Category: Business

The First Solar-Powered Urban Vehicle in The World to The United States for $6,250

A low-cost, golf-cart-sized solar-powered vehicle is headed to the United States.

According to Tuesday’s report from electrek, the major CEStech industry convention in Las Vegas will host the U.S. debut of the Quadsolar electric city car.

According to a statement made by Robert Hoovers, co-founder of Squad Mobility, “We are seeing a tremendous amount of interest from the USA, particularly for markets such as sharing platforms, gated communities, campuses, (seaside) resorts, tourism, company terrains, hotels & resorts, amusement parks, and inner-city services.”

According to a press release, the Squad solar city car is the creation of Squad Mobility, a Dutch firm that was established in 2019 by Hoovers and Chris Klok, who were both formerly employed by Lightyear. The vehicle made its premiere in Europe in May as what the manufacturer billed as the first solar-powered city automobile in history.

It has two seats and may be charged by the sun or a battery. According to electrek, it will retail for $6.250 in the United States. While it may be appealing to some urban dwellers on their own, the company also views it as a potential rival to or addition to shared electric scooters or bike fleets.

When the SQUAD originally debuted in Europe, the firm claimed that it was optimized for sharing platforms. It is made to withstand the damage that comes from frequent use. The compact two-seater is simple to use, park, and gain access to.

According to techgenyz, the electric vehicle started selling for 6,250 euros in Europe. It has a 19.2-mile charging range on its rooftop solar panel and a 62-mile charging range on its four battery packs. It can move no faster than 28 miles per hour. Although electrek claims it has greater capabilities than a conventional golf cart, it will be categorized in the United States alongside golf carts as a low-speed vehicle.

Read More: In the First Three Quarters of 2022, Renewable Energy Sources Produced Around 25% of The Country’s Electricity.

Nevertheless, as Fred Lambert reported for electrek, there is discussion among industry insiders about whether the item is only a golf cart or genuinely a novel and useful product. Techgenyz referred to its compact size as fun and dinky.

Of course, the company claims that it will address a special need for city residents who want to run errands without having to worry about their groceries getting wet, paying congestion fees, or battling for parking.

According to the website, Squad provides a quick, easy, secure, and sustainable solution for your daily mobility needs.

Read More: Findings from New Study Reveal the UK’s Greenest City Centers.!

Due to its classification, most nations do not require drivers to have a license in order to operate it. Three of the vehicles can fit into the typical parking place because it is only two meters (about 6.6 feet) long. It includes a storage space in the back that can be expanded by folding in the passenger seat, and it can fit a laptop comfortably on its dashboard. Electrek stated that the folding seat could accommodate a golf bag or stroller.

The CES, where the vehicle will make its debut, runs from January 5 to January 8. It is unknown how well the car will perform in the US.

 

Largest North American Landfill Solar Farm Built on A Former Superfund Site.!

The Combe Fill North Landfill in Mount Olive Township, New Jersey, was a Superfund site twenty years ago. It is now North America’s largest landfill solar plant.

The 25.6-megawatt solar farm, which was finished on Friday, is only one illustration of an inventive trend that transforms places for producing sustainable energy into signs of throwaway culture.

We’re happy to have been able to collaborate closely with our dependable, long-term partners to transform yet another abandoned landfill into a facility that produces renewable energy, said Chris Ichters, executive vice president of CEP Renewables.

In spite of the fact that there are more than 10,000 closed landfills in the country, very few of these parcels have been rehabilitated. More of these waste sites being converted to solar projects would increase municipal tax revenue, employment opportunities, cleaner air, and inexpensive electricity for citizens across the nation.

According to Electrek, the New Jersey solar farm is the result of a collaboration between CEP Renewables and CS Energy, with steel skids provided by Lindsay Precast and rack systems offered by Terrasmart. CEP Renewables, the company that owns the property beneath the panels, has leased it on a long-term basis to NJR Clean Energy Ventures, a division of Garden State utility New Jersey Resources, which will be in charge of managing the farm.

Over 4,000 residences are expected to be powered by the farm’s 56,000 solar panels. In total, Mount Olive was able to recover roughly $2.3 million in taxes it had spent on the former Superfund site thanks to the operation.

