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Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud speaks via video link during a virtual emergency meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC countries, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 9, 2020.
Saudi Press Agency | Reuters

Forgive senior Saudi officials for their head-scratching in response to the simultaneous and contradictory demands from the Biden administration that Riyadh’s royals pump more oil into the world economy while reducing carbon emissions.

In my travels over the last two weeks — first to Riyadh to hear Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman commit Saudi Arabia to net-zero by 2060, and then to Glasgow for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change conference – you could feel the reverberations from the first energy price shock of the green era.

The domestic and international politics of rising energy prices, with the cost of a basket of fossil fuels having doubled since last May and with blackouts in China and India, are colliding with the longer-term certainty that global leaders must more effectively address the dangers of a warming world.

I returned home this weekend to Washington with three convictions:

  • First, what the world is experiencing is more energy transition than energy revolution. The shift from fossil fuels to renewables will take years, and the only way to accelerate it is more technology breakthroughs, such as battery storage; more global policy changes, such as a carbon tax; and even greater investments in renewables.
  • Second, we’re all going to hear the term “climate change adaptation” more because “climate change mitigation” is going to take a lot longer than the purists would wish. The difference is that mitigation tackles the root causes of climate change while adaptation manages its negative effects. Where mitigation strategies fail or move too slowly, adaptation strategies can society more “climate-resilient” and, in some communities, be a matter of survival from the impacts of heatwaves to rising seas.
  • Third, international and domestic politics will shape the energy future as certainly as will new technologies and changing climate realities. Countries like China, Russia and India are either unwilling or unable to transition faster to renewables. The U.S. will need to weigh its human rights demands on China against its desire to win climate concessions. In democracies around the world, voters will demand affordable and reliable energy – even as their leaders struggle to meet net zero commitments.

The painful lesson of the past few weeks is that you can’t take fossil fuel supply off the market when energy demand is rising, and the renewable replacements aren’t yet sufficient.

“The world has sleepwalked into the supply crunch,” said Sultan Ahmed al Jaber, special envoy for climate change of the United Arab Emirates, in Riyadh. His country was ahead of all other oil-producing states in setting a net-zero target for 2050. Despite that, he said, “A transition means a transition. It takes time.”

Minister al Jaber says the lesson he draws from the current energy scare is that even as the world rushes toward renewables and decarbonization, the reality is that fossil fuels remain 80 percent of the energy mix and some 60 percent comes from oil and gas alone, which he calls “the spinal cord of our ability to meet the global energy requirements of the future.”  

What the Economist has called the energy “panic” has “exposed deeper problems as the world shifts to a cleaner energy system, including inadequate investment in renewables and some transition fossil rules, rising geopolitical risks and flimsy safety buffers in power markets. Without rapid reforms, there will be more energy crises and, perhaps, a popular revolt against climate policies.”

On climate adaptation versus mitigation, the UN Environment Program this month published a report that concluded that the growth in climate impact is far outpacing efforts to adapt, a reality that hits developing countries hardest.

The report says developing countries need five to 10 times more funding than they’ve got to manage climate impacts, or about $200 billion per year. Yet in 2019, only $20 billion of the climate-related financing from developed to developing countries, or about a quarter of the total, went to adaptation projects.

Such projects range from making infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather to making agricultural methods more resistant to drought, from developing better early-warning systems for storms to better cooling measures against extreme heat.

The Atlantic Council has taken on the myriad ways of mitigating climate change and slowing the rise of global temperatures through the cutting-edge work of its Global Energy Center.

At the same time, the Council’s Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center has been a world leader on questions of climate adaptation. One of its most significant recent initiatives has been to inspire cities and communities around the world to name Chief Heat Officers and name heat waves to address the danger.

Miami-Dade County in Florida, for example, moved to hire Jane Gilbert as its first CHO, which has now been followed by Athens, Greece; Freetown, South Africa; and Phoenix.

Gilbert told Axios that her heat office will be “data-driven” and “look at the best possible solutions out there for managing heat.” She noted that applying a special coating to pavement can have a 10–12-degree cooling impact.

If you think that doesn’t matter, consider this. A study by the University of Washington reported that extreme heat contributed to the deaths of some 12,000 individuals in the U.S. each year in the decade to 2020. By 2100, that toll could reach some 100,000 annually.

Irrespective of temperature readings, the heat of geopolitics and domestic politics will persist. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin were no shows in Glasgow this week, a fact U.S. President Joe Biden drove home.

