New EU 2040 Targets | EarthxNews Full Episode

Name: New EU 2040 Targets | EarthxNews Full Episode
Uploaded: 2025-10-30T17:19:32+00:00
Duration: 22 min 1 s
Channel: EarthX Media

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New technology for methane gas leaks; ocean waves as a source of energy; offshore industry makes history; green energy waste concerns; sustainable fashion; Ugandan refugees restore the forest.

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00:00New tech, the U.S. government is backing a plan aiming to develop new ways to check for methane gas leaks

00:08as consensus grows around the need to stop the greenhouse gas from escaping.

00:12Plus, Tesla finds itself in some unfamiliar territory against its Chinese rival in the race to be the world's top-selling EV maker.

00:20And America's offshore wind industry has celebrated a historic achievement. We'll explain.

00:30Hello and welcome to EarthX News, where the focus is on sustainability and the environment.

00:38I'm John Glasgow, in for Christina Thompson this week. Let's get to some of the biggest headlines facing our planet.

00:44The European Commission is proposing a new 2040 target for greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

00:49But some member states say that the targets are too ambitious.

00:53Member states doubt targets will be met, as some countries have not been able to meet broader EU environmental policy targets.

01:01European climate law binds members to a 55% reduction by 2030 and complete carbon neutrality by 2050.

01:10This new target raising concern is an interim target for 2040, which would reduce emissions by 90 to 95%.

01:17Member states are concerned over transitioning and maintaining public support.

01:21The EU's new Climate Action Commissioner is suggesting exploring radical options.

01:26Those include lifestyle changes, like dietary shifts, to achieve the new climate goals.

01:32The Commission wants governments to increase their efforts before the final national energy and climate plans.

01:37A deadline is June 2024.

01:40Meanwhile, the Biden administration is backing a $189 million loan to a Boulder-based company

01:46that will develop a methane detection network.

01:48Now, this goal is to monitor tens of thousands of oil and gas sites using lasers to find leaks that could contribute to climate change.

01:57Long Path Technologies is developing a subscription-based service to provide real-time methane emission monitoring.

02:0425 million acres of land of the Permian Basin and the oil and gas production sites across six states will be observed.

02:12Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide.

02:19Curbing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector is seen as critical to reducing the climate impact of those fossil fuels.

02:27Finding and plugging these leaks could help slow climate change than almost any other single measure.

02:32If finalized, the Energy Department said Long Path's network is expected to prevent methane emissions equal at least to 6 million tons of CO2 a year.

02:43That's the equivalent of taking 1.3 million gasoline-powered vehicles off the road.

02:48A plan for a new industrial park is under fire and fueling concerns over groundwater supplies in Indiana.

02:55Tensions started to rise after state officials proposed a pipeline that could transfer as much as 100 million gallons of water a day from an aquifer 40 miles away in order to support the business project.

03:07Now, critics, they blasted this plan, saying that it might dry out residential wells.

03:11Meantime, local lawmakers claim that the water is critical to plans that will attract billions of dollars of investment and new jobs.

03:19One such type of investment is the production of microchips, which requires a massive amount of water to make.

03:25The state has been searching for a semiconductor firm that could create a production hub for the technology.

03:30Now, the governor of Indiana has pledged not to move forward with the project until studies could be completed to ensure any water withdrawals are sustainable.

03:38In California, the state has approved new projects aimed at using ocean waves as a source of clean energy.

03:44Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law allowing state agencies to study how ocean movement could generate power.

03:51The goal is to jumpstart an industry that could fill the power gaps as California is moving towards an all-renewable electric grid by 2045.

03:59U.S. Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office says that marine energy development is where land-based wind development was 20 to 30 years ago.

04:09Tesla has major competition when it comes to electric cars.

04:13BYD has overtaken Elon Musk's company to become one of the world's largest electric car companies.

04:19The Chinese company sold a record number of cars last year, according to a stock exchange filing.

04:24BYD sold more than 525,000 battery electric vehicles over a three-month period in 2023 alone.

04:32Tesla is still outpacing BYD year-over-year, selling 1.8 million EVs, but the car company is narrowing the gap when it comes to sales.

04:41China is progressing quickly into the EV market, too, with help from a strong government support.

04:45Beijing has set a target that at least 20% of new cars sold annually in China by 2025 should be new energy vehicles.

04:54And a historic moment for clean energy production in America, as the first U.S. offshore wind farm is now sending electricity to the grid.

05:03This is the moment the Vineyard Wind Project passed roughly 5 megawatts of power from one of its five turbines.

05:10It happened just before midnight on January 2nd, which is why this video is so dark.

05:16The turbines are located 15 miles off the coast of Massachusetts.

05:20This is one of 62 planned for the project.

05:23The developers say four more turbines at the same offshore wind site will be operational this year.

