At Synergy International, we take our weekly opportunity to communicate with our growing audience (up +15% last week) very seriously. It’s a privilege to carve out a message that justifies our reader’s time.
Many of our favourite commentators describe the setting where they chose to write their weekly missive. One example is the local Cafe Nero in Chiswick, a socially distanced London suburb, which on most weekends sparks the creative juices of @ErikFossing, an extremely tuned-in economist and proponent of all the positive externalities of sustainable energy.
We are drawing our inspiration on the terrace of the Hotel Vila Galé Ericeira with a magnificent view of the southern beaches of Portugal’s World Surfing Reserve. Yes, the waves are pounding today.
Within the context of the #NetZero debate and handwringing over carbon emissions, climate change and global warming, we say keep your eyes on the ocean.
A maximum +1.5C degrees target for increase to global average temperature was established by the Paris Agreement. To have any chance of accomplishing this goal, C02 emissions must be “netzero” by the middle of the century.
These goals and objectives have their proponents and sceptics over the supporting science, many of them vociferous in Twitter storming on both sides of the issues.
Even for those that debunk the science, global temperature continues to set consecutive annual “hottest on record.” According to Copernicus, the hottest years on record starting from the warmest one seven years ago, have been 2016, 2020, 2019, 2017, and 2022.
Google Earth shows before and after satellite photos of the melting Antarctic ice sheets. According to NASA, Antarctica is losing ice mass (melting) at an average rate of about 150 billion tons per year. (Not to be outdone, Greenland is losing about 270 billion tons per year.)
These are observable facts free for all to see, not scientific opinions.
Now here are some opinions, direct from the 2023 World Economic Forum (Even without all those Credit Suisse skiers next year, judged purely as a ski resort, Davos is an over-priced miss!!)
The Antarctic ice sheet has been strongly decreasing since 2016.
If left unchecked, the complete melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet would cause a global sea level increase of 3.3 metres in the future, says an WEF expert.
At present, the world is heading towards a warming of 2.8C by the end of this century.
The Antarctic ice sheet will therefore continue to melt and contribute to sea level rise, which will test the adaptive capacity of humanity.
One assumes the assembly of global elite was virtue signalling “adaptive capacity of humanity” as secret code for living in a world with New York, Miami, Bangkok and Shanghai all deeply under the waves. That list of cities might be the tip of the iceberg - no pun intended - of things future generations will learn to live without.
Let’s cheer up, we still have ~27 years and only need ~US$9 trillion per year to fix it!
Next week, we intend to dig into the relationship between industrial policy and sustainable energy following the European Union’s announcement of the NetZero Industry Act and its exciting plan to create a European Hydrogen Bank.
Spoiler alert, we’ve already seen considerable moaning about the shortcomings in the NetZero Industry Act vis-à-vis the US Inflation Reduction Act. Don’t buy it. The EU continues to impress with its initiative, commitment and financial muscle.