from a country to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country for the year. South Africa saw the lowest economic output in terms of GDP per ton of CO that it emits, across the economy. Currently, over 90 pct of South Africa's energy is generated by relatively low quality coal. The country's Integrated Resource Plan 2019 commits to cutting coal fired power generation by 43 pct of the total energy supply by 2030. (Source: PWC, IOL, 7 Feb., 2021) Contact: PWC South Africa, www.pwc.co.za

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G20
Date: 2020-11-23
Addressing the G-20 Leaders at the Riyadh Summit via video link, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the G-20 countries to take the lead in tackling climate change, follow the guidance of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and push for the full and effective implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Xi also reaffirmed China's commitment to striving to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Xi noted "China has put in place the world's biggest clean energy system, and will pursue clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient use of energy and accelerate the growth of new energy and green industries to promote greener economic and social development in all respects."

Xi added China supports deepening G-20 cooperation in reducing land degradation, conserving coral reefs, and cleaning up plastic from the ocean.

While 19 of the G20 member country leaders were listening to Xi, the soon-to-be former U.S. President Donald Trump was tweeting and playing golf! Enough is Enough. (Source: G20, MINT, Various Media, 23 Nov., 2020)Contact: G20, www.g20.org; UNFCCC, Monique Nardi, mnardi@unfccc.int, www.unfccc.int

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G20
Date: 2020-11-02
In their ministerial meeting on 27-28 September 2020, the G20 Energy Ministers endorsed the Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) Platform as a tool to manage emissions and foster greater world-wide access to energy. The Ministers also acknowledged the CCE Platform and its "4Rs" framework -- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Remove -- as a holistic, integrated, inclusive, and pragmatic approach to managing emissions.

According to the G20, the CCE "4Rs" will advance stable and secure energy markets and energy access for all while holistically managing emissions and advancing cleaner and more sustainable future.

The G20 presented the CCE Platform that includes the CCE Approach, Accelerator and Guide -- a toolkit of opportunities and recommended options to be utilized by G20 members, each according to their different national circumstances, needs, and priorities.

Collectively, G20 members represent roughly 80 pct of the world's economic output, two-thirds of global population and three-quarters of international trade. (Source: G20, Ritz Herald, 30 Oct., 2020) Contact: G20, www.g20.org

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EPFL Fribourg
Date: 2020-06-10
Vizcab, a spin-out company of Swiss technical university EPFL Fribourg, is touting its recently developed life cycle assessment (LCA) method for engineers to assess a building's energy efficiency right from the design stage.

The technology runs thousands of simulations based on different design parameters such as heating, glazing and insulation and different construction assumptions into a web app that enables architects and engineers to integrate energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emission targets into the early stages of the design process.

The method, which was developed by Building2050, a team based at EPFL's Smart Living Lab in Fribourg, draws on the latest advances in building physics, environmental science, mechanical engineering, data science, statistics and data visualization.

The company recently completed a funding round that €1.6 million for marketing in France and is planning a series B funding round in 18-24 months for a wider European marketing campaign. (Source: EPFL, Mirage, June, 2020) Contact: EPFN, +41 21 693 11 11, www.actu.epfl.ch

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G20,KAPSARC
Date: 2020-02-05
In Riyadh, Arab News is reporting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become the third-fastest reducer of emissions from fuel consumption among G20 countries. CO2 emissions in the Kingdom fell by almost double the predicted amount during 2018, according to Enerdata. Prior to 2016, CO2 emissions grew by more than 5 pct each year.

Data for the year showed a 26 million tons (MtCO2), 4.4 pct fall in emissions from 579 MtCO2 in 2017 to 553 MtCO2 in 2018.

The results moved Saudi Arabia up from fourth to the third-fastest reducer of emissions from fuel consumption among the top-five G20 group of countries, behind Brazil and France and in front of Germany and Japan.

According to Dr. Nicholas Howarthat the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), "the new data shows that the impact of energy efficiency and energy price reforms in reducing wasteful energy use has been even greater than expected." (Source: KAPSARC, Arab News, Feb., 2020) Contact: KAPSARC, +966 11 225 1064, info@kapsarc.org, www.kapsarc.org

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Climate Transparency’s 2019
Date: 2019-11-15
According to Climate Transparency's 2019 report card on Canada's climate plan and Canadian emissions within the G20:

Canada's per-capita emissions in 2016 were 18.9 tonnes per person, compared with a G20 average of 7.5 tpp. By way of comparison, the lowest per-capita emissions in the G20 were in India, at 1.9 tonnes, and the highest in Australia, at 21.8 tonnes.

Almost one-third of Canada's emissions come from transportation -- the second-highest in the G20 and still rising while they are falling in the G20 as a whole.

Buildings produced 13 pct of Canadian emissions, and Canada has no national strategy to reduce emissions from existing buildings. Building emissions in Canada are twice the G20 average, but while the G20 average has gotten slightly worse in the last five years, Canada has cut its emissions from buildings almost 10 pct.

Canada is among the three least likely G20 countries to hit its existing 2030 emissions-reductions targets, and are presently less than half of where Canada needs to go.

Climate Transparency is an open global consortium with a shared mission to stimulate a 'race to the top' in climate action through enhanced transparency. For this purpose, comprehensive, comparable and credible information about government climate action is spread by bringing together the most important actors in assessing and communicating climate action for the benefit of key influencers and decision makers.

