From Washington to Warsaw, a ‘greenlash’ is picking up steam despite extreme heat
Demonstrators hold placards and chant slogans during a rally to protest against the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London, at Marble Arch, central London, on June 25, 2023.
Henry Nicholls | Afp | Getty Images
In the wake of a U.S. crusade against mission-driven investments, signs of a green political backlash in Europe appear to be gathering pace.
State laws restricting the use of environmental, social and governance factors have swept across the U.S. in recent months, fomenting uncertainty for an increasing range of businesses.
In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law in early May that barred state and local officials from investing public money to promote ESG goals and prohibited municipalities from selling ESG bonds. “We do not want them engaged on these ideological joyrides,” DeSantis reportedly said at the time.
Analysts expect the outcome of next year’s U.S. presidential election to determine whether the political backlash against ESG will have a deep and lasting effect.
A pushback against climate policies is not just a U.S. issue. In Europe, indications of a green backlash — or “greenlash” — have started surfacing as businesses and citizens feel the costs of the energy transition.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) signs a resolution passed by the House and Senate that aims to block a Biden administration rule encouraging retirement managers to consider environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors when making investment decisions, during a bill signing at the U.S. Capitol March 9, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Drew Angerer | Getty Images
Nathalie Tocci, director of Istituto Affari Internazionali, an Italian international relations think tank, told CNBC that the weaponization of climate issues from traditionally skeptical political parties was nothing new.
“This is really a story of the last couple of years, but I think it is really picking up steam now,” Tocci said.
Reprisals over climate policies come at a time of record-breaking extreme heat across the globe, with July poised to be the hottest month in human history.
It prompted U.N. chief António Guterres to signal, “The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”
‘Reframe the issue’
In the U.K., London mayor Sadiq Khan’s push to expand a contentious Ultra Low Emission Zone policy across the entire city has sparked an economy vs. climate fight — as well as a green identity crisis among Britain’s major political parties.
Dutch farmers have been staging protests over stringent limits on nitrogen emissions, with the BBB or BoerBurgerBeweging (Farmer-Citizen Movement) party lashing out at what it sees as a policy that symbolizes “everything that is not going right” in the country.
I think that in the case of Europe, if you have this ‘greenlash’ that persists … the trick is going to be that of reframing this in terms of industrial policy.
Nathalie Tocci
Director of Istituto Affari Internazionali
In Poland, the conservative government recently filed four complaints against EU climate policies, calling them “authoritarian” and a potential threat to its energy security. Ruling party leader Jarosław Kaczyński described the bloc’s green policies as “madness” and akin to “green communism.”
French President Emmanuel Macron and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo have also called for a “regulatory pause” of Europe’s green legislation, saying that a period of “stability” is necessary to avoid losing momentum in the climate fight.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen gesture as they attend the North Sea summit in Ostend, on April 24, 2023.
Kenzo Tribouillard | Afp | Getty Images
Anti-green parties could look to latch onto a burgeoning European greenlash in a bid to surge in the polls, with the Netherlands, Poland, the U.K. and European Parliament all due to hold elections over the next 18 months.
“At the moment, it looks like green parties are not doing going fantastically well. I think the challenge is going to be for those, like myself, who really believe in this agenda to reframe the issue,” Tocci said, citing U.S. President Joe Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act as one example.
The IRA, which was signed into law last year, will funnel billions of dollars into programs designed to accelerate the country’s transition away from fossil fuels and battle the climate emergency.
“The IRA is called an IRA, it is not called a climate act because there’s no way that you could get Democrats and Republicans to agree on something called climate,” Tocci said.
“In the case of Europe, if you have this ‘greenlash’ that persists … the trick is going to be that of reframing this in terms of industrial policy.”
Dutch nitrogen crisis
In the case of the Netherlands, the BBB is seeking to capitalize on Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s resignation by becoming one of country’s largest parties in the 150-seat parliament.
The pro-farmer’s party stunned Dutch politics in mid-March by winning provincial elections, shortly after more than 10,000 Dutch farmers rallied against government plans in The Hague.
The backlash follows a landmark court ruling in 2019, which said the Netherlands must reduce excess nitrogen levels. Some of the remedial measures include voluntary buy-out schemes and developing more sustainable farming methods.
