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Originally published on the NRDC Expert Blog.
By Mitchell Bernard

Today’s unemployment numbers out of Washington affirm what the country’s experiencing on Main Street: a grinding climb from a devastating pandemic that’s taking a continuing toll on the economic security of our people. It’s great news that unemployment is falling. But 9.3 million Americans remain out of work.

President Biden has proposed the right remedy — the American Jobs Plan, a comprehensive package of strategic public investment that weds climate action to equitable recovery and puts people back to work in every community.

This is a bold vision for strong, lasting, and broad-based recovery. It sets the table for a generation of prosperity and progress. It means cleaner, healthier communities, both urban and rural. As the plan makes its way through Congress, it’s time for all of us to rally around it.

The American Jobs Plan is a stirring vote of confidence in the nation’s future. It’s built on the belief that U.S. workers can out-compete anyone in the world when given a fighting chance. That’s what this plan does.

It sets us on the path to 100 percent clean electricity by 2035 — wiping out nearly a third of the dangerous carbon pollution that’s driving the climate crisis — by helping to clean up the nation’s power sector.

It speeds the transition to electric cars and trucks with zero tailpipe emissions, expands sustainable transit options for those who need them most, and reconnects urban neighborhoods divided for decades by misguided highway routes.

It protects our communities from the risks and toxic pollution from more than 3.1 million abandoned oil and gas wells and coal mines, by capping and cleaning up these idled fossil fuel sites as we shift to cleaner, smarter ways to power our future.

And it ends the ongoing and unacceptable exposure to hazardous drinking water in as many as 10 million American homes, by replacing lead pipes and service lines with safe and modern alternatives, while upgrading wastewater, drinking water, and stormwater systems nationwide.

These are essential national priorities. Cleaning up our dirty cars, trucks, and power plants. Capping abandoned wells and mines. Getting the lead out of our drinking water.

Combined with other vital work, such as rebuilding aging bridges, roads, and ports, this investment will create or sustain 15 million jobs over the coming decade, a Georgetown University analysis shows, including 8 million for workers that require only a high school education or less.

These are good-paying jobs for welders, carpenters, truck drivers, electricians, steelworkers, and others, including those who want the collective bargaining opportunities that come from belonging to a union.

The clean energy sector offers multiple advantages: It pays 25 percent more than the average job for some 3 million workers who help to make our homes, cars, and workplaces more efficient; it builds electric and low-emission cars, trucks, and parts; it gets more clean power from the wind and sun; and it modernizes the grid and storage system we depend on for reliable power.

That’s core work in the American Jobs Plan. It’s how we roll up our sleeves and make good on Biden’s pledge to cut the U.S. carbon footprint in half by 2030, so we can stop adding carbon pollution to the atmosphere altogether by 2050.

That’s what the science tells us must happen — at home and abroad — if we’re to avert the worst of a climate crisis that last year alone inflicted more than $95 billion in damage nationwide, while combining with fossil fuel pollution to impose another $820 billion in health-care costs on our people.

Confronting this costly crisis will be the economic play of our lifetime, with clean energy investments set to attract more than $11 trillion in global capital in the space of this generation alone.

The American Jobs Plan will help make the United States a clean energy superpower — and make U.S. companies and workers the winners in the global clean energy sweepstakes.

The plan includes investments to plus-up research and investment in critical new technologies; support innovation to make U.S. factories more efficient; strengthen the domestic supply chain for the next generation of wind, solar, and battery technology; and expand training for workers looking to transition out of fading industries like fossil fuels and into more promising opportunities elsewhere.

Strengthening our economy. Putting our people back to work. Cleaning up toxic pollution that threatens our health. Standing up to the mounting costs and growing dangers of climate change.

These are the pillars of the American Jobs Plan — strategic investment that’s paid for by asking fossil fuel companies, other corporations, and those earning more than $400,000 a year to pay their fair share to support the kind of progress that’s enabled them to thrive. Investing in efficiency, meanwhile, will enable us to do more with less waste in our homes, workplaces and cars, cutting energy costs for our families and businesses.

