Bill H. on LinkedIn: 60 New Electric Buses to Operate in Queens, Staten Island, & Brooklyn -… (2024)

Hanoi, Vietnam — VinFast Auto (#Nasdaq: VFS) today announced that it received a record-breaking number of 27,649 non-refundable and non-transferable pre-orders for the mini-SUV VF 3 within 66 hours, setting a #Vietnamese automotive record, demonstrating the impressive appeal of the VF 3 and its potential to become a “national car” in Vietnam.In addition to record sales, the VF 3 became a social media phenomenon in Vietnam, topping trend rankings and sparking the most online discussions since VinFast opened pre-orders.The VF 3’s record-breaking pre-orders are credited by its special introductory price of only 235 million VND (approximately $9,248, battery subscription) and 315 million VND (approximately $12,390, battery included) for customers who placed deposits from May 13 to May 15. This is an ideal price point that makes it feasible for more consumers to own a vehicle and improve their quality of life at a reasonable cost.For a down payment, customers only need between 50–70 million VND (approximately $1,965–$2,750). The remaining balance can be financed through affordable installments with a total monthly payment of just over 2 million VND (approximately $78.5) over 8 years. Notably, paying for the VF 3 in full upfront costs only half the price of the cheapest gasoline car model currently available in the Vietnamese market.In addition to its attractive price, the record-breaking number of pre-orders can also be attributed to the innovative sales approach VinFast piloted for this model. For the first time in Vietnam, vehicles were sold on e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, VinID, and orders could be placed through 9 livestream sessions conducted by 15 influencers.This revolutionary sales approach made the VF 3 the first vehicle in Vietnam to achieve over 50% of its total orders online, marking a momentous development in the online to offline business model and emphasizing VinFast’s pioneering role in the Vietnamese automotive market.In response to the strong support from customers, Ms. Duong Thi Thu Trang, CEO VinFast Vietnam, said: “The 27,649 pre-orders received within 66 hours is a testament to the strong support and trust of the Vietnamese people for VinFast. We are extremely grateful for our customers’ endorsem*nt for the VF 3 and our brand, and we will strive to continue to earn their support as we grow into a world-class Vietnamese automaker.”Similar to other VinFast #electricvehicles, the VF 3 comes with the best warranty policy in the Vietnamese market, with a 7-year or 160,000 km warranty for the vehicle (whichever comes first) and an 8-year unlimited mileage warranty for the battery.The first VF 3 cars are expected to be delivered to customers starting in August 2024, with at least 20,000 vehicles expected to be delivered this year.

Overheated: The Fight For Information, Integrity, Climate Action and Democracywas part of the #Stockholm Series of Public Lecturers on Climate Change and Democracy. And it’s streaming here. Delivered by Jennie King, Director of Climate Policy & Research at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue on 7th May 2024, the lecture looks at the normalisation and mainstream adoption of climate-related #conspiracytheories. The exponential increase in scepticism, and an ‘explosion’ in the number of parties that stand to gain from climate inaction are also addressed. Rather than disinformation being largely driven by a small but powerful group of key stakeholders in the fossil fuel and automotive industries, today threats come from myriad sources. These include online extremists and conspiracy theorists, ‘for-profit disinformers’, ‘outrage merchants’ and far-right actors. ‘The number of people who stand to be benefit from producing or amplifying mis- and disinformation on climate has exploded,’ says King. ‘Climate is an unprecedented test for democracy. To meet the scale and urgency of the challenge, we need a strong public mandate and a common understanding of the viable pathways forward – including potential trade-offs. Equally, the manner in which we achieve climate goals will reflect the strength of our political systems. ‘The #ParisAgreement hopes to ensure a liveable future for mankind, but it cannot come at the expense of rights and freedoms here and now,’ she continues. ‘This tension has been all-too acute at recent #COP summits, with the Presidency held by authoritarian states or Petro-dictatorships multiple years in a row. The delegate compound is a world unto itself, but the stark reality lies just out of sight – one of political prisoners, stifled media, forced labour and the disappeared.’ Earlier this year, the #UKGovernment was the subject of a scathing report into human rights abuses targeting climate and environmental campaigners. The UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention described the arrest of peaceful protestors and curbs on rights to public assembly as ‘extremely worrying.’ He also referenced judges instructing for jurors to disregard their principles and the context of #climatechange when coming to a verdict as a major cause for concern.🔻🔻🔻 Click/tap image below to see video on YouTube 🔻🔻🔻

