A summary in pictures and charts of selected major developments during the last three months in the global issues relevant to a leading solar company's mission, brand, and culture. That mission is to make a meaningful difference in the fight against climate chaos through the widespread adoption of solar power.

1. The global context of our work
Major developments since the last company review
16th April 2019 – 23rd July 2019

2. Evidence for the climate imperative for
our mission continues to clock up fast
Just one example from many….

3. 7th Jan
2016
16th Jun
2019
The Greenland ice sheet is melting unusually fast
this summer
Reminder: if the entire sheet melts it would raise
global sea levels by more than 7 metres.

4. Evidence for the speed and potency
of the global energy transition
is also building fast
Notably….

5. 7th Jan
2016
29th May
2019
83 % of solar PV & 77% of onshore wind due 2020
will produce cheaper electricity than any fossil fuel
Source: IRENA

6. 7th Jan
2016
18th Jun
2019
Solar PV is the fastest growing energy technology,
and in an increasing number of countries
The annual REN 21 review records 32 countries with a cumulative total
of > 1 GW and 11 countries adding > 1 GW in 2018.

7. 7th Jan
2016
31st May
2019
Up to 70 TW of solar PV feasibly envisioned by 2050
(10 by 2030), providing most global energy
So an international team of 45 solar experts argues in a peer-reviewed
paper in Science. Up from 0.5 TW today and 1 TW by 2022-2023.
3 scenarios for for growth of PV cumulative
capacity assuming global average energy
yield of 1,370 kWh/kWp

8. 7th Jan
2016
13th Jun
2019
“Solar’s role in delivering net zero is being vastly
underestimated in the UK”
So say LUT university / Energy Watch and Solarcentury: by 2030
6x increase in generation to 80GW, 200,000 jobs, 20% of UK electricity

9. 7th Jan
2016
27th Jun
2019
100% of Scotland’s electricity came from
renewables in Q1 2019, and full year expected 2020
Surplus wind power exported to England and N. Ireland as enough clean
energy generated to power 88% of Scottish households for a whole year.

10. 7th Jan
2016
16th Jun
2019
Germany to back EU-wide target for net zero
emissions by 2050, joining 8 others
Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal,
Spain & Sweden committed in May, and UK has the target in law.

11. 7th Jan
2016
12th Jun
2019
UK government opts for zero net carbon emissions
by 2050 as a new target in the Climate Act
Making the UK the first G7 nation to have zero in law as a target.
Critics focus on the discordance with existing energy policy, e.g. on solar.

12. 7th Jan
2016
19th Jun
2019
Two thirds of British want faster climate action
than zero net emissions by 2050: new poll
Increasingly it looks as though Extinction Rebellion and the
schoolchildrens’ strikes are achieving a step change in public opinion.

13. 7th Jan
2016
4th Jun
2019
Worlds biggest companies see a trillion dollars of
climate risk, but around double that in benefits
$2.1 trillion in benefits estimated from annual disclosures to CDP.
$970 billion at risk - more than half of it anticipated within 5 years.

14. 7th Jan
2016
20th May
2019
Fund managers overseeing $10.2 trillion finds
86% call on OGI to Paris-align business plans
UKSIF: But only 18% say they have set deadlines for oil companies to
take action, and 57% have not decided on what action to take
if the companies do not meet their demands.

15. New Mercer analysis shows where investor
returns are to be found in a 2˚C world
7th Jan
2016
22nd Apr
2019
“Investors need to consider both climate-related mitigation and
adaptation in an active way to develop climate resilience in portfolios.”
Percentage point changes in annual returns in a 2C scenario by 2030
Source: FT
Absolute loss of value by 2041
Cumulative 95% loss of value
by 2050
Coal
Oil and gas
Electric utilities
Infrastructure
Sustainable equities
Renewables 6.3%

16. 7th Jan
2016
2nd May
2019
Zero emissions possible well before 2050: an
argument from the heart of UK Conservatism, and…
“To claim that we cannot afford to wean ourselves off fossil fuels by
2050 is to rely on primitive accounting fallacies.”

17. BUT
We are still far short of the
necessary tipping point
for example….

18. 7th Jan
2016
6th May
2019
Renewable capacity growth worldwide stalled in
2018 after two decades of strong expansion: IEA
“The world cannot afford to press ‘pause’ on the expansion of
renewables and governments need to act quickly”: ED Fatih Birol

19. Worldwide investments in renewable energy
hits a six-year low in H1 2019
7th Jan
2016
10th Jul
2019
Source: Bloomberg NEF
Essentially flat since H2 2011

20. 7th Jan
2016
11th Jun
2019
Carbon emissions from the global energy industry
rose at the fastest rate in almost a decade in 2018
This after extreme weather and surprise swings in global temperatures
stoked extra demand for fossil fuels, the BP Statistical Review observes.
Growth in gas use is the main problem
Global energy use grew by 2.9% in 2018

21. 7th Jan
2016
9th May
2019
Fossil-fuel subsidies hit a “staggering”
$5.7 trillion in 2017: IMF
“Efficient fossil fuel pricing in 2015 would have lowered global carbon
emissions by 28% and fossil fuel air pollution deaths by 46%, and
increased government revenue by 3.8% of GDP.”

22. 7th Jan
2016
17th Apr
2019
Carney: urgent reallocation of capital needed by
financial sector in order to survive climate change
“If some companies and industries fail to adjust to this new world, they
will fail to exist.” So say the governors of the BoE and Banque de France.

23. The incumbency’s rearguard action
is robust and resilient
….but its sophistry is increasingly transparent
and it will be increasingly difficult to sustain
For example….

