LyrArc Article Gist
Critical points in Burnham's program for Britain in speech on June 29 2026 as at the Manchester People's History Museum covered by The Guardian- Devolution- "It will be about offering new opportunities to extend devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by taking power deeper down." Cost of living "We will set out 10-year plans to bring down the cost of … essentials to individuals, families and businesses." Reindustrialize Britain region by region "We will support every region to set clear and credible industrial ambitions – and provide the support to achieve them." Burnham said he will “safeguard sovereign manufacturing and production capability across the country in critical sectors like steel, defence, energy, food and farming”.  Public ownership of Utilities for major services such as water, energy, transport. Work done in transport in Manchester as a sound example. "We will ensure all parts of the UK are able to take greater public control of essential services like water, housing, energy and transport …" Housing supply- a huge housing building program. Britain has lost almost 1.5m council homes since the 1980s and around the same number of people are now on housing waiting lists and have been there for a very long time. Streets and Neighborhoods pulled out of decline.  "Shouldn’t we make our high streets the symbols of Britain’s renaissance?" Education and Employment- "We need a complete rethink of how we support the next generation to succeed, and it has to start with the education system." Reform of Westmeinster and Whitehall- "They require radical change if the country is to get back on track." ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Didier Deschamps on the 0-2 loss to Spain in World Cup semifinals July 2026-" we lacked offensive aggression" though he says aggression is not the right term as the Spanish put the French on the defensive right from the beginning. "We did not manage to make this game difficult for them, they forced us to defend." He says France were second best. "The players are devastated but we have to be ​clear-headed … technically we were second best … that is on us … we lacked ‌technical precision and energy … the Spanish are very ‌good at breaking up moves by reading interceptions and passes … we would have liked to cause them more problems going forward … I don’t want to take anything away from Spain, a really good team which knows how to master its plan, but we lacked offensive aggression … although aggression might not be the right term … they forced us to defend … we did not manage to make this game difficult for them.” ...

LyrArc Article Gist
US president Biden puts forward a sweeping clean energy plan that could zero out US emissions by 2050. It calls for paying utilities to make a rapid transition to clean energy, and financial penalties for utilities that are slow. Tariffs would be put in place on imports from oil and gas producers for leaking greenhouse gases into the environment from wells, pipes and tanks. Wind and solar units would get new tax incentives. Biden through this plan would achieve the pledge of clean energy so that the US would help eliminate emissions from US power generation by 2035. It also mimics state requirements for higher proportions of energy from solar and wind, other clean sources. The Biden program would invest $300 billion, on a scale that is needed to tackle the challenge.

LyrArc Article Gist
A three part series in the NYT on the speed, challenges and politics of the American economy moving towards Clean Energy.

LyrArc Article Gist
A three part series in the NYT on the speed, challenges and ways in which the American economy is moving towards Clean Energy.

LyrArc Article Gist
Global energy companies earning average annual revenues of $3.5 trillion since 2018 are investing only a paltry 2.5% of their investment in clean energy, says IEA. This is 1% of the total spend on clean energy. This report comes on the eve of the COP28 Summit in Dubai.

LyrArc Article Gist
Clause 5 paragraph of the US Iran Memorandum clearly says international laws of freedom of navigation shall be respected by all parties, and the Hormuz demined opened for traffic by Iran. IRGC would not come to the agreement without its inserting that it would work with Omani authorites  to open the Hormuz straits shipping. The WSJ sees the additions made by IRGC in the Memorandum to show the interpretation by Iran IRGC, yet freedom of navigation under international law is unequivocal and clear that no country can block a shipping channel. The US knowing that possibility existed Iran would not be opening the channel, or would disrupt the Omani route, has plan to make Hormuz not a factor in oil prices by using alternative supplies as its backup plan in coordination with China, India, Japan and other coutnries. Here is paragraph 5 of the Memorandum with Iran- "The traffic of commercial vessels will immediately start, and considering the need for removing the technical and military obstacles, and demining by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will be instated within 30 days." "The Islamic Republic of Iran will conduct dialog with the Sultanate of Oman, to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz, in discussion with other Persian Gulf Littoral States, in line with applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz." This is not a careless error or overlooked by the US, it clearly states "international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states." Hormuz is significant only in the way oil supplies through the channel are supplied to China, India, Japan, and other countries, and in the way it sets oil prices based on supply and demand. The US goal is to create enough alternative supplies for India and Japan, and China for its part in cooperation with the US agreeing to do without the 4 million barrels a day it got through Hormuz. UAE has not used about .7 mbd and Saudis not used about 5 mbd in the past of their pipelines that are outside of Hormuz. This gives a total of of China's 4 mbd and on the demand side Saudi UAE combined 5.7 mbd for a total of 9 million mbd or 9 million barrels a day that reduces dependence on Hormuz. Even if 80% of Hormuz oil of 20 mbd is blocked again, this will mean the offset from China doing without Hormuz and the pipelines providing about half of the Hormuz supplies. Of the remaining 6 million barrels a day needed half could come from increased drilling for oil production (in Venezuela and other places) and half from conservation in the world outside of China- the US, EU, India, Africa, Latin America. With this covering 16 million barrels a day the world could still cope without 80% or most of the Hormuz supplies in the event Iran threatens to shut off Hormuz again. Even the trickle coming out of Hormuz of 4  mbd could be replaced from the petroleum reserves of the US, EU, Japan, India and other countries. In this way the US policy is to bypass Hormuz completely and use the period of the ceasefire to plan accordingly, knowing the IRGC never wanted to honor the Memorandum for opening Hormuz, it was only pressured to do so and would go back to its original intent. UAE plans new pipelines and overland routes. It would also bring down oil prices after a small surge from $70 a barrel to $80- $85 a barrel, before coming down again as additional supplies are created and demand side addressed through renewable energy and EV's. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Clean Energy and Manufacturing investments under Biden Inflation Reduction Act in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kansas, and other Republican states are leading to the Senate Republicans taking a position favoring keeping such investments in the DJT 3B Tax Cuts Bill. Republican states getting bulk of clean energy investments from Biden's IRA Act are working to keep the jobs and factories being built in their states. About $130 billion of $271 billion to 2032 has already been given out, the Senate 3B Tax Cuts Bill wants to keep these tax credits for renewables till 2027. North Carolina is an example which has $21 billion in such clean energy and manufacturing investments since 2022 when the Inflation Reduction Act of president Biden was passed. The IRA Act gave states $271 billion for such investments over a decade. Senator Thom Tillis is leading the Republican Senators group that wants to keep these projects that bring jobs to North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia as the biggest recipients.This means the Senate bill sent back to the House will try to come up with a moderate position on Clean Energy and Manufacturing investments that bring jobs to Republican states. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Plans of the incoming administration of president Lopez Obrador to increase renewable energy from wind, solar and other sources, in Mexico. Mexico's potential is for 8 times the current levels for wind energy and 75 times current levels for solar. Solar energy has not received much attention as Mexico increased reliance on coal and oil for energy. Mexico's supply of renewable energy is only 25% of total installed power capacity compared to 50% for other countries in Latin America.

