YOKOHAMA, Japan – Nissan and McLaren Racing announced today a multi-year technical collaboration, which will commence at the beginning of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season.

With McLaren Racing confirming its participation in the sport from Season 9 of the all-electric series, the partnership will see the Japanese automaker supply its Nissan EV powertrain technology to the famous British team for the entirety of the Formula E Gen3 era.

This new agreement with McLaren is in addition to Nissan’s direct involvement in the highly anticipated Gen3 homologation of the sport. As a world-leading expert in the design and manufacture of exciting all-electric vehicles, and following the recent acquisition of e.dams, Nissan will also continue to compete in Formula E with its own factory team.

Through this relationship, Nissan and McLaren Racing will work closely together as they compete with other successful brands in one of the most challenging and technically advanced racing series in the world.

“Our new partnership with McLaren Racing will be a powerful one, as the association will inspire collaboration and knowledge sharing,” said Ashwani Gupta, Nissan’s chief operating officer. “The pioneering spirit and drive to innovate are characteristics Nissan and McLaren Racing share, making them an ideal partner for us in Formula E and as we continue to electrify our vehicles.”

Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, said: “As we are shaping the team for its first season as McLaren in Formula E, we are naturally seeking the best partnerships and opportunities on every front – with the technical aspect being one of the key areas. Nissan have proven their knowledge, craft and commitment over the last four seasons in Formula E, and heading into the Gen3 era, we have full confidence that the collaboration will bring both parties much success. This will be a true partnership that will drive both the team’s performance and the development of the Nissan Formula E powertrain technology.”

Tommaso Volpe, general manager, Nissan Formula E, and managing director, Nissan e.dams Formula E Team, also commented: “We are proud to announce this multi-year deal with a great motorsports brand such as McLaren Racing. Our partnership begins next season with Formula E’s exciting new Gen3 regulations, which will see the performance of the all-electric race cars reach incredible new heights. At Nissan, we are in Formula E not only to race, but also to showcase to a diverse range of viewers just how impressive, powerful, and efficient our electric vehicles are. And our collaboration with McLaren will provide us with even more opportunities to accelerate the development of our technology and showcase it to fans all over the world.”

Nissan races in this all-electric world championship to bring the excitement and fun of zero-emission electric vehicles to a global audience. As part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality across its operations and the life cycle of its products by 2050, Nissan intends to electrify every all-new vehicle offering by the early 2030s in key markets. The Japanese automaker aims to bring its expertise in transferring knowledge and technology between the racetrack and road for better electric vehicles for customers.

About Nissan in Formula E
Nissan made its all-electric racing debut in Season 5 (2018/19) of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, becoming the first and only Japanese manufacturer to enter the series.

In Season 7 (2020/21), Nissan announced its long-term involvement in Formula E and its commitment to the Gen3 era, which will run from Season 9 (2022/23) and through to the end of Season 12 (2025/26) of the all-electric racing series.

In April 2022, Nissan announced the acquisition of the e.dams race team, with the Japanese automaker taking full ownership of its involvement in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

For the current season (Season 8), highly successful veteran, Sébastien Buemi, remains with the team for his fourth season, having joined Nissan e.dams since the start of its Formula E journey in 2018. The Swiss racer partners with rising star Maximilian Günther, who joined the team in September 2021. The German driver has previously demonstrated great pace in the championship with three race victories and a second-place podium.

The team continues to link its presence in the all-electric championship to Nissan’s road EVs. Buemi races once more in his #23 Nissan Ariya, named after the Japanese manufacturer’s all-new electric crossover SUV. Günther takes over the #22 Nissan LEAF, named after the brand’s well-known EV, first launched in 2010.

Nissan is a world-leading expert in the design and manufacture of exciting all-electric vehicles. With close to 600,000 Nissan LEAF vehicles sold since the model debuted in 2010, Nissan made use of its existing EV experience to develop its Formula E race car.

In turn, the lessons learned on the racetrack help shape the next generations of EVs from the Japanese car maker, with the stylish, high-performance Ariya all-electric crossover SUV which launched in 2021.