05:29Recently, offshore wind technology has faced a number of challenges.

05:33Many offshore wind projects have been canceled due to economic reasons and for not being financially feasible.

05:40Now, there appears to be renewed hope.

05:43Industry analysts view this latest achievement as a win for America's offshore wind business.

05:49The 800-megawatt wind farm will power more than 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts.

05:57Starting this year, fewer vehicles will qualify for the U.S. government's federal tax credit to buy an EV.

06:02The new eligibility rules mean that only 19 models can receive the $7,500 tax credit when purchased new.

06:10Last year, 43 vehicles qualified for that incentive.

06:14The Nissan Leaf, Tesla, Cybertruck and the Volkswagen ID.4 among those that no longer qualify.

06:22The new rules are pushing automakers to build EVs and battery components in the U.S.

06:27instead of outsourcing them from other countries.

06:29Another change this year.

06:30Auto dealers can claim the credit for customers at the point of sale as opposed to having the customers wait until they file their taxes.

06:39Experts are saying that the rules are frustrating and counterproductive.

06:43This comes as manufacturers have announced more than $100 billion for U.S.-based projects.

06:48About half is for battery plants and the other is for investments in clean transportation.

06:52Now, as the tax credits dry up on some vehicles, more than half of American car buyers say that they are no longer interested in purchasing an EV.

07:01Some of the reasons for the lack of interest are higher costs and concerns about charging availability and reliability issues.

07:09Instead, consumers are turning towards hybrids and gas-powered vehicles despite inventory of battery-powered models on dealer lots doubling over the past year.

07:18The charging network isn't the only thing dissuading customers.

07:22EVs had 80% more problems than gas-powered engines.

07:26That's according to Consumer Reports magazine.

07:29Now, EVs also remain too costly at an average price of $60,000.

07:34That's about $13,000 more than a gas-fueled car, according to Edmunds.com.

07:39Some manufacturers, including Ford and General Motors, are scaling back production on some EV models due to fewer sales than expected.

07:47And EV inventory is increasing, but less Americans than expected are buying electric cars.

07:53Not only that, we're also seeing the amount of energy waste piling up in U.S. landfills.

07:58It's what's known as e-waste, and it's growing at an exponential rate, which includes electric vehicle batteries, wind turbine blades, and solar panels.

08:06For more on that, we're joined by David Morgan, Chief Strategy Officer for Carbon Rivers, a Tennessee-based recycling center for advanced materials.

08:14Thanks so much for joining us.

08:15So, we see all of this waste piling up.

08:18What are the mountains of broken solar panels, EV batteries, this EV waste that we're hearing?

08:24How does this all end up, and what can we do to fix it?

08:27That's fantastic.

08:28Thank you for having me, John.

08:29So, the issue is, in the renewable space, a lot of companies have fantastic ideas for better energy sourcing.

08:37But the problem is, end-of-life is what a lot of us have not considered properly.

08:42The problems right now is it's either landfill or it's incineration.

08:45And so, Carbon Rivers came in, and we wanted to provide another alternative to the recycling challenge that needs to be addressed here in the U.S. market.

08:54Tell me about some of the lifespans of some of these renewable technologies.

08:58What can we expect?

08:59So, wind turbines is more of like our SME or subject matter expert area, and blades are supposed to be up anywhere from 20 to 25 years.

09:08Whenever they do come down, for whatever reason, we can take them and recover them entirely, put them back into next-generation lifecycle.

09:15So, the glass we recover from blade may go into a new vehicle, a new blade, a new car, new building material, et cetera.

09:23When it comes to EV batteries, they have a little bit longer lifespan.

09:26I'm sorry, the EV batteries have a little bit longer lifespan in the sense that we can take that material, some of it, and then recover it into more sustainable, low-carbon emission initiatives.

09:37Say, with solar cells and photovoltaic, they're supposed to be on the farms, you know, garnishing that solar energy for the better part of, you know, 25 years or so.

09:51And that isn't always the case.

09:52They get damaged for a variety of reasons.

09:55And so, we're looking at initiatives about taking that material, which is typically really challenging material to remediate and to put that back into next life cycles.

10:02But that's, I think, in terms of solar power, that's one of the initiatives that are a little bit farther down the road.

10:08It's very easy to do wind right now, and it's very easier to do end-of-life EV batteries.

10:14You look at recycling versus the landfill.

10:16Given the costs of it, can it be sometimes super expensive, or are we getting to a point now where we're lowering the cost of the recycling programs?

10:25No, excellent.

10:26There's obviously incentives and credits to have recovered circular material and domestic supply chain.

10:31So, what's really nice right now is instead of going to a landfill with your wind turbine blade, we can cut it up, we can downsize it at an incredibly economic rate, such that that glass recovered, along with the crude oil that comes off that composite blade, can go into the next life cycle manufacturing, which is really nice.

