This week, we're looking at the impact of congestion pricing in New York City, efforts in the UK and Vietnam to expand nuclear power, and Chipotle's investment in a seaweed start-up to reduce methane emissions.
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First-month impact of NYC congestion pricing: New York City's congestion pricing program has been in place for one month, implementing tolls on drivers who enter certain areas of Manhattan. The program aims to reduce traffic, raise funds for $15 billion worth of transit repairs, and decrease air pollution and emissions. The tolls are $9 during peak hours and $2.25 overnight for passenger cars with an E-ZPass, with higher charges for commercial traffic and a 50% premium for vehicles without E-ZPass. Since its launch on January 5, one million fewer vehicles have entered the zone than they would have without the toll, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Average trip times were down 48% during peak morning hours for those crossing through the Holland Tunnel and 30% faster travel times for the Williamsburg and Queensboro Bridges. Weekday bus ridership has grown 6%, while weekend ridership is up 21%, compared to January 2024. Subway ridership has also grown by 7.3% on weekdays and 12% on weekends. Buses entering Manhattan from Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx save up to 10 minutes on their route times, making their arrivals more reliable. Some groups have raised alarms about how congestion pricing moves traffic and air pollution to poorer neighborhoods like the South Bronx. Preliminary data from the first two weeks of congestion pricing shows a possible uptick in traffic in the South Bronx, with afternoon travel times on major highways and expressways increasing by 9% and morning travel times decreasing by 2%.
“Before the start of congestion relief, talk of lawsuits and doubts dominated the conversation, but now it’s the undeniably positive results we’ve been seeing since week one. Better bus service, faster drive times and safer streets are good for all New Yorkers.” — MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber
UNICEF report outlines the health impact of air pollution: Air pollution is responsible for the daily deaths of over 100 children under five in East Asia and the Pacific, according to UNICEF. The mortality rate linked to pollution accounts for nearly one in four deaths overall, with impacts lingering well into adulthood. Five hundred million children in East Asia and the Pacific are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution, with household pollutants being a major contributor to deaths among children under five, primarily caused by fuels used for cooking and heating. Approximately 325 million children live in countries where average annual levels of particulate matter (PM2.5) exceed the World Health Organization guidelines by at least five times, mainly due to burning fossil fuel, biomass fuel, and agricultural waste.
Investor sets up infrastructure funds for off-grid power projects in Africa: Africa50, a pan-continental infrastructure investor, is establishing two new funds to support off-grid power and green infrastructure projects in Africa. The first fund, the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa, will be a $500 million fund that targets climate-friendly projects, including renewable energy and transport, with a $400 million component for project development and a $100 million component for project preparation. The fund aims to catalyze $10 billion worth of investments and is expected to have its first close in the first half of the year. The second fund, the Africa Solar Facility, is a $200 million fund that will invest in companies providing distributed renewable energy, such as solar-powered mini-grids and home systems, and will be sponsored by the International Solar Alliance. Africa50 is also planning a Nigeria-focused fund for distributed renewable energy in partnership with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority and the United Nations-backed Sustainable Energy For All. However, the fund size has yet to be decided. The new initiatives represent a significant expansion for Africa50, which currently runs three facilities and has invested in 28 projects in 27 African countries, with $1.1 billion in assets under management.
German coal generation jumps: Germany's coal-fired power generation has surged to its highest level in over a year, reaching approximately 8.1 gigawatts, due to slumping wind speeds that have significantly reduced the country's renewable energy output. The persistent windless weather has led to European power prices soaring, prompting German coal plants to increase output to fill the gap in energy supply. The low wind speeds have highlighted the lack of sufficient backup for periods of low renewable output in Europe's power system, particularly in Germany, which shut down its last nuclear plant in 2023. As a result, grid operators in Germany have warned that coal plants may be needed for longer to maintain a stable energy supply.
Nations try to fill the US gap in the JETP program: The US's withdrawal from a leadership role in climate change initiatives has prompted other nations, including Germany and Japan, to step in and support programs aimed at helping developing countries transition away from fossil fuels. The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) deals, agreed upon during the Biden Administration, target countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, and South Africa, with a total value of around $45 billion. Germany will replace the US as co-leader in efforts to secure $20 billion for Indonesia's energy transition. At the same time, global backers of JETP programs will assess the potential financial impact of the US's withdrawal of support. A meeting is scheduled in the next two months to review the outlook for the broader initiative, which includes Vietnam's $15.5 billion deal and South Africa's $9.3 billion package.
