Robbie Andrew
@robbie_andrew
Followers
8K
Following
1K
Media
2K
Statuses
9K
Senior scientist at 🇳🇴CICERO Center for International Climate Research (@CICERO_klima) • 🌍Global Carbon Project (@gcarbonproject). More active on the other.
Joined January 2013
On Tuesday I gave a ten-minute update on where global fossil CO₂ emissions are at.
1
0
1
I doubt there are many outside of Norway that know that the Norwegian pop group A-ha was critical in the introduction of electric car incentives in Norway. I certainly didn't. Read on.
180
3K
8K
India is experiencing another scorching heatwave. Short 🧵
148
1K
4K
It's only been up a couple of months, but already the Tanager-1 satellite is identifying thousands of methane emissions around the world. 1/3.
82
1K
3K
The pandemic's immediate effect on global CO₂ emissions has only given us about 20 extra days' grace in meeting our global climate target. Let's not leave this to chance, let's make it happen. Stronger policies to drive emissions down faster are urgently required.
21
412
1K
When confiscated, the car was auctioned, but since no-one else wanted to buy the car, only our heroes were at the auction to buy it back again. They they drove without paying tolls, car confiscated again, car auctioned again, bought back again. and this went on, and on, and on.
3
52
931
Finally, in 1996, the team had their way and electric cars were exempted from paying road tolls, the star power of A-ha helping along the way. Presumably the government just gave up, since exempting one car wasn't going to break the bank. Source:
2
32
750
In 1989, two members of the group, Morten Harket and Magne Furuholmen were in Switzerland with environmentalist Frederic Hauge, when they came across a hobby-converted Fiat Panda. Stated range: 45 km. They snapped it up and imported it to Norway. Photo: In Switzerland (Bellona)
9
61
672
📢Today the Global Carbon Project releases its 2023 edition of the Global Carbon Budget, a comprehensive assessment of our perturbation of the carbon cycle and the balance of sources and sinks of CO₂. 1/🧵
18
260
638
The fine was 300 Norwegian crowns each time, and they bought the car back each time for 200 Norwegian crowns (i.e., for less than the fine). Source:
2
22
585
These early efforts were important in the long process (starting with the oil crises in the 1970s) of developing interest in electric cars in Norway, from a few individuals through to 2020's extraordinary record 54% of all new cars sold being battery-electric.
3
40
578
Who were the 59 souls who bought cars that ran only on gasoline last month in Norway?
59
106
564
The transport agency in the Oslo region now has 24 depots for fast-charging its electric busses. Given that this infrastructure is unused much of the day, this month the agency will talk with the transport and construction industry about access. 1/3.
5
118
529
They were unhappy with "disincentives" to owning an electric car, including road tolls. So they drove repeatedly through toll stations without paying. Every time, they received a fine, which they didn't pay. According to the rules, the car was then confiscated. Photo: Bellona.
5
32
506
They managed (somehow) to avoid paying the one-off registration fee in 1990, and ever since then electric cars have been exempted this now-substantial fee. Source:
1
18
500
On arrival in Norway, the regs didn't accommodate the registration of electric cars so it couldn't legally be driven on the road. Since it had a propane-fuelled heater, just like a motorhome, they registered it as a motorhome.
2
24
467
Norway is known for having a large share of electric cars on its roads, currently over 21%. Do they catch fire more often than ICE cars? Not according to data from the Norwegian authorities.
31
161
458
I keep hearing from Norwegians that Norway was a poor country before the oil age. Where does this idea come from, and what were African countries at the time if Norway was poor?.Norway's GDP per capita before oil was discovered in 1969 was at the median of OECD members. Poor?
18
95
404
Note that while some sources say that the converted Fiat Panda was in 1989 the first electric car in Norway, the history goes a bit further back.
24
21
440
There's a bit of noise about ClimateTrace, a really nice dataset produced by a large collaboration of scientists. Facility-level emissions, over the whole world! Satellites see everything, and AI does all the work! I want here to look at a single case to open a window onto this.
6
89
423
Moreover, in contrast to petrol cars, diesel cars paid registration fees based on how far they were driven, and our heroes thought this should also apply to electric cars. So the two-seater Swiss-converted Fiat Panda was registered as a diesel motorhome in Norway.
