Climate Joy Week #30: Honda to Sell Only Electric and Hybrid Cars in Europe from 2022

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Hello there! As always, we welcome you to this week’s edition of our climate joy series. This right here marks our thirtieth weekly documentary of the joyful news arising from our fight to save our planet and I must admit, it has been quite the joyful ride.

When we started this series, it frankly seemed like there was nothing happy to report. I worried that since all we get from the media as regards our environment is gloomy news, I might run out of happy news after the first few weeks. Turns out there are hoys to report afterall, this being the 30^th edition and all. Thank you for always popping by, and for sharing these climate joys with your friends and loved ones edition after edition.

Now without further ado, let’s get down to what we have for you this week:

1. Honda Will Sell Only Electric and Hybrid Cars in Europe from 2022

Japanese automobile giant Honda has announced that it will sell only electric and hybrid cars in Europe from 2022. Earlier this year, the company had announced it intended “to move 100% of its European sales to electrified powertrains by 2025″ but going by this latest announcement, this positive development will now take place three years earlier than the company had originally relayed.

Tom Gardner, Senior Vice President at Honda made this announcement in Amsterdam while Honda was presenting the new fully-electric Jazz model for the European market. According to the company, this new commitment is a reflection of the confidence the company has in the development of the electric car market in Europe.

In addition, Honda will be launching six new models of its cars in Europe over the next three years in order to meet its goal, including a hybrid version of the Jazz that goes on sale next year.

2. Offshore Wind Farms Can Provide More Electricity than the World Needs

This new report released a few days ago by the International Energy Agency (IEA) indicates an amazing future for offshore wind farms and energy generation for the planet. The report which involved a detailed study of the world’s coastlines relays that if the world’s coasts are better utilized, offshore wind farms would actually generate a lot more electricity than the planet needs.

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According to the report, if wind farms were built across all usable sites which are no further than 60km (37 miles) off the coast, and where coastal waters are no deeper than 60 meters, they could generate 36,000 terawatt hours of renewable electricity a year. When you realize that the current global demand for electricity is 23,000 terawatt hours, this is a great achievement. This will still be the case even if the wind farms are only built in windy regions in shallow waters near the shore.

The study also predicts offshore wind generation will grow 15-fold to emerge as a $1 trillion (£780 billion) industry in the next 20 years and will prove to be the next great energy revolution. This is positive news in light of the fact that electricity from renewable resources such as solar, geothermal, and wind generally does not contribute to climate change or local air pollution since no fuels are combusted.

3. Leading Australian Engineers Turn their Backs on New Fossil Fuel Projects

About 1,000 Australian engineers and 90 organizations announced a new climate declaration where all new projects they take on will be evaluated against the environmental necessity to mitigate climate change. Put differently, these individuals and organizations will place the needs of our environment first before other considerations.

This announcement came against the background of engineering firms coming under increased pressure from their own employees to abandon controversial fossil fuel projects, as the sector turns its attention to the climate crisis. And as the declaration gains ground, some industry figures suggest businesses that work on the infamous Adani’s Carmichael coal mine project might face a shortage of skilled workers as they face potential boycotts from their staff.

In the past few months, integrated services firms Aurecon and Cardno have both announced they would cut ties with Carmichael; incredible developments since Australia has a somewhat troubled climate action record.

4. Tesla Opens Gigafactory in China

World’s foremost luxury electric car company Tesla has opened its car factory in China. The factory was made operational in a record time of 168 days from receiving permits to opening of the factory. The business announced to investors last week that Tesla’s new Gigafactory in Shanghai started trial production “ahead of schedule” this month and is building “full vehicles, from body to paint to general assembly.” The company plans to announce the location of its next Gigafactory in Europe by the end of the year, added Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO.

This move grants Tesla access to the world’s biggest car market. If all goes according to plan, Musk says the Shanghai plant could enable Tesla to eventually triple its overall output. It’s expected to produce the best-selling Model 3 along with the Model Y, a cheaper version of Tesla’s Model X SUV that’s on its way to market.

This is a step in the right direction, particularly as China is also the world’s biggest carbon emitter.

5. Bees Get Connected to the Internet

A few months ago, we explored the environmental challenges facing bees and now we bring you some good news on this front.

Nordic research and software consultant Tieto Oyj has placed sensors in two beehives in Sweden, connecting some 80,000 bees in each hive to the Internet. The hives send data to the off-site servers where it can be remotely accessed in real time, and soon artificial intelligence algorithms will be used to analyse the information.

This project shows the benefits of a digitized society because with the use of this technology, we can better track the number of bees, how viable their communities are and how much honey they produce. All of which will in turn contribute immensely to research and conservation of biodiversity.

And on this happy note, we wrap things up for this edition of our Climate Joy series. Make sure to share this post to spread the climate positivity and we’ll see you back here next week for more good news!

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Feature image via Carscoops.

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