There has been a lot of news in these first weeks of January. For climate, the fact that US emissions rose 6%, while not unexpected, reinforces the stakes for all of our work.
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Hi John,
There has been a lot of news in these first weeks of January. For climate, the fact that US emissions rose 6%, while not unexpected, reinforces the stakes for all of our work. In this week’s newsletter, we take a look at some of the emerging trends that we think will influence the conversation and policy in 2022 to get emissions headed back in the correct direction.
1. US Emissions Rise 6% in 2021
US greenhouse gas emissions rose
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6% in 2021 after falling 10% in 2020. It’s sobering news, but it’s to be expecte
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d
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. We knew emissions would increase again as the economy recovered from initial COVID shutdowns.
The news is a reminder that our climate strategy must include a focus on reducing emissions from hard-to-abate sectors like industry and heavy transportation.
Transportation, for example, accounts for the largest percentage of US emissions, about 29%
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. Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, shipping, rail, and aviation account for nearly 40% of that chunk, meaning finding low-carbon solutions for these modes of transportation is just as important as deploying light-duty and passenger EVs.
Similarly, emissions from heavy industrial processes, like steel and cement production, are on the rise. Estimates show industry emissions will surpass the transportation and power sectors by the end of the century.
Even though we don’t often think of heavy-duty transport and industrial processes when we think of climate action, Congress must act to curb emissions from these sectors if we want to reach our climate goals. Investing in alternative, low-carbon fuels
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for heavy transport and supporting clean procurement
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and carbon transparency
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for industrial emissions are two solutions we’ve discussed in-depth and will continue to work on this year.
2. Black and Latino Sentiment on Climate Change and the Clean Energy Transition
This week, we published the results of polling
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we conducted with WE ACT for Environmental Justice and GreenLatinos on how voters in Black and Latino communities perceive climate change. One of our biggest takeaways was that while respondents feel the impact of climate change firsthand, they are more focused on economic and public health demand issues in their communities. Of the Black and Latino communities surveyed, tackling climate change (6%) and investing in our crumbling infrastructure (5%) were low-ranking concerns compared to other issues such as improving our economy and creating jobs (23%) and handling the coronavirus (16%).
The majority of individuals polled do believe climate change poses a serious threat to their livelihoods and future generations. To mobilize action, however, policymakers and advocacy groups need to do a better job connecting climate and clean energy policies to the everyday lived experiences of Black and Latino communities. Localizing the impact of a clean energy transition at the community-level is a key strategy to engage these communities. Black and Latino voters aren’t just GOTV voters, and their communities deserve lasting, durable climate and clean energy policies.
Read through coverage of our results in TIME Magazine here
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3. Growing Pains: Oklo’s Advanced Reactor Application
Last week, we learned that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission denied
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Oklo Power’s plan to construct a 1.5MW advanced nuclear reactor in Idaho. While the news is disappointing, new technologies have growing pains and it’s natural to encounter speed bumps on the road to deployment.
We’re still digging into the decision to understand exactly what occurred. The NRC is currently undergoing modernization to shift from a regulatory model designed for conventional, large light water reactors to something well suited for advanced reactors.
One of our top priorities this year is to ensure the NRC is modernized so that it is institutionally, in its leadership committed, and has the right resources to effectively evaluate advanced nuclear applications. , We discussed this issue in depth with nuclear policy experts and three former NRC commissioners last month at Forging Near-Term Pathways for Licensing Advanced Reactors
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4. Nuclear in Europe
Earlier this week, the Czech government announced
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its plans to phase out coal by 2033 and expand its nuclear capacity to secure its energy independence and reduce its carbon footprint. The Czech Republic’s announcement is one in a long string of commitments
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coming out of the EU and UK that have embraced nuclear energy’s role in curbing emissions and decarbonizing the power and industry sectors:
The European Commission
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included nuclear power as a climate-friendly investment in its draft proposal for its sustainable finance taxonomy.
President Macron announced France
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would invest $35 billion in hydrogen and advanced nuclear power in an attempt to revitalize France’s industrial sector and deploy carbon-free electricity to meet its climate goals.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has committed to carbon-free power in the UK
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by 2035, with existing nuclear and small modular reactors playing an important role in the UK’s decarbonization pathway.
Romania
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is constructing a first-of-its-kind small modular reactor with the help of US-based company NuScale.
Countries rapidly coming around on nuclear energy recognize the climate, energy security, and economic benefits of nuclear power. Not only does nuclear energy help set countries on a faster path to decarbonization, it reduces countries’ reliance on imported natural gas that often has political strings attached, and presents an opportunity to invest in an emerging industry that will bring new jobs and strong economic benefits to these countries’ workers.
The market for advanced nuclear technologies
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is rapidly expanding. With the right policies and investments, the US can capitalize on growing demand to build out advanced nuclear technologies to strengthen our global competitiveness and capture the market for this emerging industry.
5. What We’re Reading
Grist’s Nathanael Johnson
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reports on how an increasing number of activists are embracing the importance of preserving our existing nuclear fleet in our efforts to reduce emissions and tackle climate change. He also does a deep-dive into the debate surrounding the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in California.
Margie Omero, Kristin Soltis Anderson, and Patrick Healy
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moderated focus groups of Democratic and Republican voters for NYT Opinion to discuss the state of American democracy. The moderators gauged these voters’ response to the January 6th attack and what they’re hoping to see in the 2024 election.
Kyle Stock and Dorothy Gambrell
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cover the expansion of America’s EV market in Bloomberg News, citing the US automakers who have revealed new EVs this year. The new lineup expected to hit the streets in the US include 14 SUVs, a van, and four pickup trucks. As our own Alex Laska
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told Washington Examiner this week: “People really like their SUVs and their pickups, and for a long time, if you were looking at the sort of electric vehicles that were offered, there were not a lot of those available. We're going to be seeing these sort of larger passenger vehicles electrify over the next few years.”
Let’s keep the conversation going,
Carly Berke
Climate and Energy Press Coordinator | Third Way
818.422.2759 :: @ThirdWayEnergy
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Jared DeWese
Senior Communications Advisor | Third Way
202.427.3709 :: @jareddewese
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Mary Sagatelova
Communications and Content Advisor | Third Way
216.394.7615 :: @MarySagatelova
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