What you need to know

UK to tax invisible gas in foreign countries

Why this matters? Three words to rock your world: Carbon. Border. Taxes. Make stuff in high-carbon locales? Pay for your carbon sins when you bring it home: protectionism, ESG-style. Coming to a border near EU from, well, now. UK to follow in 2026.
Your challenge? If you make or move stuff in/out of EU or UK, you need good carbon numbers, and know what levies might be. Service companies are okay, for now.
Read more: Carbon Herald, FT.com(£)

Panama Canal drought: crossings cut, $4m to queue jump

Why this matters? Low water (driest October since records) means 50% fewer ships & long waits. A Japanese LNG ship paid $4m to jump the queue (or its cargo would have boiled off).
Your challenge? Resilience and adaptation needs to be part of your climate plan. The planet’s energy is shifting: too much one place, not enough elsewhere. You want water under your ships, not in your Miami condo.
Read more: Fortune, BBC

UK ‘to shift power taxes to gas’

Why this matters? Decarbonisation is electrification, yet UK electricity is taxed more than gas. So per unit of energy ‘good’ EVs & heat pumps cost more, and ‘bad’ gas boilers less. Result - plans for taxes up on gas. (And maybe lower on power? But do government 🦃 vote for 🎅🎄?).
Your challenge? Carbon risk isn’t academic. Burn gas & your costs are going up. Electrify to save £££.
Read more: S&P, FT (£)

One thing to worry about

McKinsey, a consultancy, was accused of providing the crucial COP28 climate conference with advice that "reads as if it was written by the oil industry for the oil industry". (AFP).

Who pays the piper calls the tune. Who else do your advisors work for?

Watch: John Oliver’s hilarious McKinsey take-down (3 minutes)

One thing to be optimistic about

China’s carbon emissions may peak in 2024 (Guardian/ CNN). Great - China matters.

If you’ve got more time, read this…

To repeat endlessly: the energy transition is a technology problem. So, solvable - we have many ideas plus bright kids throwing themselves at them.

One idea to follow: eMethanol. Hydrogen is a nightmare to store, but turn it into methanol, by adding CO2 👌, and you get a room temperature liquid that’s easy & clean to burn. Great for long-duration power storage⚡, shipping 🚢 and industry 🏭.

More for excitable energy geeks: Tom Brown’s X’s thread, IEEE Spectrum 

Thanks for reading. For the last 15 years, I’ve been founding energy transition businesses including Estover Energy (industrial biomass CHP), and co-founded 3ti (solar/EV charging/batteries in one). I sit on the board of Active Energy Group (high carbon bio).

My new business is Beaverbrook Energy - supporting commercial & industrial companies in the energy transition. Follow us on LinkedIn ahead of our 2024 launch.