The day Big Oil discovered that the makeup of its board could be changed against its will

This appears to have been a David versus Goliath moment. An upstart environmentally-minded hedge fund outmanoeuvred the directors of ExxonMobil to gain seats on the board. Nils Pratley explains in an article on the Guardian website how they did it. How did a green, newbie hedge fund out-play Exxon so comprehensively? In the short … Continue reading The day Big Oil discovered that the makeup of its board could be changed against its will →

Our society has come to believe that technology is the solution to our climate crisis – it isn’t

With the climate crisis, Peter Sutoris argus this moment calls for humility – we cannot innovate ourselves out of this mess. The problem with believing technology is the solution is that it focuses on the symptoms, not the causes of environmental decay. Peter Sutoris, is an anthropologist of development and the environment, and the author … Continue reading Our society has come to believe that technology is the solution to our climate crisis – it isn’t →

“If we are really serious about overcoming climate change the next phase will be much harder than the last”

The first step is to recognise the challenges much more clearly and honestly. Pretending it will be easy risks making it impossible. It’ll take a rethink on taxes and investment of £50bn a year to hit their targets on emissions These are the messages of Paul Johnson, director of the UK’s Institute for Fiscal Studies … Continue reading “If we are really serious about overcoming climate change the next phase will be much harder than the last” →

Highlighting some of the problems related to financing adaptation to climate change

Jessica Omukuti, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of York discusses many of the problems related to financing adaptation to climate change in an article on the Conversation website. What are your views? Climate adaptation finance is ineffective and must be more transparent In 2019, an international climate fund approved a ten year US$9.3 million … Continue reading Highlighting some of the problems related to financing adaptation to climate change →

CEN and CENELEC held a webinar on Connecting European Sustainable Finance to Standardisation

On Tuesday 20 April, CEN (the European Committee on Standardization) and CENELEC (the European Committee on Electrotechnical Standardization) held an online webinar dedicated to exploring the role standards can play in scaling up the implementation of sustainable finance for the transition to a climate neutral economy and a more sustainable world. The desired outcome of … Continue reading CEN and CENELEC held a webinar on Connecting European Sustainable Finance to Standardisation →

Carbon performance a necessary complement to energy performance: EU buildings’ policy should address the carbon footprint of construction, says BPIE

The EU’s forthcoming revision of legislation for buildings and construction is a critical opportunity to create policy and investment certainty on how energy performance requirements will be supported by carbon performance rules, says BPIE. New research from BPIE shows that while some EU Member States have introduced comprehensive policy action to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings … Continue reading Carbon performance a necessary complement to energy performance: EU buildings’ policy should address the carbon footprint of construction, says BPIE →

Nasa is corralling companies to demonstrate improved ways to power aircraft via batteries rather than jet fuel

It is encouraging that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) in the US is organizing demonstration tests of electric propulsion. It turns out Nasa has been working on electric planes for the past decade and it is good to see the demonstrations now starting. Oliver Milman discusses latest developments in an article on the … Continue reading Nasa is corralling companies to demonstrate improved ways to power aircraft via batteries rather than jet fuel →

Climate change: “We see a growing gap between the rhetoric and what is happing in the energy markets”

The International Energy Agency says massive investment shift is needed in the next decade to get to net zero in 2050. Steven Mufson discusses the recent IEA study in an article on the Washington Post website. A ‘narrow’ pathway to a net zero future for greenhouse gases, IEA says To limit climate change, by … Continue reading Climate change: “We see a growing gap between the rhetoric and what is happing in the energy markets” →

Germany’s energy transition: government reacts to pressure from climate activists and chastened by its highest court

The proposed 2030 climate change targets for Germany are a "gigantic" task that will push the export-reliant economy to hasten its phase-out of coal-fired power plants and cars that run on fossil fuels. Ajit Niranjan discusses latest developments in an article on the Deutsche Welle website. Germany's more ambitious climate goals pressure industry to … Continue reading Germany’s energy transition: government reacts to pressure from climate activists and chastened by its highest court →