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Widespread action is planned across #Britain on Saturday 18th May, raising red flags on overspill, runoff and direct dumping.Surfers Against Sewage Paddle Out Protest, Saturday 18th May, times and locations belowIn total, more than 30 protests will take place, with flagship events at West Pier, Brighton, and Gyllngvase Beach, Falmouth, mirroring similar events which took place last year. In 2023 alone, there were 584,001 recorded discharges from Britain’s #sewage system, an increase of more than 50% on the previous year. Meanwhile, analysis by Surfers Against Sewage, the organisation spearheading this weekend’s protests, showed over 13% of monitored sewage overflows in #England are operating at less than 90% capacity, suggesting figures for the previous 12 monthsare likely to be lower than the actual number of discharges. While water companies recently proposed a ‘world leading’ upgrade to the UK’s sewage, fresh water and drainage networks, and #Ofwat isstill considering another £96billion proposal from industry, improvements on the ground are likely to be many years away. Meanwhile, in the 33 years since market privatisation, suppliers have paid out £78billion in dividends to shareholders. ‘Once again, the public face a grim choice this summer – risk swallowing sh*t or forgo a dip in the water,’ said Giles Bristow, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage. ‘This year offers an opportunity to turn our collective anger into action and end the sewage scandal, with panicked politicians in listening mode, desperate to ride the waves of popular sentiment. A #generalelection is imminent, and the public are out on the beachfronts and riverbanks making it clear that the issue of sewage #pollution is at the top of the agenda.’‘The poor state of our rivers and seas is shocking and infuriating. Whole generations are being deprived of the right to safely enjoy the benefits that blue spaces offer,’ added double Gold medal-winning Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes, who will be attending the Brighton protest. ‘Our waterways are for us and should be here to enjoy as they are so important for our collective health and wellbeing. Events costing thousands are getting cancelled. To see our rivers and seas being treated so appallingly by those responsible for looking after them is nothing short of a national scandal.’Surfers Against Sewage Paddle Out Protest, Saturday 18th May, times and locations:#Falmouth – Gyllyngvase Beach 10:00#Brighton – West Pier11:00#Bedford – Castle Mound 14:00#Scarborough – South Bay12:00#Marine Lake, Clevedon 10:00#Hythe – Hythe Beach10:30#Plymouth– Plymouth Hoe East11:00#Saltburn – Saltburn Pier 10:00#Shepperton Lake 10:00#Edinburgh – Portobello Beach10:30#Caswell – Caswell Bay09:00River #Severn – Frankwell Slipway 10:30#Wallasey – Wallasey Beach18:30#Portrush – West Strand Beach 09:30

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Average monthly prices for regular-grade retail gasoline in the #UnitedStates could increase by more than 10 cents per gallon (gal) if refinery output is lower than expected, according to an analysis we published on May 14.Data source:U.S. Energy Information Administration,Short-Term Energy Outlook(#STEO), May 2024In our MayShort-Term Energy Outlook(STEO), which serves as the Base case for our new analysis, we forecast summer regular retail #gasoline prices will average about $3.70/gal.The new analysis, aPerspectivessupplement to our May STEO, presents a High Refining Cost scenario, which examines:- The potential effects of lower gasolineyields, based on limited production ofhigh-octane gasoline blend components- The impact of widening differences between retail prices on the East and West Coasts and the Gulf Coast- The influence of higher regional retail gasoline prices, increased gasoline imports, and slightly less gasoline consumption

