Sustainability Notice #32 (20 - 26 March)

·      World:

U.N. hopes water meeting can create 'rippling effect' to stave off crisis (Source)

The United Nations' first meeting on water in nearly half a century drew towards a close on Friday with hopes it would spur political momentum and fears that too little is being done to tackle chronic water stress globally. There is no international binding agreement for water like the one reached for climate in Paris in 2015, or framework like that established to protect nature in Montreal last year, despite dire warnings of the risks humanity faces if water is not managed better.

UN warns 'vampiric overconsumption' is draining world's water (Source)

A quarter of the world's population relies on unsafe drinking water while half lacks basic sanitation, the U.N. said. Meanwhile, nearly three quarters of recent disasters have been related to water. "We are draining humanity's lifeblood through vampiric overconsumption and unsustainable use, and evaporating it through global heating," said U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Global renewables capacity grew by 10% last year-IRENA (Source)

Global renewable energy capacity grew by 9.6% last year but needs to grow by three times the current rate to limit global warming, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said on Tuesday. IRENA's annual report on renewable energy statistics said global renewable energy capacity amounted to 3,372 gigawatts (GW) at the end of last year, some 295 GW or 9.6% higher than the previous year.

Berliners vote down referendum on tighter climate goals (Source)

A referendum in Berlin on Sunday that would have bound the city to strive to be climate neutral by 2030 has failed, the city's mayor Franziska Giffey said in a statement. The measure would have forced the new conservative local government to invest heavily in renewable energy, building efficiency and public transport. Had it passed, Berlin would have been one of the few major European cities with a legally binding goal to become carbon neutral in seven years.

Biden vetoes anti-ESG resolution (Source)

President Biden issued the first veto of his presidency on Monday, defending a recently enacted Department of Labor rule allowing fund managers for ERISA plans to include ESG considerations in the investment process from Republican attempts to overturn the rule in Congress.

Italy to cut rice output as drought looms for second year (Source)

Italian rice output is set to fall in 2023 as farmers facing a second year of drought reduce the land dedicated to the crop to the lowest for more than two decades, agricultural groups warn. Italy cultivates about 50% of the rice produced in the European Union and is the world's only grower of types most suitable for risotto such as Arborio and Carnaroli.

Wildfire in eastern Spain forces hundreds to evacuate homes (Source)

A forest fire raged in eastern Spain on Thursday, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate from nearby villages and sending huge plumes of smoke into the air. Firefighters were alerted about the blaze near Villanueva de Viver in the region of Valencia just before 1 p.m. (1200 GMT). Ten airplanes were fighting to put out the blaze, which had forced the evacuation of the villages of three villages. More than 1,000 people were forced to leave their homes, Cadena Ser reported.

‘Like you’re in a horror movie’: pollution leaves New Zealand wetlands irreversibly damaged (Source)

Ecologists say some bodies of water may already have passed the tipping points from which they may never recover

Unseasonal rains and hail damage crops in India (Source)

Unseasonal rains and hailstorms have damaged ripening, winter-planted crops such as wheat in India's fertile northern, central and western plains, exposing thousands of farmers to losses and raising the risk of further food price inflation.

China to launch rural pilot scheme for renewable energy (Source)

China will launch a pilot scheme to promote the development of renewable energy in rural areas, according to an action plan released by the National Energy Administration (NEA) on Thursday.

Thick sandstorms shroud Beijing and several provinces in China (Source)

Capital Beijing and several provinces in China will be affected by thick, dense sandstorms that will severely affect visibility, Chinese weather authorities said on Wednesday.

Earthquake of magnitude 6.5 hits northern Afghanistan, killing at least 3 (Source)

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck northern Afghanistan on Tuesday evening, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, killing two in the east of the country and one child in neighbouring Pakistan.

'Climate time bomb ticking', emissions must urgently be cut, UN chief says (Source)

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that the "climate time bomb is ticking" as he urged rich nations on Monday to slash emissions sooner after a new assessment from scientists said there was little time to lose in tackling climate change.

