June 7, 2023 - Your Scoop in CDR!

MIT- The World is Finally Spending More On Solar Than Oil Production The International Energy Agency just published its annual report on global investment in energy, where it tallies up all that cash. The world saw about $2.8 trillion of investments in energy in 2022, with about $1.7 trillion of that going into clean energy.

Let’s start with what I consider to be good news: there’s a lot of money going into clean energy—including renewables, nuclear, and things that help cut emissions, like EVs and heat pumps. And not only is it a lot of money, but it’s more than the amount going toward fossil fuels. In 2022, for every dollar spent on fossil fuels, $1.70 went to clean energy. Just five years ago, it was dead even.

Clean energy’s growing dominance is especially clear when it comes to solar power. In 2023, for the first time, investment in solar energy is expected to beat out investment in oil production. It’s a stark difference from what the picture looked like a decade ago, when oil spending outpaced solar spending by nearly six to one.

In the first minutes of June 6th, I was already in the Climeworks DAC Summit which took place from midnight until 9 am. The entire summit was very insightful and full of many practical perspectives on the past, present and future of CDR. My favorite speech was Katherine Hayhoe’s Silver Buckshot Solutions speech. She underscores the reason why it is important to focus on a multitude of priorities with an understanding that DAC is but one of many solutions to commit to in order to alleviate future suffering. The recordings are now available and it is valuable to hear from the many speakers who presented. I believe simply signing up will allow you access to the recordings, which are must-see fare in order to understand the conversations CDR groups are focusing on this next year.

I appreciated the message of the Founders of Climeworks, who were the first two speakers at the event. Jan Wurzbacher and Christoph Gebald together clarify the long term cost curve for DAC R&D, and how costs will be driven down as it has been previously with other technologies such as photovoltaics (as an example).

Also I had a conversation with a friend in Central New York and Dick Scheutzow tells me that today the smoke from the Canadian fires have turned the sky orange. It might be worth googling it if you are interested in CDR and looking for a clear sign of changes in our normal weather patterns. Here is a link to a CBS News video on the Orange Sky.