This week’s Current Climate, which every Saturday brings you the latest news about the business of sustainability. Sign up to get it in your inbox every week.
The auto industry’s transition from fossil fuels to electric power is accelerating, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a smooth process. Demand surged last year for models like Ford’s F-150 Lightning and Tesla’s Model Y crossover, but the car business always has quick shifts in supply and demand. And at the moment, the supply of electric cars and trucks is oustripping demand, according to recent industry data. Rising interest rates and lingering concerns about the economy have bloated EV inventory on U.S. dealer lots, and that’s prompted even Tesla to slash prices on its top-selling Y and Model 3. Cox Automotive put the number of EVs in stock at about three times the level it was a year ago, though sales of battery-powered models also hit a record in this year’s second quarter. Continued growth in public charging infrastructure and likelihood the U.S. economy isn’t headed for a recession may help turn things around.
And it’s not just demand for autos powered by electricity that’s cooling. The International Energy Agency thinks growth in global demand for electric power is likely to cool in 2023. A global economic slowdown and an energy crisis triggered by Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine are the main culprits. The IEA estimates that electricity demand will increase by just less than 2% this year, down from a 2.3% growth rate in 2022. The average growth rate was 2.4% in the five years before the Covid-19 pandemic.
June was the world’s hottest month ever, but July is poised to top it and August may be even warmer. The U.S. Southwest is feeling the brunt of the summer heatwave with Phoenix measuring a temperature of over 110 degrees for at least 19 consecutive days, breaking a nearly 50-year record for the city. Sustained heat is a risk to human health, the environment and the economy. In fact it could end up having a $100 billion impact annually on the U.S. if the current pattern continues.
The Big Read
Bill Gates Is Backing A Secret Startup Drilling For Limitless Clean Energy
As the effects of human-caused climate change unfold in the form of heatwaves, more severe wildfires, heavier rainstorms and more violent hurricanes, we’re in need of some hopeful news. Koloma, a stealthy startup backed by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures and other cleantech investors, might just fit the bill. The Denver-based company has quietly raised $91 million to drill for carbon-free hydrogen, a resource that’s continuously generated underground. If it succeeds, the company could help turbocharge the clean energy revolution — and potentially tap a $1 trillion market.
Discoveries And Innovations
Several states have battled extreme flooding in the past few weeks–a situation that NASA scientists say will continue to get worse due to global warming .
Rising temperatures could send the stock market tumbling, analysts at Charles Schwab warn, citing previous years in which El Nino events caused a surge in inflation.
The Big Transportation Story
Ford Slashes Electric F-150 Prices And Ramps Up Production Amid Competition With Tesla
Ford lowered the base price of some versions of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck this week by as much as $10,000, reversing a series of price hikes for the battery-powered model over the past two years. The automaker is also getting ready to ramp up production of Lightnings to help beat back competition from electric vehicle giant Tesla, which is preparing to finally start selling its polarizing version of a pickup: the Cybertruck.
Sustainability Deals Of The Week
Recycled Returns: Arrive Recommerce, which helps retailers to manage resales of returned items to keep them out of landfills, announced a $16 million series A round co-led by Javelin Venture Partners and Climatic VC.
AI Power Procurement: San Francisco-based Verse, which is using generative AI to make it easier for organizations to buy and manage electricity from renewable sources, announced a $5.75 million seed investment led by Coatue.
What Else We’re Reading This Week
A Vast Untapped Green Energy Source Is Hiding Beneath Your Feet (Wired)
The global fight for critical minerals is costly and damaging (Nature)
There’s a New Science Platform to Vet Carbon Removal Companies (Bloomberg)