·      Business:

Plastic paving: Egyptian startup turns millions of bags into tiles (Source)

An Egyptian startup is aiming to turn more than 5 billion plastic bags into tiles tougher than cement as it tackles the twin problems of tonnes of waste entering the Mediterranean Sea and high levels of building sector emissions.

BlackRock to keep questioning boards on 'material' climate risks (Source)

BlackRock Inc, the world's largest asset manager, said on Thursday it would continue to push companies for details on how they treat "material" climate-related risks, despite criticism from some U.S. politicians for its stance on the energy transition. The comments continue BlackRock's attempt to walk a middle line between Republicans who say it has overemphasized environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investing, and shareholder activists and other investors who say the $8.6 trillion asset manager should push companies harder to address climate issues.

Microsoft signs deal for direct air capture carbon removal (Source)

California-based climate tech company CarbonCapture announced today an agreement with Microsoft for the purchase of carbon removal credits generated through its Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology. DAC technology, listed by the IEA as a key carbon removal option in the transition to a net-zero energy system, extracts CO2 directly from the atmosphere for use as a raw material or permanently removed when combined with storage. 

L’Oréal, Unilever, Kao Back Venture to Create Bio-based sustainable ?ngredients for beauty, consumer products (Source)

Beauty company L’Oréal announced an investment in a new venture led by biotechnology company Genomatica (Geno), aimed at developing and commercializing bio-based sustainable alternative ingredients for cosmetics, personal care and cleaning products.

IASB explores improvements to climate-related disclosure in financial statements (Source)

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the accounting standards-setting body of the IFRS Foundation, announced today the launch of a new project aimed at exploring potential changes to the requirements by companies to disclose climate-related risks in financial statements. According to the IASB, the new project follows feedback to its recent Agenda Consultation, a public consultation held by the board every five years on its activities and work plan, with responses calling for enhancements to the reporting of climate-related risks in financial statements.

EU Launches Green Claims Rules to Protect Consumers from Greenwashing (Source)

The European Commission on Wednesday unveiled the proposed “Directive on Green Claims,” a new set of rules requiring companies to substantiate and verify their environmental claims and labels, aimed at protecting consumers from greenwashing.

FCA warns of “widespread failings” in ESG benchmarks (Source)

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the conduct regulator for financial services firms and financial markets, announced that it has found “the potential for widespread failings” by administrators of ESG benchmarks, including poor quality of ESG-related disclosure and the use of outdated data or ratings.

ECB discloses decarbonization progress of €385 billion corporate bond portfolio (Source)

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced today the publication of its first climate-related financial disclosures for its corporate sector and non-monetary policy portfolios, indicating progress towards the decarbonization of the Eurosystem’s €385 billion of corporate securities holdings.

·      Research and eco-innovation:

Oil and gas activity may have caused Alberta earthquake in 2022 – study (Source)

One of the strongest earthquakes in the history of Canada's Alberta was likely caused by the underground disposal of wastewater by the oil industry, researchers at Stanford University and University of Alberta suggested in a study.

Explainer: What California's atmospheric rivers mean for drought, floods, fires (Source)

California has experienced an exceptionally wet winter with 11 atmospheric rivers battering the state since late December. A twelfth such storm is due to land on Tuesday, threatening to cause even more flooding, landslides and road closures. Atmospheric rivers are vast airborne currents of dense moisture carried aloft for hundreds of miles from the Pacific and funneled over land to fall as bouts of heavy rain and snow. Here's what such storms mean for the near and long term.

Somalia's drought killed 43,000 last year, half under five – study (Source)

Somalia's ongoing record drought killed as many as 43,000 people last year, half of them children under 5, researchers said on Monday in the first attempt to estimate country-wide deaths. After five consecutive failed rainy seasons, half of Somalia's 17 million people are in urgent need of aid, the United Nations has said, although parts of the country avoided a famine declaration last year that some experts had been expecting.

Cargo ships powered by wind could help tackle climate crisis (Source)

A wide range of wind-powered devices for ships have been designed, using sails, kites or rotors that look like vertical cylinders. These are mounted on a ship’s deck and many can be retrofitted to existing vessels. Already more than 20 commercial cargo ships use wind power to cut their fuel use, and more are being launched, but it is taking a long time for wind power to become widely accepted in the industry.