The “net zero” climate targets of 24 of the world’s largest companies fall far behind their promises

The “net zero” climate plans of 24 of the world’s largest companies add up to emissions reductions of only 36 percent, according to a report by the NewClimate institute and non-profit Carbon Market Watch. The strategies of the self-declared climate leaders, which include household names such as Amazon, Apple, Google, H&M, Nestle, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Walmart, are … Continue reading The “net zero” climate targets of 24 of the world’s largest companies fall far behind their promises

Sailing cargo ships are making a genuine comeback

Christiaan De Beukelaer, Senior Lecturer in Culture & Climate at The University of Melbourne writes on The Conversation website about the potential for wind-powered cargo ships to make a comeback globally. Amid much scepticism, he found most objections to wind-propelled shipping are based on four myths that can be easily debunked.   Wind-powered cargo ships … Continue reading Sailing cargo ships are making a genuine comeback

Academia is vital if we are to train people with the right skills required for sustainable industry

Hussam Jouhara,  a mechanical and aerospace engineering professor at Brunel University in the UK discusses an EU Horizon 2020 research project iWAYS in an article on the university world news website.   Academia and industry: alliances for future sustainability The European Union has set high targets for making our environment cleaner, and this means not … Continue reading Academia is vital if we are to train people with the right skills required for sustainable industry

European Commission announces the Green Deal Industrial Plan: putting Europe’s net-zero industry in the lead

This week, the Commission presents a Green Deal Industrial Plan to enhance the competitiveness of Europe's net-zero industry and support the fast transition to climate neutrality. The Plan aims to provide a more supportive environment for the scaling up of the EU's manufacturing capacity for the net-zero technologies and products required to meet Europe's ambitious … Continue reading European Commission announces the Green Deal Industrial Plan: putting Europe’s net-zero industry in the lead

The transition to lithium battery-powered electric vehicles by 2050 will deepen global environmental and social inequalities linked to mining

By 2050 electric vehicles could require huge amounts of lithium for their batteries, causing damaging expansions of mining. Nina Lakhani discusses the implications in an article on The Guardian website.   Revealed: how US transition to electric cars threatens environmental havoc The US’s transition to electric vehicles could require three times as much lithium as … Continue reading The transition to lithium battery-powered electric vehicles by 2050 will deepen global environmental and social inequalities linked to mining

At Davos, UN Secretary General critical of fossil fuel industry of refusing to abandon a business model at odds with human survival

The Secretary General has really taken the lead to work at every angle to get climate change policies on track to meet our Paris climate agreement. At COP27, he was very vocal, thankfully. This week Mr. Guterres was at Davos, criticising big companies that, ‘like the tobacco industry’, ride roughshod over their own science. Larry … Continue reading At Davos, UN Secretary General critical of fossil fuel industry of refusing to abandon a business model at odds with human survival

Indonesia’s energy transition: a role for renewable energy?

Firdaus Cahyadi Indonesia Team Leader for the climate campaign group 350.org,, writes on the Mongabay website on the Indonesian government’s approach to renewable energy. Do any of you have experience in Indonesia? For readers not familiar with Mongabay, it is a nonprofit environmental science and conservation news platform that produces original reporting in English, Indonesian, Spanish, … Continue reading Indonesia’s energy transition: a role for renewable energy?

Understanding the carbon footprint of coffee consumption

Luciano Rodrigues Viana, Charles Marty, Jean-François Boucher and Pierre-Luc Dessureault, all of the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) write on The Conversation website about better understanding the carbon footprint of coffee. They decided to study the carbon footprint of several techniques used to prepare coffee at home, and it turns out that coffee capsules … Continue reading Understanding the carbon footprint of coffee consumption

The European Commission has outlined possible “transition pathways” to address the environmental impact of the construction sector

Europe’s construction ecosystem employs approximately 24.9 million people but it is also extremely fragmented with 99.9% of the companies being SMEs. Nikolaus J. Kurmayer discusses on the EURACTIV website the plans of the European Commission to transform the sector and that digitalisation could be the silver bullet to address all the problems – lack of … Continue reading The European Commission has outlined possible “transition pathways” to address the environmental impact of the construction sector

Maritime industry’s energy transition must be “just” and “equitable”

The International Maritime Organisation uses the terms “just” and “equitable” in discussions around shipping’s energy transition. But there is currently no consensus over how to define these terms. Christiaan De Beukelaer, Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University and Senior Lecturer in Culture & Climate at The University of Melbourne discusses latest … Continue reading Maritime industry’s energy transition must be “just” and “equitable”