Tausi Insider

Toyota isn’t giving up on its iconic Prius nameplate, yet. An all-new and drastically different looking 2023 Prius hybrid and Prius Prime plug-in hybrid were unveiled at the City Market Social House in California on Wednesday night, ahead of the 2022 Los Angeles Auto Show. “We want to build as many hybrids as we can because the goal is carbon reduction,” said David Christ, group vice president and general manager of Toyota Motor Sales USA, in a one-on-one interview ahead of the unveilings. “Since we started with Prius 25 years ago, we’ve sold 5.5 million hybrids in the U.S. – 20 million globally and that has resulted in 82 million tons of CO2 emissions that have been reduced – that’s the equivalent of 5.5 million all-electric EVs.” David Christ, group vice president and general manager of the Toyota Division at Toyota Motor North America speaks as Japanese automaker Toyota unveils the newly redesigned 2023 Prius prior to the start of the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, Californ...

The European Union has agreed to add shipping to its carbon market for the first time, forcing vessels to pay for their planet-heating emissions and increasing pressure on the maritime sector to invest in greener technologies. The shipping sector has so far escaped the EU carbon market, which requires factories and power plants to buy permits when they emit carbon dioxide, providing a financial incentive to emit less. That is set to change from 2024, when shipping companies will have to buy EU carbon permits to cover 40 per cent of their emissions, rising to 70 per cent in 2025 and 100 per cent in 2026. “This will not only help the climate but also improve air pollution in cities close to rivers and the coast,” Peter Liese, lead EU lawmaker on the rules, said on Wednesday. The deal, agreed late on Tuesday by lawmakers and negotiators from the 27-country bloc, would add to the carbon market all carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen dioxide emissions from maritime voyages within the EU....

A construction worker walks past the steam generating facility at the Cenovus Foster Creek SAGD oil sands operations near Cold Lake, Alta., in 2012. The company is part of Pathways, a group of six companies responsible for about 95 per cent of oil sands production. Todd Korol/Reuters A coalition of oil sands companies eyeing a massive new emissions-reduction project in northern Alberta will this winter begin exploratory drilling of underground reservoirs in which it hopes to store captured carbon, as part of its goal to produce net-zero oil by 2050. But Kendall Dilling, president of the Pathways Alliance, said there’s still another year or two of project development and applications for regulatory approvals before the planned carbon capture project hopefully gets the green light. The multibillion-dollar proposal includes a pipeline to gather captured carbon from more than 20 oil sands facilities and move it to an underground storage hub near Cold Lake, Alta. “We want to turn dirt and...

Analysts have increased their average price forecasts for EU carbon permits for the next three years on expectations that Europe’s economies could start to improve as energy prices fall from record highs. But they warned an increase in permits sales would keep a lid on gains. EU Allowances (EUAs) are expected to average 81.40 euros a tonne in 2023 and 94.14 euros in 2024, a Reuters survey of six analysts showed. That is up 4.2% and 1.9% respectively from forecasts made in October. The analysts forecast for average prices in 2025 rose by 0.6% to 102.24 euros/tonne. The European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), forces manufacturers, power companies and airlines to pay for each tonne of carbon dioxide they emit as part of Europe’s efforts to meet its climate targets. European gas and electricity prices have retreated from record highs seen last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Europe built up large gas reserves and as milder than usual weather dented demand. The sh...

U.S. funding for clean energy projects will help energy pipeline operator Kinder Morgan KMI-N accelerate its investments in renewable natural gas and carbon sequestration, executives said on Wednesday. The $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) signed into law last September expanded tax credits for industrial projects that capture, reuse or permanently store carbon dioxide, a gas that contributes to climate change. The funding “accelerates growth opportunities” in renewable natural gas (RNG), renewable diesel, hydrogen as well as carbon capture and storage (CCS), according to a presentation by Kinder Morgan, the largest operator of carbon dioxide pipelines in North America. Opportunities to speed up development targets for CCS projects are tied to the increase in credits – to $85 per ton from $50 per ton – for carbon sequestration. The law also provides $60 per ton for carbon used for enhanced oil recovery, used in Kinder Morgan’s oil business. Earnings before depreciation and a...