Farmers gather at Zuider Park to protest against the government’s farming policy on reduction of nitrogen emissions in The Hague, Netherlands on March 11, 2023.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Dutch farmers are up in arms over government plans, which they say will bring an end to many farms nationwide and hit food production.
The nitrogen crisis is “an example of what will happen with climate, because climate regulations and targets … will have much more consequences for the farmers than nitrogen,” Jan Willem Erisman, professor of environmental sustainability at Leiden University in the Netherlands, told CNBC by telephone.
“So, I think that solving the nitrogen problem is not enough, it is solving the climate problem — and nitrogen will be solved also,” he added.
Poland’s role as a ‘veto player’
Polish voters are expected to head to the ballot box in the fall. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has criticized the EU’s “Fit for 55” climate law, saying Warsaw never supported the package and “one size does not fit all.”
Michal Hetmanski, head of Instrat, a Warsaw-based independent think tank, told CNBC that Poland’s government appeared to be determined to remain “a veto player” within the bloc on climate policies.
A spokesperson for Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party did not reply to a CNBC request for comment.
At the European parliamentary level, meanwhile, lawmakers are not expected to scale back on climate action ahead of elections next spring.
An overwhelming majority of European citizens recognize the climate emergency is a serious problem, and most agree that adapting to the adverse impacts of the crisis can have a positive outcome.
“It’s worth remembering that the EU has already committed to cut CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050,” Arthur Carabia, director of ESG policy research at Morningstar Sustainalytics, told CNBC via email.
The EU’s “Fit for 55” law is designed to help the 27-nation bloc achieve its target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and reach climate neutrality by 2050.
“While there is still a long way until May 2024, we don’t expect that the results of the upcoming EU elections will cause to the EU to deviate from this objective,” Carabia said.
Mining company Vale is turning to Caterpillar to provide this massive, 240-ton battery-electric haul truck in a bid to slash carbon emissions at its mines by 2030.
Caterpillar and Vale have signed an agreement that will see the Brazilian mining company test severe-duty battery electric mining trucks like the 793 BEV (above), as well as V2G/V2x energy transfer systems and alcohol-powered trucks. The test will help Vale make better equipment choices as it works to achieve its goals of reducing direct and indirect carbon emissions 33% by 2030 and eliminating 100% of its net emissions by 2050.
If that sounds weird, consider that most cars and trucks in Brazil run on either pure ethyl alcohol/ethanol (E100) or “gasohol” (E25).
“We are developing a portfolio of options to decarbonize Vale’s operations, including electrification and the use of alternative fuels in the mines. The most viable solutions will be adopted,” explains Ludmila Nascimento, energy and decarbonization director Vale. “We believe that ethanol has great potential to contribute to the 2030 target because it is a fuel that has already been adopted on a large scale in Brazil, with an established supply network, and which requires an active partnership with manufacturers. We stand together to support them in this goal.”
Vale will test a 240-ton Cat 793 battery-electric haul truck at its operations in Minas Gerais, and put energy transfer solutions to a similar tests at Vale’s operations in Pará over the next two-three years. Caterpillar and Vale have also agreed to a joint study on the viability of a dual-fuel (ethanol/diesel) solution for existing ICE-powered assets.
Vale claims to be the world’s largest producer of iron ore and nickel, and says it’s committed to an investment of between $4 billion to $6 billion to meet its 2030 goal.
Cat 793 electric haul truck
During its debut in 2022, the Cat 793 haul truck was shown on a 4.3-mile test course at the company’s Tucson proving grounds. There, the 240-ton truck was able to achieve a top speed of over 37 mph (60 km/h) fully loaded. Further tests involved the loaded truck climbing a 10% grade for a full kilometer miles at 7.5 mph before unloading and turning around for the descent, using regenerative braking to put energy back into the battery on the way down.
Despite not giving out detailed specs, Caterpillar reps reported that the 793 still had enough charge in its batteries for to complete more testing cycles.
Electrek’s Take
Electric equipment and mining to together like peanut butter and jelly. In confined spaces, the carbon emissions and ear-splitting noise of conventional mining equipment can create dangerous circumstances for miners and operators, and that can lead to injury or long-term disability that’s just going to exacerbate a mining operation’s ability to keep people working and minerals coming out of the ground.
By working with companies like Vale to prove that forward-looking electric equipment can do the job as well as well as (if not better than) their internal combustion counterparts, Caterpillar will go a long way towards converting the ICE faithful.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Caterpillar, Construction Equipment, and E&MJ.
