Increased Renewables and Carbon Credits For Belize
Most of the new electrical energy generating capacity in the United States in 2023, 53%, was due to additional solar power. This was predominantly large projects in California and Texas. However, solar power is still just 5% of the United States’ electricity mix. There is a long way to go. The article points out that recent resolution of some supply chain restraints helped, and there are more benefits from the Inflation Reduction Act that companies can take advantage of.
From the article in Grist:
“That feat marks the first time since World War II, when hydropower was booming, that a renewable power source has comprised more than half of the nation’s energy additions.
“‘It’s really monumental,’” said Shawn Rumery, senior director of research at the Solar Energy Industries Association, or SEIA. The trade group announced the 2023 numbers in a report released today with analytics firm Wood MacKenzie. The 32.4 gigawatts that came online in the United States last year shattered the previous high of 23.6 gigawatts recorded in 2021 and accounted for 53 percent of new capacity.”
In 2023 Germany decreased its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 10%. Germany’s economy has suffered from not having cheap Russian gas to fuel it since Russia invaded Ukraine. However, Germany still managed to decrease GHG produced by industrial processes by 7.7% despite a fall in production by only 1.2% (although there were bigger drops in high-use energy industries, chemicals and metals). Power plant emissions fell because more energy was obtained from renewables, now at 52%. They also increased their importing of energy from French nuclear power plants. The German government believes it is on track to reach their 2030 target of cutting emissions by 65% compared with their 1990 levels.
There is good reason to be suspicious of carbon credits, even if you favor some form of carbon pricing to control the use of greenhouse gases and air pollution. However, Inside Climate News did a story on saving part of Belize’s Maya Selva tropical rainforest in part using carbon credits. Large scale commercial interests want to develop land that connects two large areas of the Maya Selva Forest in the southern part of Belize. Dividing this forest would be a major threat to biodiversity and survival of the ecosystem, as well as the ability of the forest to draw down CO2. Previously The Belize Maya Forest Trust raised $76 million with the help of The Nature Conservancy to create a 236,000 acre reserve. They need more funds to complete their work, and they hope they can do it with carbon credits. This seems a good use of carbon credits. At least it is legitimate, not some ill-conceived project doomed to fail or do little, other than make people feel they can more freely pollute and create greenhouse gases without feeling guilty. Well, it still may do that, but at some point, you do have to try.