Happy Tuesday. Climate Week and the UN General Assembly saw hundreds of representatives from policy, business, science, academia, and thought leadership come together and make some pretty seismic commitments. Here is all you may have missed in the last week in our usual snappy 4 minute summary.
In today’s edition:
☕️ Starbucks “Green Stores” go international
🔋 Ford closing the battery loop
🥦 Transforming our food systems
Big Business (2-minute read)
A rundown of climate week and the UN General Assembly
- Xi Jinping said China will no longer fund coal-fired power plants abroad. In 2020, 57% of Chinese energy investments overseas were in renewables.
- US President Joe Biden announced a plan to double financial aid to poorer nations to $11.4 billion by 2024 so those countries could switch to cleaner energy
- The Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM) was launched to set a global benchmark for carbon credit quality – ensuring when companies buy offsets they lead to a measurable reduction in emissions.
Proof in the pudding: Over a decade ago, developed countries agreed to commit $100 billion per year in support of climate action (only 5% of annual military expenditure), that target has never been met.
European Central Bank highlight low-carbon transition is good value for money
The European Central Bank (ECB) has concluded that the costs of transitioning to a low-carbon economy are far less than the impact of climate change on the region’s companies, banks and economy (e.g. current summer floods and wildfires).
The ECB calculated the potential impact of climate change on 4mn companies and 1,600 banks in Europe over 30 years. A worst-case scenario where no action is taken to stop global warming would knock 10% off European gross domestic product and cause a 30% rise in defaults on corporate loans to the most exposed companies.
A timely reminder… for governments leading the political backlash against Brussels’ plans to extend carbon taxes, a central policy of the EU’s drive to hit net zero by 2050.
Starbucks expand its embrace of circularity
Starbucks is widening its use of circular practices by expanding its Greener Stores (what are these?) internationally, with the opening of a store in Shanghai. The Greener Stores are designed, constructed and operated based on circular principles – such as giving away used coffee grounds to gardeners for use as fertiliser. The stores also use tech that reduces energy and water consumption by 25-30%.
🤖 Future of Tech (1-minute read)
Ford invest $50M in a closed-loop battery recycling company
Ford is investing $50 million in Redwood Materials, a Nevada-based battery recycling upstart, as the automaker moves to shore up its U.S. battery supply chain. Redwood can recover 95% of precious metals in Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries such as nickel, cobalt, lithium and copper, all of which could run short as the world shifts from internal combustion to electric vehicles (e.g. current semiconductor shortage).
But why?
- Close the loop on end-of-life batteries allowing them to reenter the supply chain – trimming emissions associated with car production.
- Drive down battery costs, increase materials supply and cut reliance on imported materials (The top 10 EV manufacturers are all in Asia)
Budweiser produce beer cans with the lowest carbon footprint
Aluminium production accounts for around 1% of global emissions, however demand for the metal is rising, so low-carbon production methods will be crucial in the future. Budweiser Brewing Group has announced it will collaborate with aluminium producer, EN+ Group, to trial the production of beer cans with a carbon footprint 85% lower compared to traditional methods. Five million of these cans will be manufactured using 100% renewable electricity as part of the trial. The move comes as the EU plans to introduce a carbon border adjustment tax on various products – including aluminium.
💡Start-up Spotlight (1-minute read)
“100 Million Farmers” – how does it plan to transform our food systems?
One third of greenhouse emissions globally come from agriculture. Adopting climate-friendly practices for producing food could feed a growing population, fight climate change, and create $4.5 trillion a year in new business opportunities by 2030.
Enter “100 Million Farmers”: A platform setup by the World Economic Forum to catalyse change to food systems through national projects which transform the local food and agriculture economy with climate, nature and resilience at its core.
“100 Million Farmers” objectives in action:
Objective 1: Demonstrate how the adoption of cost-effective, practical solutions can shift current food systems away from significant emissions and nature degradation.
- The Sustainable Cattle Landscape Project engages with livestock producers to develop deforestation-free value chains by leveraging traceability technology.
Objective 2: Incentivise 100 million farmers to adopt regenerative practices while empowering 1 billion consumers to demand this type of food production.
- The “Carbon+ Farming Journey Project” that aims to boost adoption of regenerative agriculture through financial tools and practical incentives.
Incentives are key: to creating actionable change in our food systems. Actors along supply chains must realise there is value beyond productivity, so the deployment of market based incentives (such as carbon markets) are crucial.
💭 Little Bytes
Quote: “We frequently see technology used to invade privacy, violate the rights of groups of people, and otherwise harm those with little or no recourse… We as an industry and society are at an important juncture wherein, we’ll decide the kind of technological future we want.” Tyler McMullen, CTO, Fastly
Stat: Companies that go above and beyond their peers to respect the environment and social issues generate at least 20 percent more in profit, Accenture and the World Economic Forum.
Watch: The man who swam in the Arctic to send a message to global leaders
🗞 In other news…
- In Leicester, UK transforms thirty bus stops into green-roofed ‘bee stops’
- Prince Charles to launch new climate change channel for Amazon Prime
- Mastercard has launched a new Sustainability Innovation Lab in Sweden. Staff will focus specifically on solutions that enable sustainable spending
- The World’s most significant rewilding project could see the return of the woolly mammoth
- Loop expands into in-store drop-off and pick-up for reusable packaging