1
17
410
Here's India's daily maximum temperatures from 2019 to yesterday.
6
119
394
The Norwegian government released a new climate plan today. Here a few highlights.
7
141
392
P.S. Numbers for September just released, and 87% of new car registrations were battery electric. Only 2.3% didn't have an electric motor (pure petrol or diesel internal combustion engine). More details:
18
102
379
Norway's September passenger car sales stats just released. Highest monthly sales in over two years, and diesel cars made up only 5%. Electric car sales last month were 61% of all new cars sold in Norway.
18
154
331
📢Today the Global Carbon Project releases its 2024 edition of the Global Carbon Budget, a comprehensive assessment of our perturbation of the carbon cycle and the balance of sources and sinks of CO₂. 1/🧵
8
149
387
🇸🇪Sweden removed it's "Climate bonus" scheme for EVs in early 2023 on the grounds that total cost of ownership is now similar to ICEs. The effect of this policy change is clear. Acceleration of EV sales has stopped, and sales have decline in 2024. 1/2
26
102
359
2020 is looking to be the first year in Norway where more than half of all new cars are electric.
6
123
341
For more on the historical of electric cars in Norway from the 1970s, check out TØI's report here (in Norwegian).
2
9
294
Today the Global Carbon Project releases the 2022 edition of the Global Carbon Budget, a comprehensive assessment of our perturbation of the carbon cycle and the balance of sources and sinks of CO₂. 1/ .
3
125
284
Substantial changes in how the EU generates power in 2022. A big drop in nuclear, 71% of which was in France, and a big drop in hydro, 30% in Italy. Spain contributed 74% of growth in natural gas generation. Germany 73% of hard coal, 35% of lignite, 31% of solar & 37% of wind.
11
107
285
In 2023, fully 28% of all distance travelled by passenger cars in Norway was in battery-electric vehicles. And it keeps growing.
15
54
265
There are a lot of sources in Texas and New Mexico. Zoom in to see them in groups, zoom in further to see individual sources. 2/3
6
36
254
Wet-bulb temperature - which combines temperature and humidity - is a better measure of heat stress for humans.
1
34
257
Interesting that emissions from home heating in Norway are now completely dominated by methane from incomplete combustion of wood. The remaining CO₂ is mostly from portable LPG units. Most home heating in Norway is from electricity.
7
55
262
New cars in Norway have become 35% heavier in the last 10 years 🧵
21
58
244
NEW (This is not the "good news" channel).Indonesia's government has just reported that the country's consumption of coal increased by a massive 33% in 2022. Short 🧵
11
87
250
In August 72% of all new cars sold in Norway were battery electric, boosted by the first arrivals of Tesla's Model Y. Electric cars accounted for more than 50% of new sales in all Norway's counties, the first time this has occurred.
6
73
251
With high temperatures and more people having installed air conditioning since last year, high electricity demand is pushing coal-fired power stations to the limit.
8
34
233
The alarm was raised already in February, when that month broke records going back over 100 years. India's weather office at that time announced that India was likely to experience heat waves between March and May.
4
34
227
With this open portal, you can zoom in to specific sources to see the methane plume and select different dates on which the satellite and algorithms detected it. 3/3
3
34
240
Apparently Norway is the most ready country in Europe for "the energy transition". You have to laugh sometimes. Norway has no plan for Europe's energy transition away from oil and gas. So is Norway then 'ready' for this transition? Hmm.
40
38
240
"NOAA’s preliminary analysis showed the annual increase in atmospheric methane for 2020 was 14.7 parts per billion (ppb), which is the largest annual increase recorded since systematic measurements began in 1983.".
14
132
207
At least 11 people died on Sunday from deydration and heatstroke at an outdoor award ceremony in Navi Mumbai.
6
31
209
How is Norway's EV transition affecting gas stations?.1. They declined by about 50% 1970-2000. ▸More efficient cars.▸More expensive property.▸Other grocers extending opening hours.2. Last decade? No change. ▸EVs mean stations install chargers and carry on selling hot dogs.
19
67
214
On 28th April 2022 the average temperature across all of India was 38.5°C.
9
37
195
NEW: Indonesia has jumped three places in the global rankings of CO₂ emissions. Last year it was 9th, but with its huge increase in coal use last year, it has passed Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, and is now in 6th place.