Chipotle invests in supplement to reduce agricultural methane emissions: Chipotle has invested an undisclosed sum in CH4 Global, a startup that produces a feed additive called Methane Tamer, derived from the red seaweed asparagopsis, which claims to cut enteric methane emissions from cattle by up to 90 percent. Methane Tamer is added to the diets of around 400 cattle per day in Australia. With the opening of the world's largest commercial facility for growing asparagopsis, production is expected to scale up to serve 45,000 cattle per day by the end of the year. CH4 Global has announced partnerships to distribute Methane Tamer to Asia, South America, and North America, and Chipotle's investment will help the company continue to scale up production. A rival additive called Bovaer, developed by Dsm-Firmenich, is already available in over 65 countries and reduces enteric methane emissions by 30 percent for dairy cows and 45 percent for beef cattle with just a quarter teaspoon per day. A key problem that remains to be solved is the revenue model for feed additives, as the cost of the additives appears small but can be significant for small dairy farms, which make up 85 percent of the total in the US.
Trump Administration considers restricting energy loan program: The Trump Administration is considering overhauling the $400 billion clean-energy program and exploring options to cancel existing loans issued under the initiative, according to a person familiar with the matter. The newly appointed director of the Energy Department's loan program, John Sneed, plans to retool the effort to focus on technologies favored by the administration, such as nuclear power and liquefied natural gas. Sneed is also exploring the possibility of canceling existing financing deals, although the decision's legality and viability are still uncertain. The Department of Energy stated that the loans are being reviewed to ensure they align with President Trump's executive orders and priorities. The Loan Programs Office, created under President George W. Bush, has provided over $60 billion in financing to companies for innovative energy projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
States continue EV incentives as federal government pulls back: The market for EVs is expanding, with nearly 366,000 electric vehicles sold in the final quarter of 2024, a 15.2% increase from the previous year, and evidence suggests that the market will maintain momentum even without federal incentives. State-level EV incentives have proven easier to come by and, in some cases, more generous, with 20 states offering financial incentives for EV purchases, including solidly red states like Kansas and Mississippi. Colorado offers up to $6,000 in state incentives, regardless of where the vehicle is made, and an additional $6,000 for trading in a gas guzzler, leading to nearly one in three cars sold in the state being electric. California Governor Gavin Newsom has promised to reboot an EV subsidy program phased out in 2023 to fill the potential gap in federal payouts, which previously doled out incentives of $7,500 per vehicle and supported the purchase of almost 600,000 vehicles. Experts believe that removing federal incentives could be beneficial, as it would force manufacturers to improve their products and make them more competitive in the market.
UK seeks nuclear expansion: The UK is set to relax the rules around constructing nuclear power plants, allowing developers to build new atomic reactors in more locations beyond the currently designated eight sites. The decision, expected to be announced by the Labour government, aims to stimulate energy investment and drive economic growth, with nuclear power playing a crucial role in achieving the UK's goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The move is part of the government's new nuclear policy, known as EN7, which was initially launched under the previous Conservative government with an ambition to build up to 24 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2050, a quadrupling of current levels.
Vietnam sets nuclear power targets: Vietnam has formally approved a nuclear power development plan to have a reactor online within the next decade to enhance energy security and support aggressive economic growth targets. The country plans to establish a regulatory framework, human resources, and research infrastructure for atomic energy development by 2030. The trade ministry has proposed having at least one nuclear power plant operational between 2031 and 2035, as part of the revised Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8), due for approval by February 28. Vietnam is exploring nuclear power to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and achieve around-the-clock carbon-free electricity, despite the challenges faced by utilities worldwide in building reactors on time and on budget.
Study finds similarities between whale songs and human language: A new study has found that the complex songs of humpback whales follow a statistical rule known as Zipf's law, which is also observed in human languages, suggesting that forms of vocal communication that are complex and culturally transmitted may have shared structural properties. Zipf's law states that the frequency of a word is inversely proportional to its rank, with the most common word being used about twice as frequently as the second most common word, and so on. The study, published in the journal Science, analyzed the songs of humpback whales recorded over eight years in the waters around New Caledonia, and found that the frequency of sound subsequences, which may be analogous to words, followed Zipf's law. The researchers used a quantitative approach inspired by human babies to divide the songs into meaningful units, identifying subsequences of sounds that frequently occurred together. The study's findings suggest that complex vocal communication systems, such as humpback whale songs, may have evolved to be easy to learn, just like human language.