Zero-Carbon Transition: Latest signals of change (10.07.2020)
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 remains underway.
Zero-Carbon Economy
The We Mean Business coalition, along with its seven core partners, has written to G20 finance ministers and central banks asking them to urgently tackle the climate crisis and economic recovery together. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has told countries to “stop wasting money on fossil-fuel subsidies and place a price on carbon”. CDP has launched a new rating system to allow investors to manage climate risk by highlighting the temperature pathways of their portfolios. A group of 39 companies, including several of Brazil’s largest businesses, have called for action on escalating Amazon deforestation. And ECB President Christine Lagarde is using the bank’s €2.8 trillion bond buying scheme to help further climate objectives.
Zero-Carbon Transport
Major US ridesharing company Lyft, Inc. has commitment to reach 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030 as part of The Climate Group’s EV100 initiative. Australian road and rail operator Transurban Group has committed to set a science-based target, while German rail company Deutsche Bahn AG has had its target approved. VW is to remove production lines for all internal combustion engine vehicles from one of its key factories in Germany this year and replace them with EV production. June has seen strong sales for EVs in key European markets including the UK and Sweden. European lawmakers have agreed to include emissions from the maritime sector in the EU carbon market. And British Gas has ordered 1,000 new electric vans, as part of its plan to electrify its entire fleet by 2030.
Zero-Carbon Energy
Ceres’ Benchmarking Emissions report – covering the 100 largest US power producers – found that CO2 emissions decreased about 8% between 2018 and 2019. WBCSD has released Guidelines for an Integrated Energy Strategy to help companies accelerate their transition to zero-carbon energy. Danish renewable energy giant Ørsted and Taiwan-based TSMC have signed the world’s largest renewable corporate power purchase agreement. Iberdrola plans to invest €10 billion-a-year in clean energy to accelerate the transformation of the European energy sector. Malaysian energy company Sarawak Energy Berhad has committed to set a science-based target. China plans to increase nuclear power output by almost 50% over next five years. Investment in US offshore wind projects is set to rise to near the levels in offshore oil and gas drilling this decade. Germany’s coal-power phase out could happen a decade earlier than the 2038 deadline, according to analysis.
Zero-Carbon Built Environment and Heavy Industry
India’s largest cement company Ultratech Cement has committed to set a science-based target. The UK Chancellor has committed £3 billion towards an energy efficiency plan for homes and public buildings, in a bid to support jobs and reduce emissions. WBCSD, together with leading companies operating in the built environment, have developed a new framework for aligning all actors of the built environment around a common language for carbon emissions. The European Commission is looking to increase hydrogen capacity to 40 GW by 2030, from the current 1 GW. A US judge has ordered the suspension of the Dakota Access Pipeline over environmental concerns. Dominion Energy and Duke Energy have abandoned their $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline project. And South African mining company Hulamin has had its science-based target approved.