NEW (This is not the "good news" channel).Indonesia's government has just reported that the country's consumption of coal increased by a massive 33% in 2022. Short 🧵
10
95
203
📢A new record 94.3% of all new passenger cars registered in 🇳🇴Norway in August were battery-electric. A few months of higher share of purchases by businesses had pulled the BEV rate down, and July is always a quiet month, but August pulls clear of these short-term effects. 1/2
10
54
203
Do you know your top ten fossil CO₂ emitters?.Positions have been changing. Yes, China first, but also:.▸India now third, passing the EU.▸Indonesia jumped in 2022
14
80
201
An extraordinary pair of charts from Global Energy Monitor. Top: Operating solar farms in China >=1MW.Bottom: Operating wind farms in China >=10MW.
6
77
204
If all the distance that was driven in EVs in Norway had instead been driven by cars with internal combustion engines, Norway's emissions would have been 1.5 Mt higher. Now that the passenger car fleet is 25% full-electric, this is having a significant effect.
40
53
197
1/ Our remaining carbon budget to keep warming under 1.5°C is tiny. Modelling shows the 'best' way to achieve this by actively removing CO₂ from the atmosphere: 'negative emissions'. Doing this allows more room for actual, positive emissions.
7
93
191
New data from Norway show that 28% of all distance travelled by passenger cars in 2023 was in BEVs (up from 23% in 2022), and another 14% in hybrids. Total distance grew slightly, but remained below the peak in 2018. 1/3
11
51
179
So you want industrial heat at up to 1700°C? Here's another approach under development to electrify that so you can ditch those pesky fossil fuels. "commercial demonstration projects beginning in 2023"."can be retrofitted to existing production plants".
15
32
177
Jeez, where to start?.This "study" does basically everything wrong. Short thread.
Car fires by powertrain:.Hybrid: 3,475 per 100,000 sold .Gasoline: 1,530.Electric vehicles: 25
13
60
176
The Swedish Prime Minister says that the new hydrogen-based steel plant being launched in Luleå today is steel's "largest technology shift in a thousand years," and says that "we will be able to make Sweden the world's first fossil-free country.".
5
82
157
Norway has had a CO₂ tax since 1991. Now it is considering a reverse CO₂ tax so that companies that capture and store biogenic CO₂ would be paid at the same rate as the CO₂ tax. Emit fossil CO₂: Pay 2000 NOK/tonne. Capture and store biogenic CO₂: Get 2000 NOK/tonne.
6
45
157
Germany's generation of electricity from coal in June was not only higher than June 2020, but also higher than June 2019. And this despite record-high ETS (carbon) prices.
13
89
166
If you're sitting in a developed country and thinking this doesn't seem so hot, this is what you need to know. ▸Only 6% of India's households (in 2018) had air conditioning. (Data: IEA)
6
24
152
The agency in the Oslo region now expects to reach its 100% bus electrification target in December, four years earlier than expected. There will remain a few exceptions (e.g. a bridge that isn't strong enough, and busses for train replacement). 3/3.
2
25
152
Norway really is fairly extreme in how it heats its homes. Data are for 2022, and that little bit of oil left in Norway's home-heating mix has now gone.
24
35
159
I've just published an update to @gcarbonproject's global cement process emissions dataset. To accompany this release, I've put together some slides on CO₂ emissions from cement production and looked into mitigation options. Take a look 🧵 1/27ish
8
56
154
Does this analogy help in understanding how small amounts of CO₂ in the atmosphere can keep us warm? And in particular how small increases can make us warmer?
19
69
138
Rahul has a nice thread discussing how peak power demand has shifted from morning to afternoon, and some implications of this.
@robbie_andrew @srnarasimhan @sksoonee @CEA_India @bharathjairaj @kiychettira @CERC_India @JKempEnergy @JaiAsundi @ashwingambhir @NavrozDubash @Maveryq @ThomasASpencer @bijliabhinav @Nikit_Abhyankar @KaygeeAtWork Which is why I tagged you!. You have great time series data and insights. Sine of our stuff complements that with time of day. going to be the biggest issue going forward. Surplus parts of the day. (near) deficit others.
2
9
143
The average inhabitant of New Delhi would live 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟵 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 if it weren't for air pollution, according to the Air Quality Life Index produced by the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago.