The share of #electric and #hybrid vehicle sales in the #UnitedStates decreased in the first quarter of 2024 as battery electric vehicle (#BEV) sales declined.Hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and BEVsfell to 18.0% of total new light-duty vehicle (#LDV) sales in the United States in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24) from 18.8% in 4Q23, according to estimates from Wards Intelligence.This slight decline in market share was driven primarily by BEV sales, which fell from 8.1% of the total LDV market in 4Q23 to 7.0% in 1Q24. This decline represents the first BEV market share decline since the economic effects from the #COVID19pandemic began in 2Q20.The U.S. LDV market is highly seasonal, and total sales usually level off in the first quarter after an end-of-year sales increase. BEV sales grew 7% in 1Q24 compared with 1Q23 after 13 consecutive quarters of double-digit gains. The slowdown in growth can be broken into two components:- An uneven decline in the overall new LDV sales market, where luxury vehicle sales declined more than mass-market sales- A decline in mass-market BEV salesBEVs continue to be popular in the luxury vehicle segment, maintaining about one-third of luxury LDV sales from 1Q23 through 1Q24. Of all BEV sales in 1Q24, 8 out of 10 sales were luxury models, in part due to the continued wide availability of luxury BEV options and favorable within-segment pricing from #Tesla, #Mercedes, #Rivian, #Cadillac, #Audi, and #BMW.U.S. luxury-vehicle sales varied between 12% and 15% of the overall LDV market between 2014 and 2020 but grew to reach 18% in 2023. Luxury-vehicle sales returned to pre-pandemic levels in mid-2022, but mass-market vehicle sales have remained 10% below pre-pandemic levels as of this quarter. This uneven recovery contributed to the rise in the BEV sales share in 2022 and 2023. In 1Q24, the trend reversed when luxury vehicles fell to 16% of the market. Further return to the pre-pandemic luxury and mass-market split may continue to slow BEV sales growth in the absence of new mass-market BEV models.Historically, BEV sales have not performed as well in the mass-market segment as they have in the luxury segment in the United States. Total U.S. sales of mass-market LDVs declined by 1.0%, and total mass-market BEV sales fell 17.9%, reducing the market share of BEV models from 2.2% in 4Q23 to 1.8% in 1Q24. Manufacturers have released mass-market BEV models and increased production capacity over the past couple of years, but the halt in #Chevrolet Bolt production and the corresponding 64% reduction in year-over-year sales for that vehicle pulled the mass-market BEV market share down in 1Q24.

We have written extensively aboutSublime Systems, the #MIT spin-off that is focused on substantially reducing the #carbonemissions from making #cement. The company says it is on a mission to have a swift, massive, and enduring impact on global #carbondioxide emissions by #decarbonising cement. Unlike #netzero solutions that rely on #carboncapture or credits, Sublime Systems uses a fully electrified, “true zero” approach that avoids the industry’s legacy #fossilfuel powered kilns and limestone feed stock. Instead, its electro-chemical process extracts reactive calcium and silicates from an abundance of raw materials at ambient temperature, to make ASTM C1157- compliant Sublime Cement™, which is a drop-in replacement for ordinary #Portland cement in concrete.We don’t think much about cement in our daily lives, but it is a necessary ingredient in concrete, one of the most widely used building materials in the world. Making it accounts for about 8% of global climate emissions. That’s not quite as much as the transportation sector, but it’s still a whole lot. Reducing or eliminating those emissions would be a huge step forward on the path to a sustainable environment.Last fall, Sublime Systems passed a critical test on the road to commercialisation when it announced that its low carbon, scalable, drop-in replacement for traditional cement in concrete has obtained theASTM C1157 designation. Meeting that standard means Sublime cement can be used to make concrete that meets or exceeds applicable US and international building codes.Sublime Systems Announces First Commercial ProjectThe next step, of course, was to get contractors to use it in their buildings. On May 16, 2024, Sublime Systems announced the first-ever commercial application of its low carbon Sublime Cement™ is being used for the indoor public space of One Boston Wharf. Part of a larger WS Development project, the new building is the largest net zero carbon office building in the city.“Buildings are monuments to the values of the people who build them, and the One Boston Wharf project represents WS Development’s leadership in ushering in our post-carbon future,” said Sublime CEO and co-founder Leah Ellis. “They are creating not only the building but the world where people want to be. We are honored to have Sublime Cement™ featured so prominently here and are confident this pioneering place will inspire infrastructure owners everywhere to embrace low embodied carbon materials as a powerful tool for achieving our global net-zero goals.”