10:50Because our entire process is carbon-negative, the mechanical downsizing part, to get that blade into a form factor that we can then shred, is carbon-negative.

11:00And as well, the recovery of the crude oil and the glass off that blade material is also carbon-negative.

11:07And therefore, it goes directly into next-generation supply chain cycles.

11:11So, it's very economic, and it's very affordable at the end of the day for where we are in terms of scale.

11:16Is that the future?

11:18Where is this industry going?

11:19I think more than anything else, it's more modular, high-intensive energy capture sites.

11:27And so, there's some really interesting novel processes that are being investigated with the Department of Energy for next-generation blades that would actually harness more wind power and provide more efficient models at the end of the day.

11:40All right. We'll leave it there. Thank you so much. We appreciate you coming on. David Morgan, always a pleasure.

11:47Thank you very much.

11:48Coming up, clothing and environmental waste. We'll have more on some of the efforts being made to make the fashion industry more sustainable. Stay tuned.

11:56While the general public seems to be aware of the issues surrounding waste, including plastics, food, and electronics, there may also be a very common problem lurking in your closet, your clothing.

12:18Earlier, we spoke with fashion industry analysts about some of the ways designers are trying to be more eco-friendly. Here's that conversation.

12:26Coming off COP28 and entering a new year, sustainable fashion has been quite the topic of conversation.

12:33But is it catching on enough?

12:34Here with me to discuss is TV host, who has also served as a writer and editor at Vogue, and national correspondent for InStyle magazine, Katrina Zish.

12:43Katrina, thanks for coming in.

12:45Hello.

12:45Thrilled to be here. This is such a great topic.

12:47I was so excited when I found out we would be doing this topic, and I thought, who better than you to discuss with me?

12:51Well, thank you.

12:52So let's talk some fashion.

12:53In a historic first, sustainable clothing was showcased in a fashion show during the United Nations Convention on Climate Change in Dubai.

13:01Some are still critical, saying the industry needs to go beyond surface-level participation and focus on transformative impact and collaborations with other sectors.

13:09Do you agree with this Vogue article?

13:12Absolutely.

13:13And, you know, it's interesting because it seems like it should be such an easy thing to do.

13:16Sustainable fashion, sure.

13:18We'll just use recyclable materials.

13:21Just stop fast fashion.

13:24Stop using all these different materials when you're processing textiles.

13:29Try to use things that come from the environment.

13:31It sounds very obvious, but it actually is very difficult.

13:33So the fashion industry has been trying to do it for many years, but there's a reason that recycled fashion is not taking off, because often it costs more to upcycle and resell a garment than it does simply to make a new one.

13:48So it's not that fashion hasn't been trying, but actually to make it stick and to make it have the impact that fashion wants it to have, it's very, very difficult.

13:57Someone who has sort of figured out how to do this, though, is longtime leader in the sustainable landscape, British designer Stella McCartney.

14:05From standing as the only luxury design house to never use animal leather, feathers, or fur to her ambitious goal of becoming a net zero, by 2040, she's also been a trailblazer in environmentally conscious practices within the fashion world.

14:19Her work also featured an exposition at COP28.

14:23I mean, a lot of other designers and fashion houses could learn from her, right?

14:27Absolutely.

14:28I think a lot of people can watch Stella's example.

14:31And what Stella has done from day one when she launched her eponymous line in 2001, she has been 100% true to her mission and true to her brand.

14:39She doesn't get caught up in other trends.

14:42She doesn't get caught up in marketing in a different direction.

14:45She is 100% true to who she is, and her brand reflects that.

14:49And that's why she's been able to accomplish so much over the past couple decades.

14:53It's incredible.

14:54And when you just think about the impact of fast fashion, of designers who aren't being sustainable, up to 100 billion garments are produced by the fashion industry every single year.

15:03Right.

15:03And each year, as much as 92 million tons of clothing just ends up in landfills because only 20% of textiles are collected or reused or recycled globally.

15:12Now, in a world where fashion trends constantly recycle themselves, one example that comes to mind for me is high-waisted and low-waisted pants always interchanging throughout the decades.

15:22Why isn't sustainability reusing and recycling catching on faster?

15:25Well, that goes back to a little bit of what I alluded to when we first started talking.

15:29A lot of times these practices end up costing more.

15:33Recycling fashion, upcycling they call it, ends up costing more.

15:37We've heard of companies like Rent the Runway.

15:40They have actually invented the idea of kind of sharing clothes and borrowing clothing and renting clothing, but they still have never been able to hit full profitability.

15:51So a lot of these great ideas just aren't worth it.

15:54And this is still a capitalist industry.

15:56It's still an industry where what's new and what's next is obviously a big part of the pressure to succeed.