“It just is a gigantic issue and they walked away,” Biden told journalists before flying home from Glasgow. “How do you do that and claim to be able to have any leadership?”

At the same time, President Biden’s own advisers know that how he handles energy prices, and the resulting inflation, might shape his and his Democratic party’s future more than his climate policies or his Afghan travails.

Whether in the Saudi desert or the Scottish highlands, the reality is that the fossil fuel advocates and the climate Utopians must find a middle ground. The enormity of the climate danger demands an energy transition, but it won’t be achieved without oil and gas, without huge investments in climate adaptation, and without the messy, inescapable realities of global and local politics.

Frederick Kempe is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Atlantic Council.

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Kia announces EV5 prices, offering up to 329 miles of range

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Kia announces EV5 prices, offering up to 329 miles of range

The Kia EV5 has officially arrived in the UK. Boasting up to 329 miles of range, Kia opened orders for the new Sportage-sized electric SUV on Monday. Here’s a breakdown of Kia EV5 prices, range, and other specs for the UK market.

Kia EV5 prices and range in the UK

Kia calls the EV5 “a cornerstone” of its electrification strategy. The midsize electric SUV is about the size of a Tesla Model Y and loaded with Kia’s latest tech, software, and sleek new styling.

After opening EV5 orders in the UK on Monday, Kia now offers an SUV across every powertrain in Europe’s most competitive segment.

The EV5 is available in three trims: Air, GT-Line, and GT-Line S. All three variants are powered by an 81.4 kWh battery, offering a range of up to 329 miles. Based on a 400V platform, Kia said the electric SUV can recharge from 10% to 80% in about 30 minutes.

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All three are powered by a single front-mounted electric motor, capable of producing up to 214 horsepower (160 kW) and 295 Nm of torque. The EV5 can go from 0 to 62 mph in 8.4 seconds.

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Kia EV5 GT-Line (Source: Kia UK)

The interior features Kia’s new Connected Car Navigation Cockpit (ccNC), which includes a three-screen infotainment system.

Kia’s ccNC infotainment features dual 12.3″ driver display and navigation screens with Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as a 5.3″ climate control display. A customizable 12.3″ Head-Up Display (HUD) is available on higher trim options.

At 1,875 mm wide, 4,610 mm long, 1,675 mm tall, and a wheelbase of 2,750mm, the EV5 is 10mm wider, 70mm longer, and 30mm taller than the Sportage.

Prices for the base Kia EV5 Air start at £39,295 ($53,000), on-the-road (OTR). Upgrading to the sporty GT-Line model, which gains exclusive trim exterior and interior design elements, is priced from £42,595 ($57,800). The range-topping GT-Line S starts at £47,095 ($63,700).

Starting Price
(OTR)
Driving Range
(WLTP)
Kia EV5 Air £39,295 ($53,000) 329 miles
Kia EV5 GT-Line £42,595 ($57,800) 313 miles
Kia EV5 GT-Line S £47,095 ($63,700) 313 miles
Kia EV5 prices and range in the UK

The EV5 joins the EV3, EV4, EV6, and EV9 as Kia expands its electric vehicle lineup in the UK. Kia’s EV3 was the best-selling retail EV in the UK in the first half of 2025.

Can its bigger brother, the EV5, top it? Pre-orders are now open, and Kia plans to deliver the first customer vehicles later this year.

As a sibling to the Sportage, Kia’s global, European, and UK-wide best-selling vehicle, it might actually have a chance. Let us know what you think of it in the comments below.

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Tesla reduces price of new Model 3 in China weeks after launch, amid sales slump

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Tesla reduces price of new Model 3 in China weeks after launch, amid sales slump

Tesla has reduced the price of the Model 3 RWD Long Range, a newly launched version of the popular Model 3, amid a sales slump.

As we reported last week, China has reached a tipping point of EV adoption: the majority of new car sales are electric.

Yet, Tesla, which was once the largest EV company in China, is not benefiting from the surge in EV sales in China.

As of last week, Tesla’s sales in China are down 6.3% year-to-date based on insurance registration data compared to 2024.

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Electric vehicle competition is intensifying, and Tesla is struggling to keep up.

Over the last few weeks, Tesla has launched two new versions of the Model 3 and Model Y to help stem the decline in China.

For Model 3, Tesla launched a new Long Range RWD version in early August for 269,500 yuan.

