In an important development this week, human rights experts from the United Nations have issued a warning to Saudi Aramco and its banks over the company’s enormous contribution to the climate crisis. Saudi Aramco is the biggest oil and gas company in the world and the world’s biggest corporate emitter of greenhouse gases. Their warning comes after the environmental campaign group ClientEarth filed a legal complaint accusing Aramco of committing the largest ever climate-related breach of human rights law by a business. The UN also warned banks and financiers that enable Aramco’s business that their involvement in the financing of Saudi Aramco’s activities could be in violation of international human rights law and standards. These companies include JPMorgan Chase, Citi and HSBC. While many of the banks have their own climate pledges, none of them have publicly acknowledged the climate-related human rights impacts involved in their business relationship with Aramco. The ClientEarth press release is here.
Serge Schmemann had an excellent column in the New York Times this week (behind a paywall) about the wildfires in Canada. There was one important wake-up quote for all of us to reflect on: “And as the summer unfolded, it became evident that it’s not just smoke, and not just Canada. This has been the summer from climate hell all across Earth, when it ceased being possible to escape or deny what we have done to our planet and ourselves. “Even I am surprised by this year,” said Michael Flannigan, a professor at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, who has been studying the interaction of fire and climate for over 35 years. “Temperatures are rising at the rate we thought they would, but the effects are more severe, more frequent, more critical. It’s crazy and getting crazier.”” Climate hell it is. And definitely crazy and crazier.
To ensure the zero carbon energy transition gains momentum we need a new generation of experts to continue the good work. EiD encourages all young researchers (born after 1988) in energy efficiency and biomass to submit contributions for next year’s Young Energy Researchers Conference on March 5th as part of World Sustainable Energy Days, March 5-8, 2024 in Wels, Austria. Altogether there are six conferences and a tradeshow packed into the four days. The theme of this year’s energy efficiency conference is “Energy efficiency now – fast, smart, resilient!” Submissions for the young energy researchers conference are invited from any scientific field (e.g. technology, engineering, economics, social sciences, architecture, law, arts) and must be in English only. The deadline for submissions is October 10th. Rod is a member of the scientific committee of the young researchers’ conference.
With so many people on the move this summer, here is some useful news to help you along:
- It is encouraging to see the growing demand for train travel. Check out five great one-week rail trip routes in Europe. The Inews website gives us six of Italy’s best new rail journeys, from Cinque Terre villages to wonders of the unsung south.
- Trams are a great way to get around cities. The European Best Destinations website suggests the best trams in Europe.
- If you’re interested in a cycling trip this year, have a look at the Epic Road Rides website that describes the 12 best cycling destinations in Europe this year.
- Bravo to Brussels: traffic in the centre of Brussels has fallen by more than 25 percent, according to recent data published by the city.
- The use of bicycles has also increased by 36 percent. Authorities attribute the changes to the controversial Good Move plan introduced a year ago, which prioritises pedestrians and cyclists over cars.
Gustavo Petro (b. 1960), a Colombian economist and politician who is the current President of Colombia, gives us an important message on sustainable mobility: “A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation.”
EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:
| · Reviewing this year’s data on the climate crisis
· Germany has to raise its efforts to meet its long-term climate targets · New report on European innovation published |
Please send us your comments on any of the posts. EiD hopes you to follow us on X at @EnergyDemand and @rodjanssen. Please recommend EiD to your friends and colleagues.
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 