About McLaren Racing
McLaren Racing was founded by New Zealand racing driver Bruce McLaren in 1963. The team entered its first Formula 1 race in 1966, since when McLaren has won 20 Formula 1 world championships, more than 180 Formula 1 grands prix, the Indianapolis 500 three times, and the Le Mans 24 Hours at its first attempt.

The team competes in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship with Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, the INDYCAR Series with Arrow McLaren SP drivers Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist, and the Extreme E Championship with Emma Gilmour and Tanner Foust. McLaren will compete in Season Nine of the FIA Formula E World Championship in 2022/23.

McLaren was the first F1 team to be awarded the Carbon Trust Standard in 2010 and has retained it since on a bi-annual basis, most recently in February 2021. The team was also the first in F1 to be given the FIA Sustainability Accreditation Award at a three-star level in 2013 as part of the FIA Environmental Certification framework, before becoming a signatory to the UN Sports for Climate Action Commitment in 2021.

More information
Please visit Global.NissanNews.com/FormulaEPressKit

Contact
Maria C. De Juana
Head of communications, Nissan global motorsports
Phone: +33 617 36 37 61
mdejuana@nissan-europe.com

Sophie Rowlatt
Press officer, Nissan global motorsports
Phone: +44 7392 190 706
srowlatt@prismteam.com

Sophie Ogg
Communications Director, Motorsport Media, McLaren Racing
sophie.ogg@mclaren.com

Cedar Rose has joined Ecologi to fight climate change by investing in viable climate solutions and taking important steps towards climate action with Ecologi’s Climate Positive Workforce. As part of this initiative, every month Ecologi will be planting trees and growing a Cedar Rose Forest in an effort to offset the entire team’s professional and personal carbon emissions. In addition, part of Cedar Rose’s contribution will be used to support and finance various carbon reduction projects around the world.

Antoun Massaad, Co-Founder and CEO of Cedar Rose, commented, “As governments and organisations gather to fight climate change around the world, we are reminded that each one of us is part of this fight against climate change. At Cedar Rose we care deeply for the environment, and we are eager to make a positive contribution to offset our carbon emissions to save the planet.”

Elaborating on Cedar Rose’s collaboration with Ecologi, Antoun said, “We are glad to join Ecologi which is one of the best in climate action projects offering impactful climate solutions. This valuable association is aimed at integrating sustainability with our business strategy and is a vital part of achieving our goals to conserve the environment. It is now common knowledge that one of the best tools to tackle the climate crisis and keep our temperatures from rising above 1.5C is to plant trees. Through our partnership with Ecologi we will be planting 130 trees every month which will result in a reduction of 108 tonnes of CO2 every year. We will continue to invest in a greener and more equitable future.”

Founded by a group of environmentalists in the UK, Ecologi was created so people can take on the climate crisis and undo carbon damage. Each month the organisation supports a range of carbon reduction projects that are certified at the very highest level by Gold Standard or the Verified Carbon Standard.

To find out more about Cedar Rose call +971 4 374 5758 or visit www.cedar-rose.com

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Global growth prospects have weakened significantly amid the war in Ukraine

The World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2022 warns that the global economy may be on the cusp of a new crisis, while still recovering from the pandemic. The war in Ukraine has upended the fragile global recovery, triggering a devastating humanitarian crisis in Europe, pushing up food and commodity prices, slowing growth globally and exacerbating inflationary pressures worldwide. Geopolitical and economic uncertainties are dampening business confidence and investment and further weakening short-term economic prospects. Against this backdrop, the world economy is now projected to grow by only 3.1 per cent in 2022 and 2023 (figure 1), marking substantial downward revisions of 0.9 and 0.4 percentage points, respectively, from our previous forecasts released in January 2022. Our baseline outlook faces major downside risks from further intensification of the war in Ukraine, new waves of the pandemic, and faster-than-expected monetary tightening by developed country central banks.

