Happy Tuesday. The International Energy Agency has given the oil and gas industry a stark wake-up call on the investments needed in renewable energy.

In today’s edition:
⚡️ Fossil Fuel companies must allocate 50% of annual investment in green energy to align with climate goals
🚜 UN to release first plan for global food system’s climate transition
🌳 Brazil’s Fund for tropical forest conservation in 80 countries

🔋 Energy (1-Min Read)
International Energy Agency (IEA) gives the oil and gas industry a wakeup call

What happened: In its latest report, the IEA highlights that the oil and gas sector currently accounts for just 1% of clean energy investment globally. The IEA has warned they must allocate 50% of annual investment to clean energy projects by 2030 to align with global climate goals. 

Details: Some of the most important points from the report include:

Reducing Operational Emissions: Oil and gas production, transport, and processing causes 15% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, companies with targets to reduce operational emissions account for less than half of global oil and gas output.

Risky Business: Oil and gas is set to become less profitable and riskier overtime during the net zero transition. The current valuation of private oil and gas companies could fall by 25% if all national energy and climate goals are reached. 

Opportunities Lie Ahead: The oil and gas sector is well placed to scale up some crucial technologies for the clean energy transition. By 2050, in a decarbonised energy system, 30% of the energy consumed would come from technologies that could benefit from the industry’s skills and resources, like hydrogen and offshore wind. 

The bigger picture: This IEA report is the starkest since 2021. However, the 50% annual investment target to clean energy projects by 2030 seems a reach, especially considering several oil and gas producers have dialled back clean energy commitments in the past two years amid surges in oil and gas prices and anxiety about energy security.

(Full story here).

 🚜 AgriTech (1-Min Read)
Tackling climate change, one steak at a time: UN to unveil plan for food’s climate transition

What happened: The UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) will release the first comprehensive plan to align the agri-food system with the Paris climate agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The world’s richest nations will be advised to curb meat consumption while encouraging the supply of sustainable livestock products in developing countries to address nutrition challenges. 

Details: From farm to fork, food systems account for about ⅓ of global greenhouse gas emissions, with a significant proportion linked to livestock farming. So, the FAO’s plan will seek to balance the global food system’s climate transition with food security for a growing population. Global disparities in meat consumption are highlighted, with the average American consuming 127kgs of meat annually, compared with 3kgs in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Meanwhile, the Eat-Lancet Comission – a group of 37 scientists researching how to nutritiously feed a global population of 10 billion people within planetary boundaries – recommends each person consume around 15kgs of meat annually. 

Politically Sensitive: The issue of food consumption, particularly related to livestock products, is politically sensitive, with politicians hesitant to enact policies affecting consumer behaviour. The FAO’s plan will be non-binding but is expected to influence future policy and investment decisions. (Full story here).

🐘 Nature (1-Min Read)
 Brazil’s bold plan for Forest Fund to take root at COP28

What happened: Brazil proposes a new financing plan for tropical forest conservation at the upcoming COP28 climate change summit in Dubai. Although not yet finalised, the fund aims to support the conservation of tropical forests in 80 countries worldwide.

Detail: Brazil presented the idea of a tropical conservation fund at a meeting of seven other Amazon rainforest countries. The fund would not value forest conservation in terms of carbon, like many existing schemes. Instead, the fund’s value would likely be linked to the area of forest conserved measured in hectares, with compensation offered to residents and landowners who help preserve forested areas such as the Amazon. 

Enhancing Incentives: This proposed new financing mechanism would be the latest environmental fund agreed upon over the past year, where money is funnelled from rich countries to developing nations that struggle to pay for environmental efforts. Areas of tropical forest are typically populated by poorer citizens, with the extractive industries that fuel deforestation, like logging, offering enticing economic opportunities. However, this new fund aims to stop the trend by compensating local people to preserve wooded areas — supporting local livelihoods and fighting climate change. (Full story here).

💭 Little Bytes (1-Min Read)

💬 Quote: “With the world suffering the impacts of a worsening climate crisis, continuing with business as usual is neither socially nor environmentally responsible.” International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol.

📊 Stat: At Thanksgiving, food is the main event. Some 312 million pounds of food will have been in the trash last week — roughly $600mn worth. Bloomberg

📺️ Watch: The EU voted to restore nature on 20% of its land and sea by 2030

🛗 Snippets for your lift conversations (1-Min Read)

EU lawmakers have rejected a proposal to cut pesticide use within the bloc by half after a backlash from farmers and rightwing politicians. (Full story here).

PepsiCo has announced the third year of its global agriculture program, the Positive Agriculture Outcomes Accelerator, by backing 8 new innovation projects across 9 countries. (Full story here).

India seeks to revive underground coal mining to boost production and meet the country’s fast-growing energy needs despite international pressure to phase down the polluting fossil fuel. (Full story here).

The Rockefeller Foundation, established in 1913 by Standard Oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, announced today that it aims to make its $6 billion endowment net zero emissions by 2050. (Full story here).

 🎣 Gone Phishing (1-Min Read)

Three of these stories are true, one we’ve made up. Guess which:

Sausage vending machines booming in Germany

Robot beekeepers produce honey at record rates in Swiss trial

‘Super pigs’ from Canada threaten to invade the U.S.

US nuclear lab hit by hackers demanding cat-human mutants