Today, Tesla slashed the price by 10,000 yuan just weeks after the launch – indicating that demand was lower than anticipated.

Furthermore, Tesla is also offering a series of incentives on top of the price reduction:

  • Participate in the referral bonus promotion and place an order before September 30th to receive an 8,000 yuan bonus on optional paint.
  • Order select models (excluding the High-Performance All-Wheel Drive version) before September 30th to apply for a limited-time 5-year 0% interest financing plan. Order
  • select models (excluding the High-Performance All-Wheel Drive version) and receive delivery before September 30th, along with partner insurance, to receive a limited-time subsidy of 8,000 yuan.

Competition in the EV sector is tough in China. New models are being launched every week, and prices are incredibly competitive.

Tesla is still performing well in the premium segment, but its most popular models are, by far, the cheaper Model 3 and Model Y in RWD versions. Meanwhile, Chinese EV automakers have launched numerous vehicles in these segments.

Electrek’s Take

Add this to the numerous red flags regarding Tesla’s declining sales worldwide.

For Tesla, Europe is almost a thing of the past. China is in a steady decline, while the US is expected to experience only slight growth.

The level of competition in China is simply too high, resulting in Tesla selling many vehicles in the market for virtually 0% gross margin.

This is not sustainable and will likely result in Tesla starting to lose money in 2026 without some major changes.

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Volkswagen is about to unveil its most affordable electric SUV

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Volkswagen is about to unveil its most affordable electric SUV

With just a week left until its official debut, Volkswagen is giving us a sneak peek of its most affordable electric SUV, the ID.2. Here’s our closest look at the new entry-level EV.

The Volkswagen ID.2 is an affordable electric SUV

Volkswagen is revamping its electric car lineup with a new family of entry-level models, starting with the ID.2. The ID.2 is an electric hatch that VW promises is “spacious like a Golf,” yet still “affordable like a Polo.

With a starting price of around € 25,000 ($29,000), the ID.2 will be among the most affordable electric cars on the market.

Shortly after launching the electric hatch, Volkswagen is set to introduce an SUV version of the ID.2, which could be an even bigger hit. The ID.2 SUV will sit below the ID.3 and ID.4 in Volkswagen’s EV lineup as an even more affordable crossover SUV option.

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Although we’ve seen the hatch out testing a few times, the SUV version has been mostly kept under wraps outside of a blurry image from December 2023. That is, until now.

Volkswagen’s design boss, Andreas Mindt, offered a closer look at the ID.2 SUV on Monday, releasing a few new teasers. The images reveal a sleek new look from its current ID models, closer in style to the updated T-Roc, which was unveiled last week.

Mindt said the “design speaks for itself.” The ID.2 and SUV versions will be based on a new MEB+ platform, which will underpin Volkswagen’s upcoming lineup of entry-level EVs.

Volkswagen-most-affordable-electric-SUV
Volkswagen ID.2X electric SUV (Source: Volkswagen)

The hatch will be offered with two battery pack options: 38 kWh or 56 kWh, offering a WLTP range of up to 280 miles. Volkswagen has yet to reveal final prices and range for the SUV version.

According to VW’s tech development boss, Kai Grünitz, the brand’s EV lineup is in line for a major refresh. Grünitz told Autocar that “huge improvements” were coming, including updated styling inside and out.

Volkswagen-ID.2-EV-interior
Volkswagen’s ID 2all EV interior (Source: VW)

The interior will feature the new design, which includes a 12.9″ infotainment and 10.9″ driver display screens and plenty of physical controls. There will also be a few fun added features like the ability to switch between drive modes that resemble Volkswagen classics, like the Golf or Beetle.

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Volkswagen ID 2all “Vintage” mode from the Golf era (Source: Andreas Mindt)

Since the ID.4 starts at around 35,000 euros ($41,000) to 40,000 euros ($47,000), depending on the market, you can expect prices to be slightly lower, likely at around 30,000 euros ($35,000).

Volkswagen will unveil the ID.2 SUV next week at the Munich Motor Show on September 7. The German auto giant claims the ID.2 SUV “is another important step towards bringing affordable electric mobility to the masses.” It’s expected to hit the market next year following the hatch version. We’ll learn more at the event.

Although the ID.2 is not expected to be sold in the US, Volkswagen’s current SUV, the ID.4, is actually already one of the most affordable electric SUVs. Volkswagen is currently offering ID.4 leases as low as $129 per month. That’s even cheaper than a Jetta.

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