News Archive - Monthly Archives: January 2021

Amazon delivers on renewable energy

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Multinational tech company, Amazon, has come out top of the 2020 list of 130 corporate renewable energy buyers, according to BloombergNEF.

It purchased 7.5 gigawatts – around a third of the total of green energy purchased by the companies tracked. Google and Facebook came next, with French oil giant Total also featuring prominently.

Amazon has pledged to invest in wind and solar plants moving forward to maintain its position at the forefront of the fight against climate change.

By upscaling its purchase of renewable energy and generating their own, Amazon hopes to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its business by 2040. 

“Amazon is helping fight climate change by moving quickly to power our businesses with renewable energy,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder and CEO.

“With a total of 127 solar and wind projects, Amazon is now the biggest corporate buyer of renewable energy ever. We are on a path to running 100% of our business on renewable energy by 2025—five years ahead of our original target of 2030.

“This is just one of the many steps we’re taking that will help us meet our Climate Pledge. I couldn’t be more proud of all the teams across Amazon that continue to work hard, smart, and fast to get these projects up and running.”

USA set to undergo climate change U-turn under President Biden

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For so long carbon has been relied upon as the main energy source to fuel the US economy. But under new US President Joe Biden, who is officially inaugurated into the position on Wednesday, an eye-watering $2trillion will be invested in green initiatives including renewable energy.

While his predecessor Donald Trump ignored the experts and failed to address climate change issues and knocked back green legislation, Biden is determined to put in measures that will enable the US to become carbon free by 2050.

Infrastructure to enhance the electric vehicle market will include 500,000 new public charging outlets by the end of 2030, while a target of reducing the carbon footprint of the US building stock 50% by 2035 is to be put in place.

From his first day of office, Biden says public companies will be required to disclose climate-related financial risks and the greenhouse gas emissions in their operations and supply chains.

Also on his staggering ‘to-do’ list is a desire to re-join the 2015 Paris Climate Accord.

Image by BarBus from Pixabay

Inaugural Net Zero Awareness Week announced

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An annual government-back official national awareness week for all things net zero will take place for the first time this coming summer, from 14-20 June.

Greg Clark MP is an ambassador for the week and is the former Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy.

Greg was in the post when the government signed the UN Paris Agreement in 2016 and was responsible for the groundwork in achieving the net zero legislation that became law in 2019.

“Climate change is the single greatest challenge facing mankind. The UK is leading the world in rising to this challenge and can take pride in being a nation that is not just showing ambition but one which holds a record to match,” he said.

“We all have a stake in this and I applaud the efforts of individuals, organisations and initiatives like Net Zero WeekTM in highlighting the importance of this vital work.”

Reaching net zero will require many new measures, innovative solutions, aggressive government policies and plenty of human effort both at work and at home.

Net Zero Week™ will take place four months before the UK hosts the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in November 2021 Glasgow.

Net Zero Week™ forms a focal point generating awareness and much needed momentum for businesses and consumers just starting the journey to decarbonise and acts as an information hub for those well on their way.

The week has widespread support across the industry with over 25 associations currently partnering the initiative, and many more finalising their support.

The national awareness week offers all stakeholders a dedicated platform to voice opinions, share evidence, explore strategy, and highlight solutions in our shared journey towards net zero.

The content will be split into two distinct areas – business and consumer. The business section will be content-led aimed at professionals that require insight, evidence based material, and thought-leadership articles to aid them in their task of decarbonising their organisation no matter what role they have.

The consumer section will be more advice driven, exploring lifestyle choices and their direct benefits. The website www.netzeroweek.com will be launching in February 2021.

Source: ESTA

2021 set to be bumper year for green energy

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An even stronger year for renewable energy is being predicted in 2021, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Renewables generation grew by almost 7% in 2020 despite the steep fall in global demand for energy caused by the economic upheaval related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Power generation from wind, solar and hydro sources soared and with continued investment in green technology, the IEA predicts the uptrend will continue over the next 12 months.

The IEA reports that renewable capacity additions are on track for a record expansion of nearly 10% in 2021, leading to the fastest growth since 2015.

It cites the commissioning of delayed projects in markets where construction and supply chains were disrupted during lockdown as one of the key factors behind this.

India is expected to be the largest contributor to the renewables upswing in 2021, with the country’s annual additions almost doubling from 2020.

Looking a little further afield, the IEA forecasts that total installed wind and solar PV capacity is on course to surpass natural gas in 2023 and coal in 2024 as countries strive towards meeting decarbonisation targets.