Postponing action and taking a slower route to net zero emissions by 2050 will worsen the climate crisis

The new chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Professor Jim Skea has warned that postponing action now, as the UK has done, will have a serious impact on the climate crisis, even if the long-term objectives are met. Damian Carrington discusses latest developments in an article on the Guardian website.   Slow … Continue reading Postponing action and taking a slower route to net zero emissions by 2050 will worsen the climate crisis

Australia has an enormous opportunity in decarbonising quickly

Anna Skarbek, CEO, Climateworks Centre, writes on The Conversation website about the positive steps Australia is taking to reach net zero. Can you say the same about your country?   The road is long and time is short, but Australia’s pace towards net zero is quickening The marks of industry have forever changed the Hunter … Continue reading Australia has an enormous opportunity in decarbonising quickly

The worrying backlash to the European Green Deal

Many of the European Union's heads of state and government leaders have called for a 'regulatory pause' on climate and environmental issues. They are concerned about the consequences of measures designed to lead the EU-27 to carbon neutrality. Many Le Monde correspondents (Virginie Malingre, Thomas Wieder, Allan Kaval,  Anne-Françoise Hivert, Sandrine Morel, Cécile Ducourtieux, Hélène … Continue reading The worrying backlash to the European Green Deal

Energy in Demand News, October 1, 2023

It was encouraging that the heads of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) called on leaders from government, finance and industry across Europe to deliver a clean energy transition that is just, swift and maintains competitiveness.  Ministers, ambassadors, business leaders, central bankers and other key … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, October 1, 2023

Lego ditches oil-free brick in sustainability setback

World’s biggest toymaker says new material made from recycled bottles would have bigger carbon footprint. Latest analysis shows using recycled polyethylene terephthalate (RPET) would have led to higher carbon emissions over the product’s lifetime as it would have required new equipment. Noor Nanji discusses latest developments in an article on the BBC News website.   … Continue reading Lego ditches oil-free brick in sustainability setback

The new EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: “We do not want to be crushed and knocked out” by burdensome regulations, say French SMEs

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive would extend the scope of companies’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting obligations to inform investors, banks and insurance companies better. The new rules would also apply to SMEs. In an article on the EURACTIV website, Théo Bourgery-Gons discusses how French SMEs argue that new regulations are so onerous that … Continue reading The new EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: “We do not want to be crushed and knocked out” by burdensome regulations, say French SMEs

Summary of UN Summits Week 2023

Last week, the UN Headquarters was busy with the General Debate of the 78th session of the General Assembly together with summits on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and on climate change.  The Earth Negotiations Bulletin of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) does an incredible job … Continue reading Summary of UN Summits Week 2023

We are not moving fast enough, on enough fronts, to wean ourselves off fossil fuels

In an article on The Conversation website, Pep Canadell, Chief Research Scientist, Climate Science Centre, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere; Executive Director, Global Carbon Project, CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency writes about what more is needed to get us back on track to meet our decarbonisation objectives. He ends with an important message: “Climate scientists, on … Continue reading We are not moving fast enough, on enough fronts, to wean ourselves off fossil fuels

British PM and the net zero transition – lessons from history about flip-flopping on the environment

This has been a very interesting week in climate policy in Britain, with the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, defied official advice and rolled back on the net zero timetable. Marc Hudson, Visiting Fellow, Science Policy at the University of Sussex writes on The Conversation website giving us a history lesson on the experience of … Continue reading British PM and the net zero transition – lessons from history about flip-flopping on the environment

Energy in Demand News, September 17, 2023

The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) is undergoing some changes. SBTI show companies how much and how quickly businesses need to reduce their GHG emissions to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, leading them on a clear path towards decarbonisation. By guiding companies in science-based target setting, SBTi enables them to tackle climate change … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, September 17, 2023