All of this represents a significant turn of events for the old dump. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Combe Fill North Landfill first became a municipal landfill in 1966. (EPA). It accepted dry sewage sludge, household waste, and industrial waste for 12 years. In 1978, the Combe Fill Corporation (CFC) acquired it. The landfill was found to be polluting surrounding private wells and the groundwater beneath the property with volatile organic compounds the new owners.

Read More: The World Cup: Is It Truly Carbon Neutral?

The landfill’s interior air was also tainted. Although CFC declared bankruptcy in 1981, the dump was never adequately closed. Finally, a plan to clean up the former landfill was created in 1986 by the EPA and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), and it was finished in 1991. The dump was removed from the Superfund National Priorities List in 2004, but the EPA continues to evaluate the success of the cleaning activities every five years despite this.

The transition of the Combe Fill North Landfill from a landfill to a solar farm is becoming more typical. According to CEP Renewables and the EPA, the number of landfill solar projects in the United States has increased by 80% over the past five years. The business believes that this is because installation developers have become more skilled, and its partner CS Energy agrees.

Read More: In the First Three Quarters of 2022, Renewable Energy Sources Produced Around 25% of The Country’s Electricity.

With CEP Renewables, Lindsay Precast, and Terrasmart, this is our eighth project together, our seventh project with Lindsay Precast, and our fourteenth landfill solar project overall. Mike Dillon, director of operations for CS Energy, made the news. We were able to deliver this excellent landfill solar project, which will have major long-term financial and environmental advantages for this town, because of our solid partnerships with each of these sector leaders.

 

The United States Tariff Avoidance Strategies of Four Chinese Solar Companies

According to preliminary findings of a federal inquiry, four large Chinese solar cell manufacturers switched some of their operations through Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia in order to avoid paying U.S. taxes, according to The Wall Street Journal.

About 80% of the solar panels imported into the United States come from those nations. The Biden administration tried to lessen the impact of the industry disruption created by the Commerce Department inquiry by imposing a 24-month safe harbor term on solar panel imports from those nations and using the Defense Manufacturing Act to increase domestic production.

Read More: Innovative Company Wants to Drill 10 Miles Down to Replace Fossil Fuels With Geothermal Energy

The development of renewable energy in the U.S. is being slowed down by a shortage of solar panels as well as prohibitions on the importing of goods made in China using slave labor.

The final Commerce Department decision, which may differ from the preliminary results and will take into account on-site audits and public feedback, will be made public in May.

To delve farther further:

Read More: The World Cup: Is It Truly Carbon Neutral?

Journal of Commerce

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An Estimated $1.6 Trillion in Investment Potential Exists in India’s Cooling Market.

According to a recent World Bank assessment, as India’s temperatures continue to rise due to climate change, there may be a $1.6 trillion investment opportunity in cutting-edge green energy technologies by 2040.

According to a news release from the World Bank, alternative cooling technologies could generate up to 3.7 million new employment while also significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

By 2030, more than 160 to 200 million people could be exposed to catastrophic yearly heat waves in India as annual temperatures rise. Additionally, a drop in productivity brought on by heat stress could result in the loss of employment for roughly 34 million individuals nationwide.

By 2037, it is anticipated that India would require eight times as much cooling as it does now, which will result in a projected increase in greenhouse gas emissions of 435 percent per year for the following 20 years.

According to Auguste Tano Kouam, the World Bank’s Country Director in India, we must make sure that the nation’s cooling initiatives do not increase GHG emissions and contribute to further warming.

According to the press release, new initiatives are being developed to aid Indians in adjusting to the country’s rising temperatures. In 2019, the nation launched the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP), which introduces sustainable cooling practices to various industries, including refrigeration and a cold temperature-controlled supply chain network for pharmaceuticals and agriculture, as well as air conditioning for buildings and transportation. By 2037 to 2038, the cooling demand is anticipated to drop by as much as 25%.

Kouam stated in the press release that India’s cooling plan may help save lives and livelihoods, lower carbon emissions, and concurrently establish India as a global powerhouse for manufacturing green cooling. By 2040, the report’s recommended cooling strategy might prevent the emissions of 300 million tonnes of carbon dioxide yearly.

It will be ensured that people who are the poorest are not disproportionately impacted by rising temperatures if cooling measures are made standard for structures sponsored by both private and public funding.

Read More: The World Cup: Is It Truly Carbon Neutral?

