Zero-Carbon Transition – Latest signals of change (07.05.21)
We Mean Business coalition
Here are just some of the signals of change from the past week, demonstrating the transition to a resilient and inclusive zero-carbon future is accelerating.
Zero-Carbon Economy
Ceres is organizing the two-day event LEAD on Climate 2021 on 11-12 May to bring together the collective leading business voice to US federal lawmakers in support of a robust infrastructure package that will effectively address climate change. Germany is to amend its climate law with a target of reaching net-zero GHG emissions as early as 2045 – bringing forward the goal by five years – with an interim target of 65% by 2030 and introducing a new target of an 88% reduction by 2040. UK and India have agreed on a joint roadmap to combat climate change by 2030 with a series of shared commitments designed to “limit global temperature rises and achieve an ambitious outcome at COP26”. The government of the Australian state of Victoria has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 50% by 2030 in a move that would put Victoria “at the forefront of Australia’s climate change action”. And the EU Commission has approved $481m Danish state aid supporting the production of renewable electricity.
Zero Carbon Energy
German energy company RWE AG has committed to set a science-based target. Europe’s biggest utility Enel ramped up its spending on green energy in Q1 2021 as it seeks to accelerate efforts to cut its carbon emissions by 80% by 2030, with 66% of its production emissions free over the period compared to 57% in 2019. Indian cement company JSW Cement has joined RE100. Eleven EU countries have signed a declaration calling on the EU to stop funding fossil fuels under its trans-European energy infrastructure regulation, emphasizing the role that decarbonizing the energy system will have in reaching Europe’s 2030 and 2050 climate goals. The Australian investment bank Macquarie will stop financing coal projects by 2024 as it seeks to align its financing activities with global commitments to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Zero-Carbon Transport
Canadian mobility technology company Magna International has joined the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign. Dutch logistics company Samskip B.V. has committed to set a science-based target, while US transportation company Kansas City Southern and heavy truck manufacturer PACCAR had theirs approved. Renault claims it will become the “greenest brand in Europe” by 2030, promising that nine of 10 cars it sells will feature an electrified powertrain.
Zero-Carbon Built Environment & Heavy Industry
CLG Europe, in partnership with Agora Energiewende and WBCSD, is organizing a high-level conference to explore how lead markets for climate neutral materials can be created and the role EU policy can play in decarbonizing heavy industry. UK chemicals and energy company Kazan Soda Elektrik Üretim International has joined the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign. Danish engineering company FLSmidth had its science-based target approved.
Zero-Carbon Land Use & Nature Based Solutions
German sugar manufacturer Nordzucker, UK avocado producer Westfalia Fruit International and Canadian packaging and tissue producer Cascades have joined the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign. Swiss chocolate company Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli and UK food company Branston have committed to set a science-based target, while Canadian food company McCain Foods Limited and Norwegian seafood company Lerøy Seafood Group had theirs approved. UK supermarket Co-op has pledged to achieve net–zero carbon emissions by 2040, planning to offset the GHG emissions of its products and services to achieve carbon neutral status by 2025, while calling on the government to make businesses disclose their carbon effects publicly. Top New York restaurant Eleven Madison Park has decided to serve only vegan food over concerns that the modern food system is “simply not sustainable”. Britain’s coastal waters store 50m tons more carbon than all of the UK’s forests and rewilding oceans would help the UK to reach its target of net-zero by 2050, according to a new report.
Zero-Carbon Transition – Latest signals of change (30.04.21)