industry
Newsletter
A guide to greening heavy industries steps into the spotlight
A new book offers insights into transitioning heavy industry toward near-zero emissions, amid a push for cleaner manufacturing processes supported by the Biden administration.
In short:
- Jeffrey Rissman's book, Zero-Carbon Industry, highlights actionable strategies for industries like steel, concrete, and chemicals to drastically reduce their climate impact.
- The Biden administration backs these initiatives with significant funding, aiming to modernize production methods across 33 companies for a greener future.
- Rissman emphasizes the importance of informed policies and technology adoption in achieving substantial emission reductions in the industrial sector.
Key quote:
“Policymakers didn’t fully understand, ‘What is the industry sector?’ ‘What are the processes they use to create products?’”
— Jeffrey Rissman, Energy Innovation
Why this matters:
These initiatives represent a comprehensive overhaul of heavy industry, involving cutting-edge technologies, renewable energy sources, and innovative manufacturing processes. The goal is ambitious but clear: drastically reduce the carbon footprint of industries like steel, cement, and chemicals, which are crucial for modern life but significantly harmful to our planet.
Related: Cleaner steelmaking can’t come fast enough for this Northern Ontario city
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Newsletter
Industry giants show support for federal recycling fee initiative
Major petrochemical companies and manufacturers, including Exxon Mobil and LyondellBasell, are exploring with lawmakers the idea of implementing a federal fee on packaging to bolster recycling efforts.
In short:
- Key industry players are negotiating with Congress to introduce a fee on packaging materials aimed at enhancing recycling infrastructure.
- The initiative seeks to address the dismal 9% plastic recycling rate in the U.S. by adopting measures similar to those in Europe and certain U.S. states.
- Support for this proposal spans across large corporations, indicating a shift toward acknowledging the need for federally coordinated recycling strategies.
Key quote:
“Companies are starting to realize no amount of investment is going to solve this and they needed to start working closer with government. That’s a huge shift for American companies.”
— Erin Simon, a vice president at the World Wildlife Fund
Why this matters:
Recycling rates for plastics remain low compared to other materials, largely due to economic, technical, and logistical challenges. A recent report from Greenpeace and the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) also finds that recycling plastics is problematic because they contain toxic chemical additives that can create new harmful substances during the recycling process.
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Gulf Coast community battles against LNG industry expansion
In Brownsville, Texas, residents are pushing back against liquefied natural gas projects to protect their health and environment.
In short:
- Gulf Coast communities fear that LNG terminals will destroy their local economies, which thrive on eco-tourism, shrimping, and fishing.
- The opposition includes the Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe, who are fighting to protect sacred Indigenous sites from LNG development.
- Local activists, despite the Biden administration's pause on new LNG projects, continue to fight existing projects through grassroots advocacy and strategic pressure on investors and corporations.
Key quote:
"We don’t have good health care here. People can’t afford expensive medical bills. That’s why the communities oppose the LNG projects."
— Bekah Hinojosa, organizer in the city of Brownsville
Why this matters:
Communities such as those along the Gulf Coast are navigating a delicate balance between leveraging their strategic positions in the energy sector and protecting the health, environment, and future prosperity of their residents.
Across the U.S., at least 30 new LNG terminal facilities have been constructed or proposed since 2016, according to the Oil and Gas Watch project. Roughly two-thirds of the facilities will be based near the industry-heavy Gulf Coast, where five LNG facilities are already operational and where at least 22 new facilities are under construction, approved or under regulatory review.
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Newsletter
Offshore wind is at a crossroads. Here’s what you need to know
Inflation and "black swan" events have hit the industry hard. But energy analysts remain bullish on offshore wind's future.
EU's car emission standards face dilution amid industry pressure
The European Union is on the brink of softening a crucial car pollution law following intense auto industry lobbying, a move experts warn could lead to health and environmental damages costing around €100 billion.
Stefano Valentino, James Jackson and Lorenzo Di Stasi report for The Guardian.
In short:
- EU may relax car pollution standards due to auto industry lobbying.
- The proposed Euro 7 standards could see minimal changes from current regulations.
- Health and environmental costs from nitrogen dioxide emissions remain a concern.
Key quote:
"We need to balance ambitious goals with what's feasible."
— Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Single Market.
Why this matters:
The EU's potential backpedaling on car emission standards could mean maintaining high levels of harmful pollutants until 2035, when the bloc phases out combustion engines.
Learn more: Long-term exposure to air pollution is linked to higher levels of illness and mortality even when air pollution levels are well below legal limits, according to a 2021 study. That comes with economic as well as human costs.
Question for the reader:
How should policymakers balance industry interests with environmental and public health concerns?
AI-based tools helped produce this text, with human oversight and editing.
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How secrecy and regulatory capture drove Alberta’s oil and gas liability crisis
Decades of secrecy and industry influence in Alberta have created a crisis of liability in abandoned oil infrastructure which only a serious course correction can hope to fix.
Newsletter
Electric school buses: Why the propane industry is after school buses ditching diesel
Electric school buses are better for kids’ health. The propane industry has other ideas.
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