16:04So those factors make it very challenging for fashion to get ahead because you're not going to say to someone who loves to shop, well, actually, slow down.

16:12Don't buy so much from my line.

16:14So a lot of women talk about, well, okay, I resell my clothes, but I also buy clothes that other people are reselling, kind of trying to result in this circular economy of fashion.

16:26That's a buzzword that a lot of people are using at this point.

16:29Well, you're obviously very fashionable.

16:31Well, thank you.

16:32What is your advice for our viewers?

16:34How do you stay on trend, looking your best while still keeping sustainability in mind?

16:39Yeah, you mentioned it, Christina, fast fashion.

16:41And unfortunately, that's something that has been criticized widely for having a negative impact on the environment because a lot of materials, especially polyester, is used or derived from fossil fuels.

16:54So what I recommend, and this is advice that I was given from designers like Michael Kors and Ralph Lauren decades ago when I started in the fashion industry, buy high-quality pieces that you're going to have for years and years and years.

17:08It's higher price tag to begin with, but once again, you're not going to have to constantly repurchase and then just update your wardrobe with accessories, less expensive pieces, even if it's a great earrings or a great necklace or even a great pair of shoes.

17:24But that's a great way to kind of slow down the fast fashion but still look and feel fabulous.

17:29I think that's good advice because while it might feel a little bit like sticker shock, purchasing something a bit more expensive at first, it's not going to unravel, it's not going to rip, it's not going to tear.

17:39You know that the quality is there.

17:41So that's great advice.

17:42Katrina Zish, thanks for coming on.

17:43Thank you, Christina.

17:44Yes, love it.

17:45Coming up, a group of workers in Uganda is helping to restore one of the oldest refugee settlements in Africa.

17:51More on their efforts just ahead.

17:52Stay tuned.

17:54Bear land and hillside surrounding a refugee settlement in Africa are once again turning green.

18:13Alex Alvey has more on the restoration plan.

18:17The Nakivale refugee camp in Uganda may look green,

18:21but the land lies bare, largely depleted due to demand for fuel and construction materials.

18:28Residents who call this place home are looking to change that,

18:32taking matters into their own hands to restore the forest they once saw themselves.

18:37The reason why we started planting trees was because when we came here, the entire area was a forest.

18:43After spending seven years here, the entire forest disappeared.

18:46The trees that we used to cut for cooking got depleted, and women had to resort to removing tree roots for cooking.

18:54The influx of refugees from conflicts in neighboring regions is straining the resources of the already worn-out settlement.

19:00They feel somewhat responsible for exhausting the land that provided them with safety and are looking to restore the environment that provided them with food, water, and perhaps most importantly, hope.

19:12Majority of the refugees are from DRC, and each day and night will receive new arrivals.

19:19So when they come, there's a need for construction.

19:24And construction requires building materials.

19:27So even the few trees available, they are cut down to construct.

19:31More than 180,000 refugees live in the settlement, and many are getting their hands dirty, planting 460,000 trees so far and laying the foundation for the land to flourish for years down the road.

19:44So we have refugees that we bring and train on how to grow seeds, to germinate seeds from mother bed to bear beds up to the main gardens.

19:56The project is well into its sixth year, and with the help of the outside NGOs, refugees are able to deal with the increasing numbers, while at the same time, combating forces of nature, such as droughts.

20:10Enoch Twagriyesu, who escaped conflict in 2003, says he's beginning to see the return of vegetation from when he first arrived, although he'll be the first to admit that there's still a long way to go.

20:20In five years, we hope to hit the halfway target of our program.

20:25The lake is there, but we hope to plant trees in the entire region.

20:29But of course, we also have challenges, and we have a long way to go.

20:32If we can get seeds, it would help us.

20:34But when it's dry season, we cannot afford the water tanks.

20:37So we would appreciate it if there were well-wishers who can offer us water trucks to water the trees.

20:42It's a project that will take time, but one that could rejuvenate the land that provided a home to hundreds of thousands of people fleeing conflict, as they look to start their new lives in peace.

20:56For EarthX, I'm Alex Salvi.

21:00Alex Salvi, thank you for that.

21:02And before we leave you, scientists say that they have captured a very human-like behavior in dolphins for the first time.

21:09Researchers at Miya University in Japan caught dolphins yawning underwater.

21:14Scientists say that they comb through nearly 2,000 hours of dolphin videos before confirming they do, in fact, yawn.

21:21The video research also showed the aquatic mammals normally yawn during mid-morning when they're just a little sleepy, like people do.

21:30Plus, scientists say that the dolphins seemed invigorated, appearing to act more energetic after yawning, just like humans.

21:37So is this potentially more evidence showing dolphins are closer to humans than previously thought?

21:43Scientists seem to think so.

21:45That's it for this edition of EarthX News.

21:47Please join us again next week.

21:49I'm John Glasgow.