Signals of Change September 2024

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Here are this month’s signals of change towards...

A just transition from?fossil fuels to clean solutions ?

In energy news, the U.S. Department of Energy?has announced a $2.2 billion investment ?under its Grid Innovation Program for 8 projects across 18 states. Together, the transmission infrastructure and technology upgrades will help deliver an additional 13 GW of capacity, while creating 5,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, in the UK Octopus energy is trialling an innovative solution to ease the transition by?offering free electricity during periods of low demand and high generation ?for customers with smart meters.

Next to industrial decarbonization, as?Tosyal? Holding and Libya United Steel Company have signed an agreement ?to build a major Direct Reduced Iron complex in Benghazi, Libya, with a capacity of 8.1 million tons. The technology will be used to produce green steel and hydrogen and marks a milestone in global steel industry decarbonization.

Meanwhile, the EU and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have?signed an agreement ?to provide equity investments for the exploration and development of critical and strategic raw materials, aiming to mobilize around €100 million in investments to support green industry and ease supply chain woes.

To transport, where trade and employer association Danish Shipping has urged Denmark and the EU?to intensify investments in Africa ?to support both the development of green fuels for shipping and the establishment of green corridors along shipping routes around the African continent.

In electric vehicle (EV) news, the Asia-Pacific electric vehicle market is expected to reach?$1.57 trillion by 2028,?driven by increasing adoption of clean energy vehicles, strategic investments from countries like South Korea and India, and the expansion of Chinese EV manufacturers into Southeast Asian markets.

And finally, to the built environment as the?UK passes the 250,000 heat pump milestone. ?While in the U.S., subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act worth $488 million USD are set to fund the installation of more than 580,000 heat pumps in some of its coldest regions – southeast Alaska and across New England- which will avoid 2.5 million metric tons of carbon emissions from heating.

Latest from the Coalition

This year marks a decade since the founding of the We Mean Business Coalition.?We’ve been marking it with fresh thought leadership including a podcast series with the Financial Times and oped series with Reuters.?See all 10 year anniversary content.

In collaboration with partners and leading companies, the Coalition has developed a business call to action for governments to create national climate plans and strategies (NDCs) that are ambitious and investible.?Download the call to action.

Dr. Jane Thostrup Jagd, Director of Net Zero Finance, spoke to The AtlasZero Podcast about our recent analysis of Early Adopters’ CSRD reporting.?Listen here .

Interested in how the private sector can draw from the Paris Agreement to enhance its climate finance efforts and scale investments? Read our latest?white paper ?and?explainer blog ?authored by Andrew Prag, our Managing Director of Policy and Christina Hood, Climate Change & Energy Policy, Carbon Markets Lead at Compass Climate.

The newly launched?SME Climate Ambition Drive ?brings together partners to mobilize SMEs in their value chains and networks to make the SME Climate Commitment, with the goal of reaching 10,000 before COP29. The SME Climate Hub has also?launched resources to help companies scale and track their engagement ?with SME suppliers.

Protecting and restoring nature

First up, multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation ADM has?launched a new joint venture ?with the Farmer Business Network, aiming to support thousands of grain farmers to adopt more sustainable and regenerative practices by expanding its digital Gradable platform.

More than 130 companies including Danone, Decathlon, H&M Group, Nestle, Unilever, Salesforce, and Volvo?have signed a statement urging governments to embrace more ambitious policies to halt and reverse nature loss this decade on the road to CBD COP16.

Decarbonizing global supply chains?

Pip & Nut becomes?the first UK snack brand ?to commit to Tony’s Open Chain initiative, aligning its supply chain with Tony’s Chocolonely’s principles for ethical and slavery-free chocolate production. The move aims to ensure full traceability of ingredients, fair wages for farmers, and sustainable practices throughout the supply chain.

Meanwhile, Amazon has announced that?it will require key suppliers to provide detailed decarbonization plans ?as part of its broader goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Scope 3 emissions make up the majority of the retail giant’s carbon footprint.

AWS, Microsoft, and Google?have signed an open letter ?urging datacentre equipment suppliers to improve the collection of Scope 3 emissions data to enable them to better track and reduce the environmental impact of cloud infrastructure.

Finance: regulations and standards?

The UK government?will introduce legislation to regulate ESG ratings agencies to enhance transparency, reduce greenwashing risks, and strengthen investor confidence, with the Financial Conduct Authority overseeing the implementation.

Next to Europe, where the European Commission has released?52 pages of FAQs about how to comply with the EU’s new corporate disclosure mandates aimed at helping companies with their disclosures.

Lastly,?according to a recent survey , 68% of large U.S. companies now have dedicated budgets for sustainability reporting, driven by increasing regulatory requirements like California’s SB 253 and SB 261. While nearly all companies surveyed plan to increase their spending on sustainability efforts, with a majority expecting positive impacts on revenue and brand value.

Deep dive: On the rise of non financial reporting and what it means for business

Non financial reporting standards are being adopted worldwide, from Australia to Malaysia and Costa Rica to South Korea. We’ve distilled what you need to know, from the differences between the standards to what they mean for scope 3 reporting.

Read the deep dive analysis

Companies taking action

Over 16,000 companies are taking action through Coalition partner initiatives. See all companies who committed in the past month?on the We Mean Business Coalition website. Companies setting their ambition for net zero include:

• 8,579 companies working to cut their emissions in line with science through SBTi

• 8,369 small and medium-sized enterprises working to cut emissions with the SME Climate Hub

• 506 companies who have now signed the Climate Pledge, to reach net zero by 2040

Meanwhile, companies are driving down emissions through the following demand-side initiatives:

• 130 companies are accelerating the transition to electric vehicles with EV100, and 5 companies are kickstarting the transition to zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles with EV100+

• 130 companies are committed to improving their energy efficiency through EP100

• 434 companies have committed to 100% renewable energy with RE100

• 39 companies have joined ConcreteZero to create a market for net zero concrete

• 45 companies have committed to SteelZero to create a market for net zero steel

Events

Climate Week NYC ?– 22 – 29 September

CBD COP16 ?Summit – 21 October -1 November

Verge24? – 29 – 31 October [for 20% off use V24BASCS]

G20 Summit ?– 18 –19 November

COP29 Summit ?– 11-24 November

Careers

Various posts ?at BSR

Various posts ?at CDP

Various posts ?at Ceres

Various posts ?at CLG Europe (CISL)

Various posts ?at Climate Group

Various posts ?at WBCSD

Various posts ?at SBTi