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American mine; via NPROXX
Argonne National Laboratory is building a new research and development facility to independently test large-scale hydrogen fuel cell systems for heavy-duty and off-road applications with funding from the US Department of Energy.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is hoping Argonne Nat’l Lab’s extensive fuel cell research experience, which dates back to 1996, will give it unique insights as it evaluates new polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems ranging from 150 to 600 kilowatts for use in industrial vehicle and stationary power generation applications.
The new Argonne test facility will help prove (or, it should be said, disprove) the validity of hydrogen as a viable fuel for transportation applications including heavy trucks, railroad locomotives, marine vessels, and heavy machines used in the agriculture, construction, and mining industries.
“The facility will serve as a national resource for analysis and testing of heavy-duty fuel cell systems for developers, technology integrators and end-users in heavy-duty transportation applications including [OTR] trucks, railroad locomotives, marine vessels, aircraft and vehicles used in the agriculture, construction and mining industries,” explains Ted Krause, laboratory relationship manager for Argonne’s hydrogen and fuel cell programs. “The testing infrastructure will help advance fuel cell performance and pave the way toward integrating the technology into all of these transportation applications.”
The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is dedicating about $4 million to help build the new Argonne facility, which is set to come online next fall.
Electrek’s Take
It’s going to be hard to convince me that the concentrated push for a technology as inefficient as hydrogen fuel cells has more to do with any real consumer or climate benefit than it does keeping the throngs of people it will take to manufacture, capture, transport, store, house, and effectively dispense hydrogen gainfully employed through the next election cycle.
As such, while case studies like the hydrogen combustion-powered heavy trucks that have been trialed at Anglo American’s Mogalakwena mine since 2021 (at top) and fuel cell-powered concepts like Komatsu’s medium-sized excavator (above) have proven that hydrogen as a fuel can definitely work on a job site level while producing far fewer harmful emissions than diesel, I think swappable batteries like the ones being shown off by Moog Construction and Firstgreen have a far brighter future.
Speaking of Moog, we talked to some of the engineers being their ZQuip modular battery systems on a HEP-isode of The Heavy Equipment Podcast a few months back. I’ve included it, below, in case that’s something you’d like to check out.
SOURCES | IMAGES: ANL, Komatsu, and NPROXX.
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Velocity truck rental is doing its part to help commercial fleets electrify by energizing 47 high-powered charging stations at four strategic dealer locations across Southern California. And they’re doing it now.
The new Velocity Truck Rental & Leasing (VTRL) charging network isn’t some far-off goal being announced for PR purposes. The company says its new chargers are already in the ground, and set to be fully online and energized by the end of this month at at VTRL facilities in Rancho Dominguez (17), Fontana (14), the City of Industry (14), and San Diego (2).
45 120 kW Detroit e-Fill chargers make up the bulk of VTRL’s infrastructure project, while two DCFC stations from ChargePoint get them to 47. All of the chargers, however, where chosen specifically to cater to the needs of medium and heavy-duty battery electric work trucks.
The company says it chose the Detroit e-Fill commercial-grade chargers because they’ve already proven themselves in Daimler-heavy fleets with their ability to bring Class 8 Freightliner eCascadias, Class 6 and 7 Freightliner eM2 box trucks, and RIZON Class 4 and 5 cabover trucks, “to 80% state of charge in just 90 minutes or less.”
At Velocity, we are not just reacting to the shift towards electric mobility; we are at the forefront with our customers and actively shaping it. By integrating high-powered, commercial-grade charging solutions along key transit corridors, we are ensuring that our customers have the support they need today. This charging infrastructure investment is a testament to our commitment to helping our customers transition smoothly to electromobility solutions and to prepare for compliance with the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulations.
David Deon, velocity president
Velocity plans to offer flexible charging options to accommodate the needs of different fleets, including both managed, “charging as a service” subscription plans and self-managed/opportunity charging during daily routes. While trucks are charging, drivers and operators will be able to relax in comfortable break rooms equipped with WIFI, television, snacks, water, and restrooms.
Electrek’s Take
While it feels a bit underwhelming to write about trucking companies simply following the letter of the law in California, the rollout of an all-electric, zero-emission commercial trucking fleet remains something that, I think, should be celebrated.
As such, I’m celebrating it. I hope you are, too.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Global Newswire; Daimler Trucks.
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