5 spunti per approfondire (31/2024)

La rubrica settimanale con i consigli di lettura di RivistaEnergia.it, dall’Europa e dal mondo. Settimana 31/2024

“South Africa will approach the European Union to discuss its planned tax on carbon-intensive imports, saying it will hurt the economies of BRICS nations. The EU’s so-called carbon border adjustment mechanism — a tax on goods such as fertilizer, cement, iron, steel, and aluminum entering the bloc — will fully kick in come 2026. While the measure is meant to encourage companies to adopt better clean-energy technology and discourage the production of such goods outside the EU, nations including South Africa argue it shifts the burden for climate action to poorer regions.”

South Africa Seeks EU Talks on Carbon Tax It Says Hurts BRICS
Articolo – Bloomberg

“Many of the elections taking place worldwide this year have essential implications for the global energy transition and climate goals. Venezuela’s upcoming presidential contest is one of them. Moreover, the country is losing out on significant investment opportunities given its lack of action on climate and the environment. The vote on July 28 is about hope for a better future for the 30 million Venezuelans who have experienced a complex humanitarian crisis, unprecedented economic collapse outside of a war zone, and systemic violation of human rights. The country’s environmental record might seem trivial in the face of the Venezuelan people’s suffering. However, the repercussions of another six years of the current regime’s energy and environmental policies matter greatly for global climate goals, given the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. They also matter for the nation’s economic prospects–climate policy should be seen as a tool, not an obstacle, in the country’s recovery from an economic and humanitarian debacle.”

In Venezuela’s Election, Energy and Climate Policies Are Also at Stake
Articolo – Americas Quarterly

“U.S. power plant operators generated 6.9 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity from natural gas on a daily basis in the Lower 48 states on July 9, 2024, probably the most in history and certainly since at least January 1, 2019, when we began to collect hourly data about natural gas generation.”

Natural gas electricity generation in the United States spiked with July heatwave
Analisi – EIA
Kimberly Peterson, Chris Peterson

“Resource-rich nations such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda—which produce minerals ranging from coltan, cobalt, gold, tungsten, and tantalum, to tin (3TG)—hold tremendous importance in the global supply chains. The DRC produces 70% of global cobalt production, while its neighbor, Rwanda, generates around 30% of Tantalum. Yet as dominating as these numbers may be, mining these critical minerals is plagued with internal and cross-border conflicts, worsening conditions for local communities. Thus, the two countries face significant challenges to govern and satisfy this increasing global appetite for transition minerals.”

Going Beyond “Conflict-free”: Transition Minerals Governance in DRC and Rwanda
Analisi – New Security Beat

“Despite the rapid expansion of renewables, the huge growth of electricity demand in key economies indicates the world’s consumption of coal will stay largely stable this year and next. Global coal demand is set to remain broadly unchanged in both 2024 and 2025 as surging electricity demand in some major economies offsets the impacts of a gradual recovery in hydropower and the rapid expansion of solar and wind, according to the IEA’s latest update on coal market trends worldwide.”

Global coal demand is set to remain broadly flat through 2025
Report – IEA

della stessa rubrica
5 spunti per approfondire (30/2024), 26 luglio
5 spunti per approfondire (29/2024), 19 luglio
5 spunti per approfondire (28/2024), 12 luglio