The downgrades in growth prospects are broad-based. Growth in the United States is forecast to slow to 2.6 per cent in 2022 due to high inflationary pressures, aggressive monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve and a strong US dollar, which is weighing on net exports. In China, GDP is projected to expand by 4.5 per cent, a downward revision of 0.7 percentage points, with stringent zero COVID-19 policies adversely affecting growth prospects. Meanwhile, there is an exceptionally heavy toll on the economy of the European Union: its GDP is projected to expand by 2.7 per cent in 2022, 1.2 percentage points lower than expected in January.

The economic prospects for the Commonwealth of Independent States and Georgia are also sharply downgraded. The Russian Federation’s economy is projected to contract by about 10 per cent in 2022. Amid massive destruction of infrastructure, population displacement and disruption of economic activities, the Ukrainian economy is projected to contract by 30 to 50 per cent in 2022.

The outlook for developing countries has also deteriorated, with GDP projected to increase by 4.1 per cent in 2022, 0.4 percentage points lower than forecast in January. Higher energy and food prices, rising inflationary pressures and slowing growth in the United States, the European Union and China are weakening their growth prospects. The monetary tightening in the United States will sharply increase their borrowing costs. A growing number of developing countries – including several least developed countries – face stagnant growth prospects and rising risks to sustainable development, amid high levels of debt distress. The negative outlook is compounded by worsening food insecurity, especially in Africa and Western Asia. Additionally, lower vaccination rates make developing countries more vulnerable to new waves of COVID-19 infections. By the end of April 2022, the number of doses per 100 people in the developed countries stood at 190.8, compared to 143.5 in developing countries and only 35.5 in Africa.

The war in Ukraine and the sanctions against the Russian Federation have rattled commodity markets, exacerbating supply-side shocks. In 2022, global trade growth is projected to slow down markedly, after a strong rebound in 2021. The conflict has directly disrupted exports of crude oil, natural gas, grains, fertilizer and metals, pushing up energy, food and commodity prices (figure 2). The Russian Federation and Ukraine are key suppliers of agricultural goods, accounting for 25 per cent of global wheat exports, 16 per cent of corn exports and 56 per cent of exports of sunflower oil.

The world economy is facing substantial inflationary pressures. Global inflation is projected to increase to 6.7 per cent in 2022, twice the average of 2.9 per cent recorded during 2010–2020 (figure 3). Headline inflation in the United States has reached the highest level in four decades. In developing regions, inflation is rising in Western Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. Soaring food and energy prices are having knock-on effects on the rest of the economy, as reflected in the significant rise in core inflation in many economies as well.

Rising inflation is posing an additional challenge to an inclusive recovery as it disproportionally affects low-income households that spend a much larger share of their income on food items. The decline in real incomes is particularly pronounced in developing countries, where poverty is more prevalent, wage growth remains constrained, and fiscal support measures to alleviate the impact of higher oil and food prices on the vulnerable groups are more limited. Surging food inflation is worsening food insecurity and pushing many below the poverty line as developing countries are still struggling with economic shocks from the pandemic.

The impact of the war in Ukraine on global climate action

The war in Ukraine unfolds at a time when global CO₂ emissions are at an all-time high, having resumed their upward trend after a temporary drop in the first half of 2020 due to responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2019 reached about 59 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2-eq) units. The remaining carbon budget, consistent with a 50 per cent chance of limiting global warming to 1.5⁰C, has been assessed at 500 GtCO2-eq units, making short-term increases in emissions even more problematic. Emissions will likely increase, for example, if there is a net replacement of natural gas – a relatively clean fossil fuel – with coal in energy production; or if food price increases prompt a reduction in biofuel use or the clearing of land to increase agricultural production; or if military spending, normally associated with large GHG footprints, increases substantially.

In the medium to longer term, the outlook for GHG emissions will depend on several factors. Sustained price increases in energy markets could accelerate the adoption of renewables and more efficient alternatives, but could also incentivize oil and gas companies, seeking to maximize profits, to ramp up investments in fossil fuels resulting in additional stranded assets. On the other hand, increases in the cost of production of batteries or supply chain issues could undermine demand for electric vehicles.

