Plus: $23B launches new Chinese EV maker; more on circular economy
Hi Everyone,
First of all, Happy Father’s Day to all of you Dad’s.
I know this may be hard, but I’m giving you 2 weeks before my next update to watch a feature length documentary on The Third Industrial Revolution. This is one you’re going to want to watch. Many of the technological and social developments that I’ve talked about are represented here, but Jeremy Rifkin connects the dots in a way I hadn’t yet heard – and compelling at that. His call to the millennial generation is of particular note. Do not underestimate the importance of the message. This is not something you will come across in mainstream media, nor, I suspect in many universities. His message could alter public discourse in time and materially so. Have I pumped it up enough? OK, then. Watch the video. Tell me what you think.
Watch for the next Energy Shift update on June 30th. Have a great couple weeks!
Thanks,
Peter
The Third Industrial Revolution
What is a circular economy, and can it stop fashion trashing the planet? | Dazed
Excerpt: While many of its big players have already signed a commitment to circularity, what’s missing from the conversation is a way of ensuring brands have a clear incentive to recover and recycle their goods after they’re sold. As things stand, a radical new model of consumption seems like the only viable way we will be able to reduce our carbon imprint while still making and wearing new clothes.
Comment: The message ties into a key theme of the the video above – the sharing economy. More and more companies will be turning to sell ‘services’ rather than ‘products’. We already see mobility as a service in the ride-sharing of Uber and Lyft. This is also moving into clothing with a number of young companies offering clothing ‘subscriptions’. Product stewardship will be a key driver, with it showing up in myriad ways of varying degrees of circularity: ‘take-back’ models, right-to-repair, etc. What does all this have to do with energy? The less ending up in landfills, products lasting longer, materials finding new lives – all this uses less energy.
Canada wants to ban single-use plastics. Here’s how that works in Europe | Global News
Excerpt: Under the implementation of the ban, the following list of single-use plastic items will no longer be available in European Union member states:
- Single-use plastic cutlery (forks, knives, spoons and chopsticks)
- Single-use plastic plates
- Plastic straws
- Cotton bud sticks made of plastic
- Plastic balloon sticks
- Oxo-degradable plastics and food containers and expanded polystyrene cups
According to a European Commission press release about the ban, those 10 commonly used items make up roughly 70 per cent of marine litter.
Exclusive: India plans to order taxi aggregators like Uber, Ola to go electric – documents | Reuters
Excerpt: Uber and Ola, both backed by Softbank Group, would need to start converting their fleet as early as next year to achieve 2.5% electrification by 2021, 5% by 2022, 10% by 2023 before hiking it to 40% by 2026, according to the person and the records reviewed by Reuters.
Some other stories of interest…
- Chinese firm makes insane $23 billion investment in production of 1 million EVs/yr and 500 GWh of batteries | Electrek
- China’s Father of Electric Cars Says Hydrogen Is the Future | Bloomberg
- World’s biggest sovereign wealth fund to ditch fossil fuels | The Guardian
- What solar can really do: SolarEdge’s augmented reality demo in three scenarios | Energy Storage News
- Connecticut going after 30% from offshore wind – 2,000MW | MRT.com
- Iberdrola plans massive 590MW solar plant in Spain – Europe’s largest | RenewEconomy