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, India’s affordable housing program, might proportionally incorporate these improvements, which could assist with the construction of more than 29 million rural dwellings and 11 million urban homes, according to the report Climate Investment Opportunities in India’s Cooling Sector.

The research suggested funding through private investments in cooling technology for districts that employ subterranean pipelines to transmit chilled water to several buildings and a central plant to manufacture it. The method can reduce cooling costs for particular buildings by 20 to 30 percent, resulting in a reduction in energy costs.

In order to reduce the growing amount of food and medications that are lost during shipment, the research recommended filling holes in cold chain systems. By investing in refrigerated and pre-cooling transportation, food loss can be decreased by about 76%, and carbon emissions can be cut by 16%.

Read More: Innovative Company Wants to Drill 10 Miles Down to Replace Fossil Fuels With Geothermal Energy

Food Is Wasted During Shipment Every Year for Around $13 Billion Owing to Heat.

By 2047, India also intends to phase out hydrochlorofluorocarbons, which are ozone-depleting coolants for refrigerators and air conditioners. Over the next 20 years, switching to alternatives with a reduced carbon footprint and improving the maintenance, servicing, and disposal of equipment that uses hydrochlorofluorocarbons has the potential to generate two million jobs and reduce the requirement for refrigerants by around 31%.

Large-scale private investment in this industry can be boosted by the appropriate combination of public investments and policy initiatives. The report’s authors, Mehul Jain of the World Bank and Abhas K. Jha of the Practice Manager, Climate and Disaster Risk Management, South Asia, called for the acceleration of these initiatives by establishing a flagship government mission to address the opportunities and risks associated with rising temperatures in India.

There Will Be a Surge in Heat Pump Sales in 2022 as Countries Try to Solve Their Climate and Energy Problems.!

The heat pump is one environmentally friendly device that has gained more attention as energy and climate problems merge.

Heat pumps use electricity to move hot air to cool areas and vice versa in order to warm or cool a place. They do not generate heat as a furnace does. Sales of these products are soaring because of their energy efficiency and environmental friendliness, particularly in Europe where the continent is looking for ways to heat its homes and buildings after Russia cut the region’s supply of gas.

International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol stated in a news release introducing a new report on the device that heat pumps are an essential component of any plan to reduce emissions and the use of natural gas, and an urgent priority in the European Union today. Even in the coldest of climes, the technology has been tried and tested.

When driven by low-emission electricity, the devices are referred to as the key technology in the global transition to safe and sustainable heating in the paper, The Future of Heat Pumps.

The executive summary of the research states that even when fueled by the existing mix of fossil and renewable electricity, they still contribute to reducing emissions from heating because they are three to five times more efficient than natural gas boilers.

Ten percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions are currently attributed to heating buildings, and about ten percent of spaces are heated by heat pumps.

However, 2021 was a boom year for gadgets, with worldwide sales increasing by approximately 15% and about 35% in the EU. They anticipate record sales in 2022, and certain European nations saw a doubling of their first-half sales compared to the first half of 2021.

Read More: Innovative Company Wants to Drill 10 Miles Down to Replace Fossil Fuels With Geothermal Energy

The EU in particular has come under pressure to provide heat for its citizens this winter as a result of a decrease in Russian gas as a result of sanctions put in place by the bloc after Russia invaded Ukraine. But adopting heat pumps would also help the EU achieve its climate objectives. Sales of heat pumps in Europe could increase if this happens, from two million in 2021 to seven million in 2030.

According to Birol, policy makers ought to support this technology, which is currently gaining unheard-of velocity. In order to protect vulnerable households and businesses from excessive prices, meet climate goals, and ensure that everyone can heat their homes this winter and the one after, heat pumps will be a key component of these efforts.

What is beneficial to Europe is also beneficial to the rest of the globe. Overall, the IEA estimated that by 2030, heat pumps would provide one-fifth of space heating assuming governments uphold their obligations to the environment and energy security.

Heat pumps would provide 25% of the world’s heating needs by 2050 if nations increase their commitments in line with the Paris Agreement’s objective of keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. By 2030, heat pumps could, according to the EIA, cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 500 million tonnes, which is equivalent to taking all gas or diesel-powered vehicles off the road in Europe.

Another IEA analysis published Friday attributes a portion of the two percent increase in energy efficiency this year over 2021 to heat pumps. The agency stated in a press statement that this is roughly quadruple the rate from the previous two years and nearly double the rate from the previous four.

