What's going on in the world of ESG, CSRD, CSDDD, SDGs etc...
1. ROYAL MAIL TO HALVE AIR DELIVERIES IN UK TO CUT CO2 EMISSIONS
Royal Mail is scaling back deliveries by flight in the UK and will instead transport more mail by road. It said this move would help to both improve reliability for customers and cut carbon emissions in support of its plan to become a net zero company by 2040.
The delivery firm said it would be cutting the number flights it operates in the UK in half by discontinuing 18 domestic air freight journeys over the next year - a move it said would save around 30,000 tonnes of CO2.
The first wave of 11 flights were discontinued as of last month, with plans to stop three more routes later this month, and a further four early next year.
Good move, at a time where Royal Mail needs all the positive press it can get.
Photo credit: Royal Mail Group
2. WORLD HAS SMASHED THE 1.5C TEMPERATURE THRESHOLD FOR A YEAR
The world has been baking consistently now for 12 months at 1.5C more than the temperatures in pre-industrial times.
Between July 2023 and June 2024, the mercury at a record high, creating a year-long stretch in which the Earth was 1.64C hotter than the pre-industrial benchmark.
The 1.5C threshold target is set in decades not years, so some will argue we have not broken it yet, but scorching heat has exposed more people to violent weather. A sustained rise above this level also increases the risk of uncertain but catastrophic tipping points.
Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said the results were not a statistical oddity but a “large and continuing shift” in the climate.
Reference: https://tinyurl.com/ywsn3ky5
3. SAUDI ARAMCO INVESTS €740M IN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
You can’t make it up, and it is a reality check.
The world’s largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, invested €740m in a company that makes internal combustion engines (ICEs), the FT reported, signalling that the oil giant believes these engines aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
The investment in Horse Powertrain is based on a calculation that “as the industry stops designing its own combustion engines, it will start buying them from third parties”.
ICEs, of course, run on fossil fuels and spew GHGs into the atmosphere. Saudi Aramco last year bought lubricant brand Valvoline, which will supply all Horse engines with products.
It is going to be a long and burning road.
Reference: https://www.ft.com/content/a3019ce4-be91-4dc8-83c5-489f18bf56cf?
4. BIG BUSINESS WANT EU TO MANDATE ZERO EMISSIONS FOR FLEETS
More than 120 large businesses are asking the EU to set clear zero-emission vehicle targets for corporate fleets, arguing that this would boost the bloc’s global position on electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing.
A position paper on the mandate convened by The Climate Group’s EV100 initiative, which unites 129 businesses in fleet decarbonisation targets, was sent to EU lawmakers late last week.
The paper states the mandate should apply to both big businesses who own or operate fleets. It should outline appropriate dates for a full transition to zero-tailpipe-emission models for fleets consisting of large, small and heavy-duty vehicles – the latter of which would be further into the future.
Self-regulation can work too!
Reference: https://www.edie.net/set-zero-emission-vehicle-mandate-for-big-businesss-fleets-corporates-tell-eu
5. RIGHTS OF A RIVER RECOGNISED BY COURT IN ECUADOR
In a ruling described by activists as “historic”, a court in Ecuador has ruled that pollution has violated the rights of a river that runs through the country’s capital, Quito.
The city government appealed the ruling, which is based on an article of Ecuador’s constitution that recognises the rights of natural features like the Machángara River.
“This is historic because the river runs right through Quito, and because of its influence, people live very close to it,” said Darío Iza, whose group Kitu Kara filed the complaint on behalf of the river. The court ruled that while appeals proceed, the government must come up with a plan to clean up the Machángara.
Nature, increasingly recognised by EFRAG and others at the “silent stakeholder”, needs its place at the table.
Reference: https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/07/ecuador-court-river-pollution-violates-rights
6. PARIS ATHLETES ASK PEPSI & COKE TO END PLASTIC POLLUTION
More than 100 athletes have called on beverage giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi to stop selling single-use plastic bottles and promote reusable products when they sponsor sports events. Coco-Cola is the world’s greatest (!) plastic polluter.
The push comes ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic games which begin on July 26, of which Coca-Cola is sponsor.
In a letter sent to the CEOs of the Coca-Cola Company, its European subsidiary Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, and American rival PepsiCo, 102 current and former athlete – 22 of which are competing in Paris – urge the companies to end plastic pollution "in the spirit of the Olympics and sport.”
Not sure it will make a difference, but maybe all the athletes could boycott the drinks?
Reference: https://www.politico.eu/article/olympic-athletes-tell-coca-cola-pepsi-to-end-plastic-pollution/
7. DELAY PROPOSED FOR CALIFORNIA CLIMATE LAWS
Governor Gavin Newsom proposed amends to California climate laws SB 253 and 261 that would push back implementation two years.
For companies that do business in California SB 253 requires circa 5,000 $1Bn+ to disclose Scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2026 and Scope 3 in 2027. SB 261 requires 10,000 companies $500m+ to report on climate risks in 2026.
These policies, signed into law last October, are the US's most far-reaching climate disclosure mandates. Governor Newsom had signalled his concerns when he signed these bills into law, saying: “The implementation deadlines in this bill are likely infeasible.”
The amendments would push the dates for implementation back to 2028 and 2029.
The world will be a lot hotter.
Reference: https://tinyurl.com/5dejz3vd
8. MONTANA APPEARS TO UPHOLD LANDMARK CLIMATE RULING
It just goes to show that it really isn’t over until it is over and that the forces behind oil and gas are resilient, and dangerous.
The state and oil and gas interests are looking to overturn last year’s ruling, but the court is standing firm, and appears likely to upholding the landmark ruling. The ruling found the state violated the rights of young people to a healthy environment by barring regulators from considering how new fossil fuel projects could affect climate change.
Justices on the Montana Supreme Court were sceptical of the Republican-led state's contention that the 16 young people in the case lacked legal standing to challenge a restriction on agencies' ability to consider GHG emissions when issuing permits.
Go Montana! This is important.
Reference: https://www.reuters.com/legal/montana-ask-state-top-court-overturn-landmark-climate-ruling-2024-07-10
9. THIS YEAR LIKELY TO BE THE HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD, AGAIN!
Is anyone spotting a trend?
Last month was the hottest June on record, continuing a streak of crazy heat that likely means 2024 will be the year on record.
Every month since June 2023 - 13 months in a row - has ranked as the planet's hottest since records began, compared with that month in previous years. This is according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin.
Changed climate has already unleashed disastrous consequences in 2024.
More than 1,000 people died in fierce heat during the hajj pilgrimage last month. Heat deaths were recorded amongst tourists in Greece, and in New Delhi, which endured an unprecedentedly long heatwave.
10. BIGGEST INDOOR SNOW AND ICE PARK OPENS IN CHINA IN HEATWAVE
This comes under the heading of “You must be absolutely kidding me, right.”
The world’s largest indoor ice and snow theme park has officially opened. Visitors to the city of Harbin in NE China get a chance to feel wintery temperatures year-round.
Over 23,800 square meters, the park uses ice sculpting techniques and cutting-edge lighting, to offer an immersive experience.
The ice used in the construction of the park’s attractions was sourced from the Songhua River, with a total ice volume of 20,000 cubic meters.
Ironically, the opening coincided with a 29C heat wave while the indoor theme park maintained a chilly -8 C to -12 C.
We are out of words.