Small wonder, then, that the plan is supported by nearly two-thirds of the country.

The American Jobs Plan accomplishes one thing more: It addresses what the pandemic has made all the more urgent.

A modern plague that has killed 600,000 people across the United States alone, the coronavirus pandemic has upended the lives of us all. No one is surprised to learn who’s suffered most: primarily the same low-income communities and people of color for whom the pandemic has only worsened long-festering inequities in education and employment opportunities, housing, and health care.

The American Jobs Plan is designed to address those inequities head-on. It’s tailored to deliver 40 percent of the economic, environmental, and health benefits of this strategic climate and clean energy investment to the same historically disadvantaged communities that bear a disproportionate share of the burden of environmental hazard and harm.

The American Jobs Plan is the grand strategy the country needs — and we need it now. The 2022 federal budget Biden proposed last week includes a down payment on this eight-year investment plan, with early investment to jump-start the progress it’s meant to ensure.

Now, it’s our turn to rally around this hopeful vision of a cleaner, healthier, more prosperous future for a nation united behind the climate action that can power a strong, just, and equitable recovery for every family, in every community, across this land.


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BYD’s new 3,000 hp electric supercar puts Ferrari to shame

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BYD's new 3,000 hp electric supercar puts Ferrari to shame

BYD claims its new EV supercar has “the world’s strongest horsepower” after showing it off for the first time. The Yangwang U9 02 test car packs nearly 3,000 hp, and it’s coming for Ferrari.

Meet the 3,000 hp BYD Yangwang U9 02 EV supercar

China’s EV leader is at it again. In a trailer that resembled a promotional video for a new Fast and Furious movie, BYD unveiled the new Yangwang U9 02 for the first time.

BYD boasted its new Yangwang EV supercar has “the world’s strongest horsepower of over 3,000 Ps,” or just under 3,000 hp.

The trailer builds hype as the garage doors slowly rise, unveiling the Yangwang U9 with a white “02” badge on the hood. From the back, you can see the test car is designed for maximum performance with vortex generators, a small lip spoiler, and other added elements for better aerodynamics.

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BYD is keeping most details secret for now, but we do know it’s looking to break another global record. The video was accompanied by the caption “#GlobalElectricCarSpeedNewRecord.”

The new test car comes after BYD announced the Yangwang U9 Track Edition model set a new global speed record for electric vehicles just last month, after hitting a ridiculous 472.41 km/h, or around 293 mph.

After the milestone, BYD said it was “the first time a Chinese domestic brand achieved a world record in this field.” Now, it looks like BYD is gunning for even more.

BYD-3,000-hp-EV-supercar
The BYD Yangwang U9 Track Edition model (Source: BYD)

The Yangwang U9 Track Edition features the world’s first mass-produced 1,200V ultra-high-volt platform. It uses the same e4 platform and DiSus-X architecture, enabling it to “dance” and jump over obstacles.

BYD said its quad-motor system is the first in the world rated at 30,000 rpm, delivering a combined output of over 3,000 PS (2,959 hp).

BYD-3,000-hp-EV-supercar
Inside the Yangwang U9 electric supercar (Source: BYD)

With a power-to-weight ratio of 1,217 PS per tonne, the Yangwang U9 Track Edition outmuscles most hypercars today.

We should learn more about the Yangwang U9 02 soon. Check back for an official launch date, final specs, and pricing.

The Yangwang U9 starts at just 1,680,000 yuan in China, or around $233,000. Although it may sound pricey compared to most of BYD’s low-cost EVs, the EV supercar is still about half the price of a Ferrari SF90 Stradale. Not only is it faster, it’s also much more advanced, packing BYD’s highest level technology and software.

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Waymo is expanding robotaxi operations to Nashville through a partnership with Lyft

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Waymo is expanding robotaxi operations to Nashville through a partnership with Lyft

Fully autonomous technology developer Waymo announced a new partnership with rideshare network Lyft to offer driverless robotaxi rides to customers in Nashville, Tennessee.