Three million heat pumps were acquired in Europe, which is double the 1.5 million bought in 2019, and the US Department of Health and Human Services launched a heat pump refund program, according to UPI.

Efficiency, one of the important areas for international efforts to reach net zero emissions by 2050, might hit a critical turning point in 2022 if the current rate of improvement can be built upon further in the next years, according to the IEA.

Read More: The World Cup: Is It Truly Carbon Neutral?

The IEA observed in the heat pump report that there are still obstacles standing in the way of the widespread use of heat pumps. Despite long-term cost advantages, installing heat pumps is more expensive upfront.

Other barriers include a lack of knowledge about the technology or antiquated building requirements, problems with the supply chain or manufacturing, and a shortage of qualified technicians. The IEA suggested a number of policy changes, such as incentives and tax breaks, modifications to regulations, national manufacturing targets, and the inclusion of heat pump installations in existing certification programs.

According to the news release, all the elements are in place for the heat pump market to explode, following the path taken by other critical climate technologies like solar PV and electric cars.

Many of the policy makers’ top worries regarding the cost of energy, supply security, and the climate issue are addressed by heat pumps. Although there are currently policy measures in place, they urgently need to be strengthened in order for heat pumps to realize their tremendous economic and environmental potential.

3 UK Universities Don’t Let Fossil Fuel Companies Hire on Their Campuses!

The call to prohibit fossil fuel firms from hiring on campus has received support from three additional UK colleges.

The University of Bedfordshire, the University of the Arts London, and Wrexham Glyndwr University all announced that their career services would discontinue all links with recruiters from the oil, gas, and mining industries in response to the beginning of a student-led campaign.

Being early adopters of Fossil Free Careers establishes a great precedent in the UK’s higher education sector, and all three of these universities should be commended for their leadership on climate issues. In a press release announcing the news on Tuesday, J Clarke, Co-Director of Climate Campaigns at People & Planet, remarked. Our institutions must demonstrate via deeds rather than words that they are on the side of climate justice rather than the sectors causing the climate disaster that is disproportionately impacting the least responsible.

Student climate activists have long campaigned for colleges to divest their endowments from fossil fuel companies and for institutions to refuse to accept fossil fuel money for climate change research. Their focus is the relationship between universities and the fossil fuel business.

The student organization People & Planet, which also spearheaded a decade-long divestment effort, is behind the UK Fossil Free Careers initiative. The National Union of Students (NUS) and the University and College Union (UCU), the biggest university staff and student groups in the UK, respectively, have also backed it. The campaign urges university career services to end their relationships with recruiters from fossil fuel firms due to the climate catastrophe, and human rights abuses, and in support of communities on the front lines of extractive industry impacts. It demands, in particular, that career services:

  1. Not form new partnerships with oil, gas, or mining companies.
  2. Not renew any existing relationships with these companies once contracts expire.
  3. Publish an Ethical Careers Policy banning these companies from recruitment opportunities.

The campaign’s first success came in September when the Birkbeck University of London announced that its career services would have no affiliations of any type with mining, oil, or gas firms, according to an article from The Guardian at the time.

Being the first university in Wales to restrict fossil fuel recruitment makes Wrexham Glyndwr University’s (WGU) dedication noteworthy. Its new Ethical Careers Policy for career services specifies that it will not engage with companies that manufacture weapons, use fossil fuels, mine minerals, produce tobacco, or are involved in animal cruelty.

The policy states that because the department of WGU frequently serves as a link between students, graduates, and outside organizations, we take our responsibility to promote social and environmental justice seriously and make an effort to be picky about the organizations we choose to collaborate with.

The University of the Arts in London’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Knowledge Exchange, and Enterprise, Professor David Mba, stated that the school’s commitment to climate justice was upheld by the prohibition on fossil fuel recruitment.

According to The Guardian, The University of Bedfordshire announced that fossil fuel corporations will not be allowed to participate in job fairs or internships.

Read More: Reduce Carbon Footprints of Diners by Including Carbon Emissions Labeling on Menus.!

American student activists are likewise putting pressure on their institutions to forbid fossil fuel companies from recruiting on campus. For instance, in October, students from Harvard and MIT interfered with an ExxonMobil geoscience recruiting event that was intended for students from both institutions.

