Reflections from Jen
Studies, reports, press releases and story pitches about emissions overtook my inbox this week. Since we covered some, but not all, of the news in this arena, I thought I’d include a quick round-up of what I saw when culling through my accumulated email from the week.
Reported on EL and EMT
- United Airlines announced a major emissions reductions pledge, and JetBlue followed along with an announcement about flights using renewable jet fuel.
- Maryland officials announced plans to appeal an EPA decision to deny the state’s efforts to reduce emissions from 36 power plants in five upwind states.
- The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has preliminarily awarded $41 million to the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) for the Zero-Emission and Near Zero-Emission Freight Facilities project.
And Beyond…
- A new MIT study, published this month in Atmospheric Environment, found that in Europe, 10 major auto manufacturers produced diesel cars, sold between 2000 and 2015, that generate up to 16 times more emissions on the road than in regulatory tests. The study quantified the health impacts in Europe of excess NOx emissions – emissions that were not accounted for in standard vehicle testing but are produced in actual driving conditions. They found that overall, diesel cars produce up to 16 times more NOx emissions on the road than in lab tests.
- Con Edison announced earlier this week that one of its subsidiaries has agreed to acquire a Sempra Energy subsidiary that owns 981 megawatts (MW) AC of operating renewable electric production projects, and certain development rights for additional solar electric production and energy storage projects. The acquisition will increase Con Edison’s utility-scale, renewable energy production portfolio to approximately 2,600 MW AC, of which 85% is solar and 15% is wind. The energy produced will avoid approximately 5.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Renewable energy is the fastest growing source of the country’s supply of electricity, John McAvoy, chairman and CEO of Con Edison, pointed out.
- And the European Commission said earlier this week (via Ars Technica) that it is opening an investigation into the possibility that Volkswagen Group, BMW, and Daimler colluded to avoid competition on developing the best possible emissions control technology.
Keep the updates coming, have a great weekend and, as always, stay in touch.
Jen
Jennifer Hermes Nastu, Content Director
Jen@businesssectormedia.com