The war in Ukraine is reshaping the global energy landscape

The war in Ukraine and the wide-ranging economic sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation are expected to fundamentally reshape the global energy landscape. The conflict has roiled energy markets worldwide and propelled energy security concerns to the forefront. Governments around the world have put in place measures to shield households and businesses from the effects of energy price increases. In addition to direct income support to low-income households, these measures include cuts in value-added taxes on energy consumption, energy price caps, fuel rebates and cost subsidies. Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, for example, have announced energy support measures worth a combined €80 billion. Artificially low energy prices distort incentives for households and businesses to consume less energy. In addition, poorly targeted energy subsidies can strain scarce budgetary resources and be politically difficult to reverse.

In response to escalating prices, many countries are looking to expand domestic energy supplies. In the short run, these efforts will likely result in increased fossil fuel production. In the United States, the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas, higher prices and growing energy security concerns have prompted an increase in drilling activities. In mid-April, the US rig count, which measures the number of active oil wells, was 58 per cent higher than a year ago. Meanwhile, the U.S. Government has announced the release of 1 million barrels of crude oil every day for the next six months from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to bring energy prices down.

In Europe, geopolitical and energy security concerns have moved to the top of the political agenda amid the spike in energy prices. The war has led many governments to reconsider their energy policies and their energy dependence on the Russian Federation. In 2020, the Russian Federation accounted for about 41 per cent of the European Union’s natural gas imports, 37 per cent of oil imports and 19 per cent of hard coal imports (figure 4). For Germany, which is set to completely phase out nuclear power by the end of 2022, Russian gas accounted for 65 per cent of total gas imports in 2020. An immediate cut to gas supplies from the Russian Federation without alternative arrangements would have severe repercussions, potentially triggering a deep recession in countries like Germany.

A move to eliminate or reduce imports of Russian gas would mean a scramble for alternatives to minimize economic disruption. In the medium term, the EU could turn to other energy exporters. This will, however, require the EU to quickly resolve infrastructure bottlenecks in pipelines, storage terminals and tankers. Imports of natural gas, which is the least polluting of all fossil fuels, could also partly be replaced by oil and coal. Within Europe there is also renewed interest in nuclear power as a way to decrease reliance on Russian oil and natural gas. It is also likely that the Russian Federation would find new markets for fossil fuels in East and South Asia, where its oil and gas exports could replace coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. In East and South Asia, coal continues to play a dominant role in the energy mix.

High energy prices will also likely boost investments in renewables and energy efficiency, potentially supporting the shift away from fossil fuels. In many countries, solar energy has already become the cheapest form of new electricity. According to a recent report, 62 per cent of total renewable power generation added in 2020 had lower costs than the cheapest new fossil fuel option. Unit costs for other renewables such as onshore and offshore wind and concentrating solar power are also below fossil fuel costs. Earlier periods of high fossil fuel prices, however, also led major oil and gas producers to ramp up investment in fossil fuel infrastructure. Similar responses at this time – including short-term policy measures – could lock the world into a high-carbon future. But since continually falling prices of renewables and multi-stakeholder commitments to climate action are increasing the risk of stranded assets, energy and financial firms may be more reluctant now to invest in new fossil fuel projects.

Challenges to vehicle electrification amid potential mineral shortages

The war in Ukraine has also shaken global markets for metals (figure 5), with potential knock-on effects on the price of renewables. An average electric-car battery, for example, contains about 80 pounds of nickel. Nickel prices have increased by about 50 per cent compared to last year, as the Russian Federation processes 20 per cent of the world’s high-grade nickel. High nickel prices may also have adverse environmental impacts as the prospects of higher profit will likely encourage the production of additional nickel from polluting and environmentally destructive strip-mining, including from the rainforests of Indonesia and the Philippines. Overall, the price of a basket of EV battery metals rose by 64 per cent compared to last year, which could raise the final price of an EV by up to $2,000 and slow down EV sales. This has exposed the vulnerability of EVs to price shocks in essential metals, on top of pandemic-related supply chain problems.

