THIS WEEK

The world may be warming faster than we thought, the electric transition is coming to a worksite near you, and how clean is your EV?
(If you live in Canada, probably very clean.)

CITIES

How cities can take the lead on climate

While a number of countries and provinces continue to debate what they will—or won't—do to fight humanity's greatest threat, cities are increasingly taking steps to transition away from fossil fuels completely. Case in point: just last week, Saskatchewan's capital city, Regina, pledged to be 100% renewable by 2050.

It's not the first Canadian city to make this kind of promise. Ten Canadian cities—including Vancouver, Edmonton, and Guelph—have similar 100% renewable ambitions. And they're in good company. Nearly 50 million Americans—spread over two states, 84 cities, and nine counties—now live in places with 100% renewable goals (see map below).

As Regina city councillor Andrew Stevens told CBC, "People at all levels of government should be taking climate change seriously.... It's not just about fearing climate change, it's about doing something about it."

And now for some bad news

The world may be warming faster than we thought. A new bombshell study published last week in Nature revealed that our oceans have retained 60% more heat every year than scientists previously believed. In other words, we may need to act even faster to cut carbon pollution.

Reforging the mining industry

BHP is considering upgrading a 240-vehicle fleet at a major Australian mining operation to all electric versions—and it's not alone. Currently, just 1% of vehicles at mining sites are electric, but miners are increasingly looking to electrify their operations and cut emissions. Including here in Canada, now home to an entirely electric underground mine operated by Goldcorp.

How clean is your EV, really?

You may have heard that electric car drivers are just as guilty of polluting—only they're doing so through the power grid. That really depends on the grid, and even a coal-powered EV is slightly cleaner than a gas car. But good news: more than 80% of Canada’s power comes from non-polluting sources. And unlike gas cars, which never get cleaner, the same EV gets cleaner over time as the grid improves.

How worried should we be about Bitcoin?

Point: A new study says Bitcoin—which already uses the energy of a small country as people mine the currency with computers—could seriously worsen climate change. Counterpoint: The study ignores the rise in renewables, the decline of coal, and other important trends.

Are Canadians warming back up to carbon pricing?

Following the federal government's announcement that its carbon price will be revenue-neutral, public approval appears to be up. A new poll from Angus Reid found that 54% of Canadians support pricing pollution, a significant nine points up from July's approval rating. In other news, carbon pricing could lead to more EVs and hybrids—which is something Canadians want.

It's a bird, it's a plane—it's... still a plane, but...

... it's electric and non-polluting! Which is what will truly save this world—no offence, Superman. The key: a special battery (something something magnetic fields) that can produce a boost of power strong enough to get a big plane off the ground and into the air.

Everything really is going electric

Next up: construction vehicles. Hyundai and Cummins partnered up to produce an all-electric excavator, the prototype for which was shown off last week. Take a look below. That's the future for you: same on the outside, better under the hood.

Trump's fuel efficiency rollback has a math problem

This Atlantic article sums it up best: "The administration's clean-cars rollback is riddled with errors. In one case, it forgot to divide by four. In another, it accidentally deleted 700 billion miles of driving." But click the link and keep reading.

Markets in need of solutions

For one B.C. firm specializing in solar technology, the market down south has sunnier prospects. While B.C. is powered by relatively affordable, clean hydro power, a number of states have higher costs and dirtier grids, ripe for solutions. It's an opportunity for innovators like this guy.

Clean Energy Review is sponsored in part by Genus Capital Management, a leading provider of fossil-fuel-free investments.

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IMAGE & MEDIA CREDITS

Images: Tintaggon/Wikimedia, Sierra Club (map), Hyundai

Clean Energy Review is a weekly digest of climate and clean energy news and insight from across Canada and around the world.

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