Global temperatures surpass 1.5C warming for the first time in 2024

Global Temperatures; Industrial Energy Transformation Fund; BESS

Chief Technology Officer at NZTC, Luca Corradi, and his team closely monitor the global net zero landscape. They follow the trends, policies, investments, and technological innovations that, together, bring the world closer to its shared climate goals. Learn more about our horizon scanning service. This week, Luca and team talk about global temperatures exceeding 1.5 ^oC for the first time in 2024, the funding support for businesses adopting emissions-cutting projects, and news about the development of the largest battery energy storage system (BESS) in Europe.

Global Temperatures

For the first time since records began in the mid-1800s, 2024 surpassed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Consequently, the last 10 years have become the warmest on record. While reaching 1.5°C in an individual year does not breach the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C long-term warming limit, it nevertheless clearly indicates that we are approaching this critical threshold.

In 2024, temperatures broke the 2023 record by approximately 0.11°C, surpassing the previous 2016 record by 0.26°C. Furthermore, global land surface and global sea surface temperatures also set new records, reaching 2.3°C and 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels, respectively.

Global surface temperatures records 1850 – 2024

Source: CarbonBrief 

Projections form four sources suggest that 2025 is likely to be the third hottest year on record, with temperatures expected to be between 1.35-1.43^oC above pre-industrial levels. The current trajectory indicates that the world could surpass 1.5^oC of long-term warming by the early 2030s.

Global temperatures exceeded 1.5C warming for the first time in 2024, surpassing the record set in 2023 by 0.11C.

Effect of El Nino and La Nina on global temperatures

Source: CarbonBrief

The El Niño weather pattern, , which ended around April 2024, along with human-caused warming, led experts to expect 2024 to be hot. However, climate scientists did not anticipate the extreme temperatures observed in both 2023 and 2024, prompting a slew of studies proposing a range of potential causes. For instance, some researchers suggest that the El Niño behaved unusually after a rare extended triple-dip La Niña event. Furthermore, a decline in SO2 emissions may have led to the ‘unmasking’ of additional warming from past greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, another possible factor is a decline in reflective low-cloud cover; however, the precise cause remains unknown.

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Industrial Energy Transformation Fund

The government will provide £51.9 million in funding to support 25 businesses adopting emissions-cutting projects as part of the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund. Industry is paying for around two thirds of the project costs, with the projects worth £154 million in total. 

Projects include:

• Saint-Gobain Glass – Aims to capture at least 85% of CO₂ emitted from the Eggborough furnace used to manufacture glass. They hope to store the CO₂ at a nearby CCUS cluster. This would be a first of a kind for the glass industry.
• Plasmor Limited – Feasibility study to assess capturing CO₂ emissions generated in the production of Expanded Clay Aggregate, and utilising this CO₂ to enhance the properties of Concrete Building Blocks being produced on the same site, permanently locking away CO₂.
• Hanson Cement –Aims to capture 800,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year from cement manufacturing once operational. They will transport the CO2 to Liverpool Bay for storage.
• Essar Oil UK Limited – Carbon capture project at the Stanlow Refinery, the second largest oil refinery in the UK. The project aims to capture at least 95% of CO₂ emissions from the fluid catalytic cracking unit (which emits ~43% of the refinery’s emissions).
• Essar Oil UK Limited – Converting all fired heaters at the Stanlow Refinery from using Natural Gas, refinery off gas and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) to low carbon hydrogen produced at the future Vertex Hydrogen Production Plant.

The Government has announced £51.9 million in grant funding as part of the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund to 25 emission reduction projects

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Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)

Independent power producer (IPP) Statera Energy, and developer Carlton Power, have entered an agreement allowing Statera Energy to build a 680MW battery energy storage system (BESS) at Trafford Low Carbon Energy Park in Greater Manchester. This type of energy storage solution can provide backup power for microgrids and assist in load levelling and grid support. Once fully operational in 2026, the facility is expected to become one of the largest of its kind in Europe. In addition, Carlton Power has other plans for the 12-hectare Trafford Low Carbon Energy Park, including a £300 million liquid air energy storage (LAES) project and an up to 200MW green hydrogen production facility. Furthermore, the Department for Energy and Net Zero (DESNZ) has awarded a financial support contract for the first 15MW phase of the green hydrogen facility, which is targeted to begin operation within the next two years.

Carlton Power and Statera Energy have entered an agreement for a 680MW battery energy storage system.

Image source carltonpower.co.uk

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