The Obrador administration plans to cut Mexico's emissions by 6.8% a year. Solar energy in particular has high potential in Mexico.

LyrArc Article Gist
Robert Stavins of the environmental economics program at Harvard is cited in this NYT article by Coral Davenport. Stavin says that even with the change in policy favoring fossil under Trump administration the trend is towards using less fossil fuel and this trend is unlikely to change. This makes the claims of Trump that half a million jobs can be created with less regulation of the coal industry and shale oil industry, less likely. Industry is shifting away from coal for economic reasons and investors preferences, say experts. At the same time the progress away from fossil fuels is likely to be inadequate to avoid the worst effects of global warming, says Stavins. The change by industry is reflected in the decisions made by executives such as Nicholas Akins at American Electric Power, Ohio based electric power company. Akins tells NYT that he is making decisions for power generation 20, 30 and 40 years from now, and this assumes some form of carbon control. He says no question but that industry will move forward with cleaner energy and that means closing large coal facilities. The incoming Trump administration does not affect his policy. Another factor away from coal is dictated by economics- the availability of cheap natural gas from hydraulic fracturing. Incentives for renewable sources such as wind, solar, are not likely to change either say experts, because the solar panels and wind turbines are made in Republican and Democratic favoring districts and have support of Republicans in places like Arizona, Texas and Kansas. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
This report in the NYT looks at the problem facing America and president Biden in renewable energy supply chains. 70% of the renewable energy supply chain for solar and other renewable energy comes from imports  and much of it from China. Biden says it is about jobs, jobs, jobs. For this to happen the Biden administration has to take up the challenge of building an American supply chain for renewable solar and wind energy so that jobs are generated for American workers. 

LyrArc Article Gist
A tipping point happens when a small push can create a large outcome. Energy experts say we are at tipping points for renewable energy because cost of renewables solar and wind plants is now lower than fossil fuel new plants. Another tipping point is when new renewable energy plants have less cost than old fossil fuel plants. Another tipping point is when storage and production of renewables cost less than new fossil fuel plants. The first is already here and the second and third points are being reached in 2023 and 2024. Another tipping point is the confidence point and this is when it is no longer necessary to use fossil fuels because the costs are just too high. Once this is reached renewables are the first choice around the world. The world is now reaching this confidence point. Germany's Energy and Economy Minister Habeck says Germany will be 80% on renewable energy by 2030.

LyrArc Article Gist
The cooperation announced between India and Britain on the experiment to look at one grid between countries in different time zones could be a game changer in the way new technologies have already achieved in making solar less costly than fossil fuel. Embrace of new technologies is essential for achieving net zero emissions. India first proposed connecting solar energy across countries and time zones at the International Solar Alliance in 2018. If a way can be found to integrate the grid across time zones the problems of solar energy could be tackled effectively. Storage would not be needed in the way it is now as the solar energy can be sent to other areas with the demand. And the equally vexing problem of supply can be solved as the regions such as Spain could be generating solar energy when the sun had set in India. It is ambitious but it also brings in scientists and engineers from Europe, America, India and Japan to tackle the problem. There is also the opportunity to build on one discovery to make another scientific discovery in the way advances have happened in medicine and science.  And nothing about net zero is not ambitious. One of the lessons Modi learned early in Gujarat is that experiments are needed and to never rule out new ideas. In some of his speeches he describes the early experiments with electricity and solar energy in Gujarat that led to more ambitious efforts over time, and eventually to where solar targets like the one made at COP26 Glasgow of 500 gigawatts by 2030 are now within reach. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Wind and solar tax credits to phase out end of 2027 instead of 2032 under Senate version of US Tax Cuts Bill. This gives less time for renewable projects in solar and wind to get these tax credits and places them in a difficult situation. Senator Tillis of North Carolina who voted against the bill plans not to run again. The 3B Tax Cuts Bill is being considered in Congress this weekend to be placed on president's desk before July 4th weekend. The generous subsidies of the Biden administration are being questioned by the new Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

LyrArc Article Gist
Japan will become the first country to issue climate bonds to finance action against climate change. This will bring in private capital. Japan will issue $5 billion in climate bonds (800 billion yen). A total of 20 trillion yen of climate bonds, sovereign debt securities, will be issued.