Together, we’re standing up to let our institutions know that it is abhorrent to let businesses whose fundamental business models depend on destroying everyone’s futures, but especially those of young people, on their campuses. At the time, Ilana Cohen, the organizer of Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard and Fossil Free Research, wrote for EcoWatch.

Read More: Illegal Backyard Coal Mining Increases in Poland as Energy Anxiety Eclipses Concerns About Health and The Environment.!

Encouragement of students to work in the fossil fuel industry also has a practical drawback in that such jobs won’t be safe if national climate policy does not change to reflect the urgency of the situation. According to Clarke, when Birkbeck declared its stance, “these are businesses that are likely to drastically decline or cease to exist totally within the working lifespan of students.”

The Fossil Free Careers campaign is advancing with a movement to get the University of Durham to join them after three more UK campuses agreed to its conditions. They eventually want fossil fuel recruitment to stop at every UK university.

Analysts Warn that Africa’s Naive Reliance on Natural Gas Rather than Renewable Energy Sources Could Result in Stranded Assets and “economic Turmoil.”

According to Bloomberg, Mozambique’s expanding methane gas export market illustrates the effects of industrialized countries’ reluctance to support the spread of renewable energy in developing countries.

Only one-third of the population of Mozambique has access to power, which is generated mostly by hydroelectric plants at a rate of 70%. While discouraging Africa from using fossil fuels, European countries like Germany and Italy are currently buying all the gas they can.

The majority of the firms controlling Africa’s oil and gas sector are based elsewhere, and the vast majority of the continent’s fossil fuel reserves will be taken out for the profit of others. Some, like the president of Mozambique, Filipe Nuys, insist that it is a chance to sell fossil fuels and use the proceeds to develop renewable energy.

Read More: Dramatic weather changes’: 150 million may be affected by ‘bomb cyclone’ across eastern US

Kofi Mbuk, a senior cleantech analyst at Carbon Tracker, expressed concern about this strategy and noted that these oil and gas assets will soon be left stranded when the global gas shortage eases, especially as the cost of installing new wind and solar energy falls below the cost of operating existing coal and gas plants.

According to Mbuk, all of these assets in nations that have staked their long-term strategies on their ties with Europe will become stuck over time. If they wager on gas, African nations will be left in a condition of economic chaos.

Heffa Schuecking, the director of Urgewald, and other European climate campaigners concur. It’s a well-known African myth that the global North, particularly Europe, exploits the continent’s resources for its own gain and to satisfy its addiction to fossil fuels, according to the speaker. It’s not related to advancing Africa’s energy interests.

Read More: A ghost village emerges from the cracked earth as drought empties Spanish reservoir

To Delve Farther Further:

Bloomberg

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African nations’ shortsighted preference for natural gas over renewable energy sources threatens to leave assets stranded and cause “economic turmoil,” analysts warn.

The U.S. Department of Energy Is Testing Portable Wind Turbines for Disaster Relief and Military Use.

The Defense and Disaster Deployable Turbine Project (D3T), a project that tests transportable, quickly deployable wind turbines that can be used in a variety of applications, including for disaster relief and military use, is a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The toughness of the portable wind turbines has already been put to the test by the U.S. military, which drove a turbine over ledges of rock and along harsh terrain to see how it fared.

According to a remark made by Jake Gentle, a senior power systems engineer at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), we really wanted to demonstrate its toughness. You cannot arrive at the scene of a natural disaster carrying a cardboard box. It needs to be tough.

Read More: A ghost village emerges from the cracked earth as drought empties Spanish reservoir

Electricity is essential in a disaster. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and Idaho National Laboratory have spent four years researching wind energy as an alternative to diesel generators because it can be expensive and difficult to obtain in an emergency.

According to Brent Summerville, a distributed wind energy systems engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, it must be portable, assemble rapidly, and start producing power. That is a whole new problem for the wind energy sector.

Although solar has been considered, modular panels require consistent sunlight to provide enough power because they are quick and simple to ship and install. Wind energy has the potential to supply additional renewable energy that could help save lives in times of war or after natural disasters thanks to portable, easily deployable wind turbines.

It has been difficult to design a wind turbine that works in these conditions. Poured concrete and cranes are needed to install conventional wind turbines. Sending a turbine that required the assembly of several small parts would take more time. Additionally, the towers must be strong and long-lasting.