6
78
141
Update: The total emissions from Norway's extracted oil and natural gas compared with its reported territorial emissions. More details:.
4
47
130
I just came across this chart from the Norwegian Environment Agency showing the share of chargeable and non-chargeable passenger car sales over time. Extra handy to have that long-term perspective!
10
45
127
Electric and hybrid cars now make up more than 60% of new passenger car sales in Norway.
6
67
121
New: Extraction-based emissions accounts. This complement to existing territorial and consumption-based methods allocates emissions to the countries where the fossil fuels were first extracted. This is an initial draft, with revisions to come.🧵.
9
49
126
After two years away, cruise ships are back in Norwegian waters for the summer CO₂ season.
4
22
122
Norway monthly EV sales data and figures now have their own webpage, rather than me tweeting into the void every month.
8
48
123
Our revised estimates for global CO₂ emissions in 2020 show a decline of -4.9%. Our projection made in early December was -5.6%. Thread. [All percentages adjusted for the leap year]
3
65
126
More information and detailed data on India's energy and emissions are available here, frequently updated:.
1
15
127
Europe raced to secure coal supplies during the energy crisis of 2022. Now it finds it didn't use most of it, so it's exporting. "In the end, the European Union actually burned 11% less coal compared to the previous winter, according to think-tank Ember.".
7
35
123
China's solar installations have been just phenomenal. Quarterly, province-level data are now available for download from my webpage:
7
24
121
Here's a piece in the NY Times (open link) about the tragedy on Sunday, with comment from @CPR_India.
4
13
116
Why did the US suffer so many hot nights this summer? Simple: global warming. Small changes in global average temperatures that don't sound so scary translate into huge increases in the probability of what we normally think of as extreme temperatures.
2
65
114
I'm being asked by local journalists how 'important' these leaks are for the climate. For any event it's easy to find a context in which that event's important. But globally, these leaks might show up as a 0.1% blip in annual, man-made methane emissions.
9
33
113
Cutting use of oil isn't just about EVs. Northeast of Bergen, Norway, the local power company is carrying out strengthening work on a hydro dam with entirely electric machinery, concrete trucks and all.
7
27
112
In July, about 95 passenger cars were sold in Norway with only internal combustion engines. Skoda is by far the biggest selling car brand in this dwindling category. The sales of pure-ICE passenger vehicles are now dominated by campervans, excluded here.
11
32
115
Lack of space, electricity network constraints, and expensive infrastructure are hurdles to electrification of heavy transport. Time-sharing existing infrastructure among industries makes sense. 2/3.
1
16
113
Norway's CO₂ price, originally introduced in 1991, will be gradually increased from today's 590 kr/tonne (USD70) to 2000 kr/tonne (USD240) in 2030.
1
23
109
This is what Austria is doing with its trains. Fantastic innovation in both day- and night-trains, including private sleeping compartments for four, two, or even one.
3
49
100
It's important when comparing countries' emissions profiles to look at consumption: developed countries buying things from China and others, 'outsourcing' both production and emissions. But while this changes the picture, it doesn't change the story.
1
65
87
With 18% of cars on Norwegian roads full BEV and another 6% plug-in hybrids, electricity consumption used for transport is expected to be about 1.8 TWh in 2022, or about 1.5% of total power demand.
6
25
96
🚨First release of the 2022 edition of my global cement process emissions dataset, free to download and use:.
3
31
101
Numbers now in for December:.86.2% of all new cars sold in Norway in 2021 could be charged.• 64.5% full electric.• 21.6% plug-in hybrids. More figures/data:
3
35
88
The world's first fully electric fast ferry made its first trial voyage yesterday. There are about 200 fast ferries in operation along Norway's coast, and they are big emitters: the worst use 600L diesel per hour. Electrifying will give big gains.
5
24
94
Norway's consumption of electricity to charge electric vehicles in context of growing in wind power generation in Norway. (Land-based wind power is not without conflict in Norway.)
5
27
87
India's rainfall in August 2023 was the lowest for August since records began in 1901, by a wide margin. 1/3
3
30
93
You may have seen different versions of this figure in various places. Here's the original.
1
55
90
The Global Carbon Budget 2020 is released today, and all the figures prepared for this release are available here in several formats, with csv data files for most of them. Plus additional figures and data files for a bunch of individual countries.
4
30
89