In a bid to reduce the use of polluting vehicles in #Ireland, researchers from Trinity’s School of Engineering in #Dublin have created a new app to encourage people to consider #EVs as a viable alternative. Having been developed by the TRACT Project (TRAnsport Behaviour Change Trials) the app is known as TRACT EV and is described by the team as a ‘significant milestone in the project’s mission to promote sustainable transportation practices’.Since the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 became law, Ireland is legally bound to reduce emissions by 51% by 2023 and to #netzero emissions no later than 2050.The TRACT project was set up to help achieve these goal andbrings together a team of experts from various fields including civil engineering, psychology, and computer science, under the leadership of Principal Investigator, Professor Brian Caulfield.TRACT have set up two separate trials which respectively aim to drive a transition to #electricvehicles and promote the use of mobility hubs.The TRACT EV smartphone app has been developed to inform users about their driving behaviour, with personalised insights into their driving behaviours and the potential benefits of transitioning to an electric vehicle.Several specific use cases will be examined (those without driveways, taxi drivers, and rural groups) to determine what would encourage them to switch.The app uses #GPS and sophisticated algorithms to track driving distances and inform drivers of the potential cost savings and emission reductions achievable through switching to EVs. The car owners will also receive tailored recommendations on charging requirements based on their individual driving patterns, making the transition to electric vehicles more accessible and convenient.Prof. Caulfield said: ‘We’re happy to introduce the TRACT EV app as a tool for examining the change-over to #electriccars. With the transportation sector being a major contributor to #carbonemissions, initiatives like TRACT will highlight pathways to #decarbonisation.‘We believe that by empowering users with actionable insights and recommendations, we can encourage widespread adoption of electric vehicles and contribute to a greener, more sustainable future.’The results from the trials will be extrapolated to the wider population to demonstrate what the potential emissions reduction could be in similar areas and user groups. A cost-effective analysis, looking at wider economic benefits, will also be conducted at several stages of the project to feed into #policymakers and inform local and national policy.

RenewableUK have published a pre-election manifesto in which their calls for a future government to promote #cleanenergy are supported by a recent poll of more than 10,000 people.Identifying the next five years – the minimum length the next government are likely to be in power – as critical, RenewableUK are calling for:1. A clear and coordinated plan for delivering our pipeline of renewable energy projects2. An attractive business environment focused on mobilising private investment.3. Efficient frameworks that accelerate deployment of net zero infrastructure.4. Scaled-up supply chains and skills capabilities that match our ambitious targets.5. A secure energy system through forward planning and investmentRenewableUK’s Chief Executive Dan McGrail said: ‘It’s clear that the next #generalelection is going to be dominated by questions about the cost of living crisis, and how the next Government can boost the #UKeconomy after a difficult few years. Fortunately, the #transition to clean energy can provide cheap electricity for billpayers, drive investment in new manufacturing, boost the competitiveness of UK businesses and support tens of thousands of jobs across the country. The latest polling shows that voters are well aware of this and that they support it.’The poll, conducted by Opinium, shows that voters have an appetite for renewables and a confidence that clean energy will have a significant role to play in tackling the cost of living crisis.36% of those spoken to believe that, when addressing the cost of living crisis, the next government should prioritise electricity prices and heating costs. When asked if they consider the development of #renewableenergy to be a significant factor to consider in the future Government’s decisions about energy bills, 70% said it was ‘major factor’ with only 4% not believing it was a factor at all.75% think renewable energy is a significant factor for the next government to consider in terms of driving economic growth outside #London and the south east of #England, a figure that grows to 83% among swing voters intending to switch their support from #Conservative to #Labour.Dan McGrail said: ‘We have to be honest: rapidly increasing the UK’s clean energy supply won’t be easy, but our #manifesto provides a clear path to do this. We’ll have to build renewable energy projects much faster, both #onshore and #offshore, as well as new #infrastructure to support them. We’ll need a forward-thinking and ambitious government to get us there. That government will need to ensure we remain competitive in the global race for skills and supply chains and reform our planning system to enable communities to benefit more from the transition. If we work closely together to get this right, the next five years will see a massive transformation of the UK’s energy system.’