The research team decided on a 20-kilowatt wind turbine design that could fit into the 20-foot shipping containers that both the American Red Cross and the U.S. military utilize for disaster aid, together with solar panels and batteries. The crew has also thought about constructing the wind turbines on top of cargo containers.

Read More: Dramatic weather changes’: 150 million may be affected by ‘bomb cyclone’ across eastern US

According to Summerville, disaster relief and military groups want solutions that will actually work. Airborne wind may eventually work well if it is demonstrated to be dependable.

The D3T team organized a virtual workshop in June to bring together wind turbine manufacturers and suppliers with the U.S. military and disaster relief organizations. Additional tests are already scheduled for climate monitoring stations and some isolated Alaskan settlements.

 

Modern Slavery Is a Worldwide Problem in All Renewable Energy Supply Chains, According to A New Report.

According to a recent analysis from Australia’s Clean Energy Council, there is mounting evidence that modern slavery is connected to global clean energy supply chains. Despite Australia’s relatively minor position in the industry, the research highlights the country’s contribution to worldwide efforts to address the issue, according to a press statement from the Clean Energy Council.

Australia is on track to produce the vast majority of its electricity from solar, wind, hydro, and batteries by 2030, but it’s critical that this transition take place in a fair and equitable manner, according to Dr Nicholas Aberle, Policy Director of Energy Generation and Storage for the Clean Energy Council. Renewable energy technology, like many other contemporary goods used in daily life, might have lengthy supply chains that are connected to modern slavery at numerous stages.

According to The Guardian, Australia’s clean energy sector has pushed governments and businesses to take steps to prevent modern slavery and forced labour.

Increased domestic manufacturing and renewable energy production are demanded in the paper, Addressing Modern Slavery in the Clean Energy Sector, along with a certificate of origin programme to address concerns about slave labour in South America, China, and Africa.

The production of various essential components and the extraction of raw minerals, where renewables are anticipated to take an increasing percentage of the market, are the exposure points that require the most attention, according to Aberle in the news release. The possibility of developing domestic supply chain skills is one of the tactics that have to be looked into as part of a more comprehensive strategy for dealing with this problem.

According to the report, Australia must consciously confront the issue of modern slavery in the industry because it is on track to meet the majority of its electricity demands through renewable sources by 2030, according to The Guardian.

According to Renew Economy, there has been a rise in the deforestation of the Amazon because of the increasing demand for balsa wood for wind turbine blades. Due to the balsa supply chain, Peruvian indigenous groups’ land rights have been stolen and labourers in Ecuador have been paid with drugs and alcohol in exchange for their labour.

Regarding the prevalence of modern slavery, the metals and minerals utilised in the renewable energy industry are another major sources of worry.

Read More: Dramatic weather changes’: 150 million may be affected by ‘bomb cyclone’ across eastern US

According to World Bank estimates, under climate action scenarios where global temperatures are limited to within 2 C of warming, demand for essential minerals used in wind turbines will increase by 250 per cent. According to Renew Economy, a single 3 MW wind turbine alone contains roughly 4.7 tonnes of copper.

Between 15 and 30 per cent of the world’s cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Amnesty International found that youngsters as young as seven were being forced to work in hazardous artisanal mines for less than $2 per day while being exposed to poisonous dust and lacking proper safety equipment, as The Guardian reported.

Cobalt is a key ingredient in the permanent magnets that enable wind turbines to operate at lower speeds while still producing energy. Cobalt is also used to produce batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage.

According to the article, 40 to 45 per cent of the polysilicon used in the solar PV supply chain is supplied from China’s Xinjiang province, where 2.6 million Kazakh and Uyghur people have also been imprisoned, coerced, and subjected to re-education programmes, according to The Guardian.

The U.S. and Australian governments announced their wish to stop relying nearly entirely on China for supply chains of essential minerals and renewable energy earlier this year, citing information that shows around 80% of solar energy technology manufacturing takes place there.

The government, according to Aberle, has to assemble a task force made up of representatives from business, government, and civil society in order to develop a strategy that ensures Australia’s green energy supply chain is dependable, economical, and free of slavery, as The Guardian reported.