As promised, robotaxi developer Waymo is expanding its Waymo One service to more and more cities around the US. Before today’s expansion news to Nashville, Waymo already operated autonomous vehicles in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix.

During a $5.6 billion Series C funding announcement in 2024, the mobility company detailed plans to expand Waymo-One rideshare services to additional US cities, including Miami, Florida, Austin, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia, in 2025 through an ongoing partnership with Uber.

Most recently, Waymo announced additional expansion plans in Dallas through a new partnership with Avis, which will handle fleet maintenance in the region. Today, Waymo has confirmed yet another partner in Lyft, which will assist in offering riders in Nashville convenient robotaxi rides

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Robotaxi Nashville
Source: Lyft

Lyft to begin Waymo robotaxi rides in Nashville next year

This morning, both Lyft and Waymo published press releases outlining their new partnership, which will enable public robotaxi rides around the musical streets of Nashville as early as next year. Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana spoke about the new partnership:

We’re delighted to partner with Lyft and launch in Nashville next year, as we continue to scale our Waymo ride-hailing service to more people in more places. Lyft’s extensive fleet management capabilities through Flexdrive make them an ideal partner for expanding to Nashville. We can’t wait to introduce Music City’s residents and visitors to the convenient, consistent, safe, and magical Waymo experience.

To begin, Waymo says it intends to begin deploying its robotaxi vehicles in Music City in the coming months. From there, public rides will start with the help of Lyft’s fleet management subsidiary, Flexdrive. Per Waymo, Nashville riders will initially be able to hail a robotaxi from the company’s app, which will eventually expand to the Lyft app. Lyft CEO David Risher also commented:

This partnership brings together best-in-class autonomous vehicles with best-in-class customer experience. Waymo has proven that its autonomous technology works at scale. When combined with Lyft’s customer-obsession and world-class fleet management capabilities, it’s two great tastes that go great together.

Watch for the Waymo One robotaxis around Nashville in the coming months!

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Abu Dhabi’s XRG withdraws $19 billion offer for Australia’s Santos

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Abu Dhabi’s XRG withdraws  billion offer for Australia’s Santos

The Santos Ltd. Logo atop Santos Place building, which houses the company’s office, in Brisbane, Australia, on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Abu Dhabi’s National Oil Company has walked away from its $19 billion offer for Australia’s Santos, ending months of speculation over what would have been one of the country’s largest energy deals.

The consortium, which includes Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ and investment firm Carlyle, made the $19 billion indicative offer for Santos in June, but confirmed on Wednesday that it will not proceed with a binding takeover.

“It’s over,” a source familiar with the matter told CNBC. “The reality is, during the process, Santos was inflexible,” the source added. CNBC understands the XRG-led consortium had key concerns around value, tax, and the timeliness of disclosure. 

The source also described the Santos negotiation team as “unrealistic” and said that this was “not the outcome” Abu Dhabi’s XRG was hoping for. 

XRG said a “combination of factors” derailed its third attempt at securing Santos, which Abu Dhabi had hoped would bolster its ambitions to export LNG into the Asia markets. It’s understood other issues, such as a lack of communication and inflexibility over capital gains tax, and recent media reports over environmental risks that the consortium was not previously aware of, were part of the broader issues that derailed the deal. 

Although talks with Santos have collapsed, the consortium is still expected to explore opportunities in Australia’s energy sector. Sources familiar with the matter also emphasised that regulatory approvals, and unions, were not a concern, calling the decision “purely commercial.”

XRG, which has an enterprise value of $80 billion, recently took control of ADNOC’s listed subsidiaries, in a move to strengthen its financial position to seek out global energy deals.

Santos, headquartered in Adelaide, has been the subject of repeated takeover interest as global demand for natural gas accelerates alongside the energy transition. The company plays a key role in supplying LNG to Asian buyers, and has been a strategic target for international investors. 

CNBC has reached out to Santos for comment.

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