New climate report is ‘code red for humanity’ August 9, 2021 A landmark new climate report from the UN is ‘code red’ for humanity, secretary-general Antonio Guterres said today. The study found that the scale of recent changes to the world’s climate system were “unprecedented over many centuries to many thousands of years”. It also said that it was “unequivocal” that “human influence” had contributed to [...]
EU carbon tax plans ‘discriminates against countries like Australia’, energy minister says August 4, 2021 The European Union seeking to impose a carbon tax on imports would be detrimental to Australia’s export industry, its Australian energy and emissions reduction minister has warned. The minister, Angus Taylor, urged against a “new wave” of European protectionism that would significantly bruise Australia’s export industry – on which a large portion of its economy [...]
City giants plotting to buy Asian fossil fuel plants in order to shut them August 3, 2021 A group of financial firms have come together to speed the closure of Asia’s fossil fuel power plants, the world’s largest source of carbon emissions. Under the proposals, HSBC, Citi, Prudential and Blackrock Real Assets, together with the Asian Development Bank, will form private-public partnerships to buy out the plants. They will then work to [...]
Virtual negotiations: COP26 should be an ‘immersive’ hybrid event August 3, 2021 The UN’s flagship climate conference, COP26, should be an ‘immersive’ hybrid event where some negotiations happen virtually, a former climate chief has said. Christiana Figueres, who spearheaded the 2015 Paris Agreement, said it was unlikely 25,000 people would attend the event in Glasgow as originally planned. Organisers must find the “sweet spot” that allows for [...]
Climate change activists occupy Zurich’s financial district August 2, 2021 Police this morning began clearing a group of Climate Strike activists occupying the heart of Zurich’s financial district. Around 200 activists from the Climate Strike Switzerland group gathered outside the UBS and Credit Suisse headquarters to protest the financing of environmentally damaging fossil fuel projects. According to “Rise Up for Change”, a group bringing together [...]
E.ON chief exec: energy companies need to step up to the net zero challenge and take responsibility August 2, 2021 Unless the UK takes a large number of brave and radical measures in this decade, our ambition of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 will just be a pipe dream. It will also mean Britain will miss out on the business and social benefits of a green economy, which would otherwise lay the foundations of prosperity [...]
Court rules Grant Shapps’ plan to build £1.7bn tunnel near Stonehenge is ‘unlawful’ July 30, 2021 Transport secretary Grant Shapps was found to have made a “material error of law” over his controversial road building plans that include a tunnel near Stonehenge. In a court ruling on Friday, Shapps’ decision to approve the £1.7bn scheme to overhaul eight miles of the A303 and build a two-mile tunnel near Stonehenge was ruled [...]
Q&A: How global cities could benefit from green dividends July 30, 2021 | City Talk One of the biggest challenges facing the real estate sector is how to cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and become more sustainable and energy efficient. The sector has one of the highest carbon footprints of any sector. It currently accounts for 30% of global annual GHG emissions and consumes around 40% of the world’s [...]
Green with envy: companies around the world have pledged to go net zero without a plan to get there July 29, 2021 There has been an avalanche of commitments to reduce emissions, from private companies to governments around the world. More than 20 per cent of the world’s largest corporations have set net zero targets and most major economies have committed to achieving net zero by the mid century. Yet, with the existing policies, we are currently [...]
Cop26 is our last chance to tackle climate change as extreme weather takes hold July 26, 2021 With less than 100 days to go until the UN Climate Change Conference – also known as COP26 – kicks off in Glasgow, preparations are well underway for the most important summit since that held in Paris back in 2015. Expectations are high, and rightly so. After all, to quote Sir David Attenborough, this is [...]