24. 7th Jan
2016
20th May
2019
Coal supporters win Australian national election
despite strong climate concerns among citizens
Opposition Labor party’s plans for deep cuts in carbon emissions are
rejected despite 57% “strong concern” re climate in recent poll.
Scott Morrison, PM:
coal promoter, derider
of solar and wind

25. 7th Jan
2016
1st Jun
2019
Investment soars in exchange traded funds
designed to address the world’s ills
From $5 bn in 2016 to $26 bn today, with Europe and especially the
Nordics leading the way among the nearly 200 funds operating today.
“2019 looks as if it will be the
year when environmental, social
and governance considerations
are moving out of a specialised
niche into the mainstream.”
Gillian Tett, FT

26. 7th Jan
2016
4th Jun
2019
“We are listening to Greta”: Oil and Gas UK
CEO Deirdre Michie
“We are clear that climate change is a real and present danger that we
must deal with together.” We want “the world to be a better place too.”

27. 7th Jan
2016
14th Jun
2019
Only 15% of the world’s top 500 companies by
market cap are in line with Paris climate goals
Estimated increase in global average temperature (˚C)Source: Carbon Delta

28. A landmark of seismic importance: first mention of
oil-and-gas shorting opportunities in the FT
7th Jan
2016
3rd Jul
2019

29. 7th Jan
2016
21st May
2019
“Just about every shale company that I keep track
of suffered negative free cash flows in Q1 2019”
This at a breakeven price of $46 a barrel and an average West Texas Oil
price of $54.82. 16 shale companies paid nearly $900 m in interest.
Free cash flow is cash from operations minus total capital expenditure

30. US fracker with no positive free cash flow since
2010 sells at stock price almost half price a year ago
7th Jan
2016
15th Jul
2019

31. FTSE reclassifies “oil and gas producers” as
“non-renewable energy”
7th Jan
2016
3rd Jul
2019

32. Governments and firms in 28 countries sued over
climate crisis in 1,300 legal actions since 1990
7th Jan
2016
4th Jul
2019
In the USA, no action by Trump to undo environmental regulations in his
2.5 years has yet survived a legal challenge, in 154 cases.
Source: Grantham Institute, LSE

33. As for the UK

34. UK must act on emissions if it is not to be
embarrassed - legally - before COP26 in 18 months
7th Jan
2016
10th Jul
2019
So concludes the Climate Change Committee. Just 7 of 24 on-the-ground
indicators are on track. Almost all progress is in the electricity sector.
4th and 5th
budget
periods
Lord Deben, Chair:
“I feel I might be
first witness for the
prosecution”

35. 7th Jan
2016
20th Jun
2019
EDF faces new cost overruns and delays of up to
three years at Flamanville reactor
ASN, the French nuclear watchdog, instructs EDF to repair 8 faulty
weldings in the reactor’s containment building, and rejects a request to
delay repairs until 2024, after its putative startup.
Start: 2007
Original target launch: 2012
Now: at least 2022
Original budget:
€3 bn
Now: at least
€12.9 bn

36. 7th Jan
2016
28th Apr
2019
UK fracking tsar quits after six months,
blaming “highly successful” eco activists
Former Labour MP Natascha Engel said that developing the industry
would be “an impossible task” despite its “enormous potential”.

37. So a new report by Prospect finds. Akin to the devastation caused to
coalmining communities in the 1980s, the union says.
UK renewables jobs plunge by a third 2014-17
and investment in renewables halves 2015-17
7th Jan
2016
30th Apr
2019

38. 7th Jan
2016
5th Jun
2019
UK home solar panel installations fall by 94%
in May after subsidies cut (79 MW March to 5 MW May)
The Labour party accuses the government of “actively
dismantling” the UK’s solar power industry.
Claire Perry
Minister of State
Department of
Business, Energy,
and
Industrial Strategy

39. 7th Jan
2016
9th May
2019
Stiff VAT rise on solar panels and batteries makes
installation “entirely uneconomic”, say experts
The UK government’s latest solar sabotage mechanism will apply from 1
October and follow a consultation which lasted < a month, closing last
week, which acknowledged negligible gain in tax revenue to HMT.

40. All this drama is playing out in a world
where increasing political polarization
has increasing business implications

41. 7th Jan
2016
25th Apr
2019
Global population is “sadder, angrier and more
fearful than ever before”, major poll finds
All three emotions rose to record levels in 2018, for the second
consecutive year, in Gallup's annual Global State of Emotions report.

42. It is becoming increasingly difficult for
business to be apolitical
….it looks as though brands are going to have
pick sides, at least at some basic level
For example, which of the following to support?

43. Press release from department says increasing export capacity is
“critical to spreading freedom gas throughout the world.”
US energy department rebrands fossil fuels as
“molecules of freedom”
7th Jan
2016
29th Apr
2019
Alternative view:
Freedom willfully to
fuel climate chaos:
the IEA estimates that
methane leakage and
gas flaring are
responsible for 7% of
all global greenhouse
gas emissions

44. 7th Jan
2016
29th Jun
2019
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Greta Thunberg
compare notes on hope
GT: “Before I started school striking …I was so depressed.” But once I
acted “I was hopeful.” AOC: “Hope is something you have to manifest
into the world, and once one person has hope, it can be contagious.”

45. Solarcentury makes brand position increasingly
clear in press releases, media interviews and blogs
7th Jan
2016
May - Jul
2019
CEO Frans van den Heuvel: “There’s a culture ....we have a purpose
that’s ingrained in the DNA ...It’s a great asset to have.”

46. www.jeremyleggett.net
Including links to this and other powerpoints for free use
Much more here
Thank you