Category: Net Zero Emissions

A solar-energy trade dispute erupts at exactly the wrong time 5/17/2022

A solar-energy trade dispute erupts at exactly the wrong time

Payne Institute Communications Associate Simon Lomax and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how a complaint by a California company is tanking production just when we need it most — and could delay Xcel’s exit from coal.  Colorado’s coal phase out hasn’t happened yet – and it won’t happen without the continued construction of new power sources to take the place of old power sources when they are due to shut down. Actions that slow down or stop these construction projects, however well intentioned, only increase the risk of failure.  May 17, 2022.  

First-of-its kind project in Colorado will bury 350,000 tons of planet-warming carbon that would have been released into the air 5/12/2022

First-of-its kind project in Colorado will bury 350,000 tons of planet-warming carbon that would have been released into the air

Payne Institute Program Manager Anna Littlefield contributed to this article about how the Colorado company Carbon America announced what it says will be the state’s first commercial-scale projects to capture and store carbon dioxide — the harmful and long-lasting greenhouse gas — before it’s released into the air.  Carbon America will build and operate a new system that siphons off carbon dioxide produced at the Sterling and Yuma ethanol plants in northeastern Colorado. The gas will then be pumped through pipelines and stored in a saline aquifer almost a mile underground.  May 13, 2022.

 

Satellite Data Offers a Broad Array of Policy Insights 5/12/2022

Satellite Data Offers a Broad Array of Policy Insights

Payne Institute Communications Associate Chris Dunn and Director Morgan Bazilian summarize how satellite data is rapidly growing in importance for informing crucial policy decisions. Insights offered fall into one of three main categories: energy security and assessment, emissions and environment, and human and national security. May 12, 2022.

Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2022 5/11/2022

Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2022

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian contributed to this World Economic Forum report on how the global energy transition builds on the trends from the Energy Transition Index to provide perspective on the current challenges and recommendations on how to navigate the transition through a turbulent macroeconomic and geopolitical environment. A series of compounded shocks pose short-term risks to energy affordability, sustainability, and energy security. However, the window to prevent the worst consequences of climate change is closing fast.  May 11, 2022.

Corporate ESG Commitments are Gaining Popularity. Can They be Trusted?

Corporate ESG Commitments are Gaining Popularity. Can They be Trusted?

Payne Institute Communications Associate Elsa Barron, Payne Institute Program Manager Jordy Lee, and Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian write about the growing concerns about the long-term sustainability of many industries have led to big changes in approaches to corporate strategies and management. Pressure from financiers is adding to the momentum. Concerns about climate related financial risks and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data, have helped create demand from bankers for companies to show that they are actively working towards global climate goals.  May 9, 2022. 

Location, Location, Low-Carbon: How Climate is Changing the Holy Trinity of Real Estate 5/6/2022

Location, Location, Low-Carbon: How Climate is Changing the Holy Trinity of Real Estate

Payne Institute Communications Associate Simon Lomax writes about how the cardinal rule for real estate used to be location, location, location, but now he is confident the new trinity that drives value in the real estate sector: location, location, low-carbon.  Location remains critically important, but for a growing number of real estate firms, so is climate change and speeding up the world’s transition to a zero-carbon energy system.  May 6, 2022. 

Here’s how Colorado oil and gas companies say they are getting to net-zero emissions 4/20/2022

Here’s how Colorado oil and gas companies say they are getting to net-zero emissions

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian contributes to this article about how companies are going public with their climate goals using ESG (the E stands for Environment), as mindful investors push for change. But as sustainability funds thrive, what does “E” really mean?  April 20, 2022.

Ukraine War Gives U.S. LNG Chance to Shed Fracked-Gas Stigma

Ukraine War Gives U.S. LNG Chance to Shed Fracked-Gas Stigma

The Payne Institute Earth Observation Group provided the satellite data science the experts and employees of Cheniere Energy Inc., the largest U.S. exporter of natural gas, used for their high-stakes campaign to show Europe that as it abandons Russian gas, it can substitute the American variety without fear. Their job is to find the most efficient leak detecting system.  April 19, 2022.