Read More: A ghost village emerges from the cracked earth as drought empties Spanish reservoir

In reaction to the research, New South Wales Anti-slavery Commissioner Dr. James Cockayne warned that immediate action is required to address the serious modern slavery concerns in Australian renewable energy supply chains and investments. This study is an essential and appreciative industry acknowledgement of the issue and a starting step in finding a solution. But in order to provide access to renewable energy at competitive prices and free of enslavement, we need to see cooperation between businesses, the government, the financial sector, and civil society. If we don’t, the just transition to a decarbonized economy runs the major risk of becoming significantly more difficult.

What About Electric Scooters in Paris?

The electric scooters that have gained popularity in cities all around the world may be banned in the City of Light.

Three rental e-scooter businesses in Paris now have licenses that are set to expire in February; however, due to worries about safety, traffic, and long-term environmental effects, those licenses may not be renewed.

David Belliard, deputy mayor for transportation and public spaces for the Paris Green Party, told The Guardian that stopping the contracts is very much on the table right now if we can’t come to a deal with operators on security, public space, and environmental credentials.

As reported by Inside EVs, Lime, Dot, and Tier currently provide more than 15,000 rental scooters in Paris. According to electrive.com, the Paris Town Council is presently debating what to do, but Mayor Anne Hidalgo has the final say. Weeks should pass before a decision is made.

Safety is one of the main issues. According to Reuters, there were 20 accidents involving scooters that resulted in deaths nationwide in 2021, including one in Paris. According to The Guardian at the time, this was a case when an Italian woman was killed while crossing the Seine after being struck in the head by a scooter that was also carrying two other ladies. The first eight months of 2022 in Paris saw a total of 337 incidents involving scooters and other comparable electric vehicles, up from 247 accidents during the same period in 2021, according to The Guardian.

Companies that make scooters disagree, arguing that the rise in accidents must be viewed in the context of the rise in general use and that, in comparison to other forms of transportation, scooters are largely accident-free.

A Lime representative told The Washington Post that over 99.99 percent of Lime journeys in Paris were incident-free. “E-scooters see fewer fatal events on a per-ride basis than motorcycles, and far less than those caused by mopeds or cars,” the spokesperson added.

Although there are parking spaces specifically designated for scooters in Paris, the space they occupy on the streets is still a worry. The devices had nonetheless transformed Paris into a jungle where people are terrified to cross the street or simply to walk on the pavement, according to centrist MoDem councilor Maud Gatel.

According to The Washington Post, while scooters compete for space on sidewalks and streets, supporters claim that they can reduce traffic on buses and metros or provide an alternative when these modes of transportation are unavailable.

The issue of their ultimate environmental value is the last one. Scooters, according to some, cut down on the amount of driving in Paris, which is currently undergoing a transition that favors shared public space over automobiles. According to The Guardian, Bellard claimed that the sustainability case for e-scooters may be exaggerated because they are essentially disposable and have a very short lifespan.

Read More: Innovative Company Wants to Drill 10 Miles Down to Replace Fossil Fuels With Geothermal Energy

However, an October study that was published in Nature Energy indicated that Atlanta’s ban on e-scooters and electric bikes did extend road travel time by around 10% and resulted in an additional 784,000 hours of traffic for inhabitants of the city per year. Increased cars also entail more traffic congestion, which increases greenhouse gas emissions.

The purpose of this essay is to argue that it’s not as straightforward as saying that scooters should be banned. According to a press statement from the Georgia Institute of Technology and research co-author Edward Chen. We have discovered that there are trade-offs between prohibiting them for public safety versus permitting them to reduce traffic congestion, and whether or not local governments make the choice ultimately affects how people live their everyday lives.

After the scooters first appeared on the scene in 2018, Paris has already made attempts at this compromise by regulating its rental business, according to Reuters. It established speed limits, a three-operator cap, and parking zones. The businesses are now putting up additional requirements, such as ID checks, a one-rider-per-scooter limit, and license plates so that police can enforce traffic laws, in an effort to maintain their licenses.’

Read More: PV Windows Reduce Emissions for Highly Glazed Buildings by Up to 40%, Study Finds

According to Lime Public Affairs Director Garance Lefevre to Reuters, “Paris will become the city with the strongest scooter legislation in the world if it approves our recommendations.”

Cities all over the world that are trying to reduce their carbon footprints in the midst of the e-scooter boom will probably be watching what Paris does next.

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