The net effect of the conflict on clean-energy products will largely depend on how well manufacturers manage to secure supplies of critical minerals, invest in new processing plants, and recycle battery materials. To ensure access to critical minerals, the 31 member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) launched a critical minerals security program in March 2022 that could include the stockpiling of metals needed for EVs and other renewable energy infrastructure, similar to IEA members’ strategic stockpiles of oil.

Challenges for climate action from rising food prices

Sustainable biofuels (ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel) are important fossil fuel substitutes for land-based transport and are critical to achieving net zero scenario. Globally, 13 per cent of corn production and 20 per cent of global sugar cane production go into ethanol production, while 11 per cent of global vegetable oil production is used for biodiesel. The war has pushed up food prices, especially for items such as wheat, corn and vegetable oil, as the Russian Federation and Ukraine are major producers and exporters of these commodities.

Growing food and energy security concerns are raising questions about the use of food crops for biofuel. Croatia, Finland, and Sweden, for example, recently relaxed biofuel blending mandates to reduce energy price pressures. The US administration, on the other hand, is studying whether waiving biofuel blending mandates could help offset the surge in grain prices, while in the meantime extending the availability of higher biofuel blends of gasoline during the summer to curb high fuel costs. Carbon intensity of land transport will likely increase considerably should biofuel use decline during the current episode of high food prices. In the EU, a reduction of 0.4 percentage points in the proportion of biofuels used could lead to an increase in emission intensity of road transport fuels of 0.6 per cent.

Higher food prices could also lead to the intensification of agricultural practices and the expansion of agriculture into lands left fallow or under forest cover. For example, in March, European officials agreed to let farmers grow food and sow crops on fallow land. With land use change being a significant contributor to GHG emissions (about 10 per cent of the total in 2019), effects such as these could draw further from a dwindling carbon budget.

National and global support for climate action

Expectations that G20 stimulus spending during the COVID-19 pandemic would support mitigation efforts – and contribute to reducing emissions – have not materialized. Only about 6 per cent of total stimulus spending went to reducing emissions, including electrifying vehicles, making buildings more energy efficient and installing renewables. Faced with the Ukraine conflict, with energy and food security concerns dominating the policy discourse, climate change challenges have taken a backseat. The sixth assessment report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), however, emphasized that the world is running out of time to avoid catastrophic global warming.

While climate action may possibly face obstacles in the short term, it remains critical to scale up efforts to deliver on the Paris Agreement on climate change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A greater political and stakeholder impetus towards energy decarbonization can arise from the recognition of its link to energy and national security. At the same time, the conflict in Ukraine highlights the complex relationships among energy and food security, climate change and sustainable development. The crisis presents a new, and unique, opportunity to address these complexities with appropriate policies, targeted investments, policies and international cooperation in order to accelerate the transition towards sustainability, while minimizing the costs of such transition.

Sources:

Al Root (2022). Soaring nickel will drive Tesla, EV players to do this with batteries. Barron’s, 20 March.

European Environment Agency. Greenhouse gas emission intensity of fuels and biofuels for road transport in Europe.

G. Sgaravatti, S. Tagliapietra and G. Zachmann (2022). National policies to shield consumers from rising energy prices, Bruegel Datasets.

G. Wagner (2022). The right way to help people hurting from high energy prices, Bloomberg, April.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2022). Climate Change 2022 – Mitigation of Climate Change, Working Group III Contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), Summary for Policymakers.

International Energy Agency (2021). Coal 2021 – Analysis and forecast to 2024.

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International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) (2021). Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2020.

J. Tolleson (2022). What the war in Ukraine means for energy, climate and food. Nature, 5 April.

Jonas M. Nahm, Scot M. Miller and Johannes Urpelainen. G20’s US$14-trillion economic stimulus reneges on emissions pledges. Nature, 603(7899): 28–31.

József Popp, Mónika Harangi-Rákos, Zoltán Gabnai, Péter Balogh, Gabriella Antal, and Attila Bai (2016). Biofuels and their Co-Products as Livestock Feed: Global Economic and Environmental Implications.

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