According to its website, he Climate Transparency consortium produces the Brown to Green Report every year, providing a comprehensive overview of how the G20 countries are doing on the transition to a low-carbon economy. The report draws on the latest emissions data and covers over 80 indicators on decarbonisation, climate policies, finance, and vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. Providing country ratings, it identifies leaders and laggards of climate action in the G20. Additionally, a country profile is produced for each of the G20 countries. (Source: New Climate Institute, Nov., 2019) Contact: New Climate Institute, www.newclimate.org

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Climate Transparency,G20
Date: 2019-11-13
According to Climate Transparency's just released 2109 Brown to Green Report grading the climate performance of the G20 countries, Canada, South Korea and Australia are the furthest from meeting their Paris Climate Accord (COP15) greenhouse-gas emissions commitments.

The G20 nations account for 85 pct of global economic activity and in 2018 produced 80 pct of all greenhouse-gas emissions. About half the G20 members -- 19 countries with advanced economies plus the European Union collectively -- are on track to meet their current targets for cutting emissions by 2030 but those targets are much too mild. If every G20 member does not drastically scale up its targets, the G20 overall will produce more emissions in 2030 than it does today, according to the report.

Climate Transparency is a global partnership with a shared mission to stimulate a "race to the top" in G20 climate action and to shift investments towards zero carbon technologies through enhanced transparency. (Source: Climate Transparency, Nov., 2019) Contact: Climate Transparency, www.climate-transparency.org

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Saudi Arabia
Date: 2019-10-25
In Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian government reports a new comparative study -- How Does Saudi Arabia's Recent Energy Performance Compare with Other G20 Countries? -- found that Saudi Arabia leads the G20 countries in reducing carbon emissions, an indicator for the success of government programs and policies on raising energy efficiency amid the challenges posed by the country's GDP and population growths.

"For the first time in recent history since 2010, Saudi Arabia's carbon footprint has slowed down significantly," the study said, citing a host of successful energy efficiency policies that involve transport, industry, buildings, and energy price reforms for the fall in emissions.

The Kingdom's carbon emissions decreased by 1.1 pct in 2017 and 3.4 pct in 2018, while global carbon emissions increased by 1 and 2 pct, respectively. From 2015 to 2018, Saudi Arabia's carbon emissions decreased by 2.7 pct, the study claimed. (Source: Asharq Al Awsat, 24 Oct., 2019)

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Saudi Arabia Energy Minister
Date: 2019-07-22
"Over the coming decade, liquids burning in our utilities will be virtually eliminated, while the share of gas capacity will grow from around 50 percent currently to nearly 70 percent, which will be the highest among the G20." -- Khalid al-Falih, Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Contact: Saudi Arabia Energy Minister, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_A._Al-Falih

G20
Date: 2019-07-01
In India, the Hindu is reporting a 5 pct rise in India's overall CO2 emissions from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported 2076.83 million tonnes in 2016 to around 2,299 million tonnes in 2018. In 2016, India was the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide behind China and United States. On a per capita basis, India is the lowest emitter among the G20 nations while Saudi Arabia is highest.

Out of 32,314.20 million tonnes of emissions in the world in 2016, G20 nations contributed around 27,000 million tonnes -- roughly 80 pct. (Source: G20, The Hindu, Money Control News, 28 June, 2019) Contact: G20, www.g20.utoronto.ca; OCED, : +33 1 45 24 82 00, www.oecd.org

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U20
Date: 2019-05-24
At the U20 Mayors Summit Mayors meeting this week in Japan, the mayors of some of the world's major cities urged their national leaders to "leverage the tremendous potential of our cities as hubs of diversity and innovation for the purpose of tackling global challenges, including climate change." Cities from G20 member states, known as the Urban 20 (U20) presented the following recommendations on addressing climate change;

Set ambitious targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to peak no later than by 2020, reduce substantially by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

Commit to decarbonizing the energy grid, with 100 pct renewable electricity by 2030, and 100 pct renewable energy by 2050.

Enact national regulations and/or planning policy to ensure new buildings operate at net zero carbon by 2030 and all buildings by 2050.

[Help] expedite the transition to zero-emission vehicles and support cities' efforts to diffuse such vehicles.

Reduce the generation of plastic waste -- phasing-out certain single-use and hard to recycle plastics in particular.

Ensure a just transition to decarbonized development.

The U20 Communique was signed by the mayors, or governors of Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels-Capital Region, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Christchurch, Durban, Hamburg, Helsinki, Houston, Jakarta, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, Montreal, New York City, Osaka, Paris, Port Vila, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Rotterdam, Sao Paulo City, Seoul, Sydney, Tokyo and Tshwane. (Source: U20, Japan Today, 23 May, 2019)

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Carbon Capture,PricewaterhouseCoopers
Date: 2018-10-08
According to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, there was "almost zero chance" of limiting global warming to below 2 degree C without carbon capture and storage (CCS). The report also noted that the gap between the current decarbonization rate and that needed to limit global warming to 2 degree C was widening and none of the G20 countries achieved the 6.4 pct rate required to limit warming to 2 degree C this year.

At current decarbonization levels, the global carbon budget for 2 degree C would run out in 2036.

Each year the global economy failed to decarbonize at the required rate, the 2 degree C goal would become more difficult to achieve. The gap between current decarbonization and that needed to limit global warming to 2 degree C was 6.4 pct a year, the PwC report added.

London, UK-headquartered PricewaterhouseCoopers is a multinational professional services network of firms in 158 countries and 743 locations. (Source: PwC, The Australian, Graham Lloyd, Environment Editor, 7 Oct., 2018) Contact: PricewaterhouseCoopers, www.pwc.com

More Low-Carbon Energy News PricewaterhouseCoopers,  Climate Change,  Carbon Capture,  CCS,