Global Climate News

In Latin America, there has been a rapid increase in zero-emission public transport projects. Santiago has 2,480 electric buses and plans to add 1,200 more by 2025, while Bogotá has decided to allow only zero-emission buses in its BRT system from 2022 and already has 1,486 electric buses. The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), through the ZEBRA initiative, supported two pilot projects in Medellín's transport system between February and May 2023, focusing on addressing technological, organizational, and regulatory challenges in scaling electric bus services.

US-based researchers at the University of Houston and collaborators in France have developed a new material for sodium-ion batteries, sodium vanadium phosphate (NaxV2(PO4)3), that increases energy density by more than 15%, to 458 watt-hours per kilogram. This makes sodium-ion batteries a more sustainable and affordable alternative to lithium-ion batteries due to sodium's lower cost and abundance. The new material's unique properties allow for a continuous voltage of 3.7 volts, improving efficiency.

The UK Office for National Statistics has released real-time indicators tracking various energy and transportation metrics including shipping activity, automotive fuel demand, electricity prices, gas prices, and flight numbers. The data provides daily and weekly insights into energy consumption patterns and transportation activities across Great Britain and the UK.

Switzerland-based ETH Zurich has made several breakthrough developments in climate and sustainability technologies in 2024. These include a new light-based CO2 capture solution, improved lithium metal batteries for EVs, a solar thermal trap for high-temperature industrial processes, efficient rare earth metal recovery from e-waste, and an iron-ore based hydrogen storage system. The university has also found that direct air carbon capture remains twice as expensive as previously estimated.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has granted California waivers to implement its Advanced Clean Cars II and Low NOx rules for trucks vehicle emissions standards. These standards will help California and other adopting states address air pollution and climate challenges by reducing tailpipe emissions and transitioning to cleaner vehicles. This builds on California's 57-year history of receiving EPA waivers for vehicle emission standards.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has implemented a Gasoline Sulfur program that uses tradable credits to help refiners and importers comply with reduced sulfur content limits in gasoline (from 30ppm to 10ppm). In 2023, suppliers continued to draw down the credit bank by 70 billion credits (27% reduction), following a 40% reduction in 2022, indicating increasing pressure on refiners to meet stricter environmental standards.

US-based SK Innovation, SK On, and SK Battery America secured a $9.63 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy for BlueOval SK, a joint venture with Ford Motor Company, to construct three battery manufacturing plants in Tennessee and Kentucky, enabling up to 120 gigawatt hours of battery production annually.

US-based BlueOval SK LLC received a $9.63 billion loan from the Department of Energy to construct three manufacturing plants in Tennessee and Kentucky for electric vehicle batteries. The project, a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and Korea's SK On, aims to produce over 120 gigawatt hours of batteries annually, creating up to 7,500 jobs and supporting the US EV industry.

US-based Bosch has signed a preliminary memorandum of terms with the U.S. Department of Commerce to receive up to $225 million in funding under the CHIPS and Science Act. This investment supports Bosch's $1.9 billion project to expand its semiconductor manufacturing facility in Roseville, California, creating up to 1,700 jobs. The project will enhance the production of silicon carbide semiconductors, crucial for electric vehicles and other industries.