This episode takes us to Dunkeswell Devon, where we meet Aerovolt to unveil another world first – the world's first and only public electric plane charging network! Imogen took to the skies in the electric Pipistrel, the world's first commercial #electricaircraft to test the network and reflect on the incredible advancements in electric propulsion since we first featured the Pipistrel on the channel back in 2022.🔻🔻🔻 Click/tap image below to see video on YouTube 🔻🔻🔻

The Office for Environmental Protection has concluded the UK’s public body for nature has a record of ‘deeply concerning failures’ to implement regulations on #waterways and #coastlines. The organisation – an independent regulator established in 2021 as part of the #EnvironmentAct – has published a damning assessment of policy and regulatory effectiveness, with a focus on #waterpollution. Among other things, it conducted a review of the Water Framework Directive Regulations for England, and how these are enforced by #Defra and the Environment Agency [#EA].‘The report finds that Government and the EA are currently not on track to meet the Environmental Objectives. The Office for Environmental Protection’s [#OEP] worst case assessment would see just 21% of surface waters in Good Ecological state by 2027, representing only a 5% improvement on the current situation,’ the analysis reads. ‘We have found that, while the relevant law here is broadly sound, it is simply not being implemented effectively. This means it is not delivering as intended and, as a consequence, most of our open water is likely to remain in a poor state in the years ahead unless things change. This is deeply concerning,’ Dame Glenys Stacey, Chair of the Office for Environmental Protection, commented. ‘As in so many other aspects of the environment, government must now ensure substantial funding for a wider range of specific action, at pace and with ambition.’The biggest concern is overall lack of funding, preventing the Environment Agency from functioning effectively. However, a subsequentpress release from Defrahas flagged issues with these claims. OEP’s belief that ‘most’ open water bodies are unlikely to improve under the current regime is ‘misleading’. Official figures show just 17% of water bodies are in a poor state. However, 63% only ranked as ‘average’, and a mere 16% are considered to be in a ‘good’ state. Elsewhere, Defra has also argued regulator #Ofwat is reviewing a £96billion proposal from the water industry for a huge network upgrade and modernisation. This would far exceed the calculated cost of achieving OEP targets, valued at £51billion. Nevertheless, at the time of writing, £6.2billion has been green-lit really for the EA between now and 2027, significantly less than what’s required. ‘The OEP report confirms what Prospect has been saying for some time, that the Environment Agency is simply not sufficiently well-funded to adequately fulfil its regulatory obligations,’ said Mike Clancy, General Secretary of the Prospect professional union. ‘Years of insufficient funding and pay restraint have seen a disastrous loss of experience and skills piling pressure and workload on those remaining and leading to a recruitment and retention crisis. Our regulators are vital if we are to protect our #naturalenvironment. You simply can’t get the results you need when you do things on the cheap.’