Sustt newsletter - our A to Z of ESG.
This week: Watching your waste. Leaders branching out. Alternative therapies. The subs don’t work.
WATCHING YOUR WASTE
COP26’s menu brings food’s climate impact into focus
What’s happening??At COP26, 80% of food on the menus has been sourced from Scotland. Plant-based dishes form the majority of the menu, and estimates of each plate’s carbon footprint have been provided. Additionally, the event is using sustainable suppliers such as Mara Seaweed’s fertiliser-free products, as well as carrots and potatoes from Benzies, which are produced using renewable energy. Hot drinks are served in reusable cups that can be washed more than 1,000 times, which could prevent the use of up to 250,000 single-use receptacles, according to the organisers. (The Guardian)
Why does this matter??Agriculture?is responsible for?8.5%?of all greenhouse gas emissions, with the release of nitrous oxide from soils and methane from manures and livestock the main contributors. Adapting the sector is therefore a priority in the reduction of emissions, but there is also potential for better farming to fulfill this requirement.
Sustainable farming –?Farming experts have?declared?there is growing?interest in regenerative agriculture among?certain farmers?in the UK. The practice involves?fewer pesticides and safeguards biodiversity while promoting carbon?sequestration. Over 1,700 organic farmers are already certified by the Soil Association.
This reflects a growing climate awareness among the farming community as many are considering or already?implementing?changes to improve energy efficiency, procure more renewable energy and invest in carbon sequestration. Meanwhile, platforms such as?Agreena?have responded by enabling farmers to earn money for regenerative farming practices with?data?verified by satellites and secured with blockchain.
Assisting change?–?Sourcing renewable energy and monitoring carbon can be a daunting prospect for farmers – both operationally and financially – and so support will be crucial in aiding this transition. The UK government is onboard to some extent after?passing?its landmark Agriculture Bill linking farm subsidies to updated criteria such as thriving wildlife, air and water quality, soil health and action taken to combat climate change. Brazil has also recently made a commitment to?reduce?its agricultural emissions by 1.1 billion mt by 2030 through forest restoration and low-carbon farming technologies.
However,?many?farmers remain skeptical about the technology available,?with?only?35%?of those in the UK?confident that?agri-tech?can support net-zero goals.?Regardless of technology’s effectiveness, farmers in low-income nations are also dealing with the effects of climate change.?Fairtrade farmers composed a letter to COP26 leaders?urging?them to keep their promise of $100bn of annual finance to support those already feeling the effects.
Job creation –?The changing role of farmers reflects?a?future for many workers who will have to adapt to new job roles to aid a green energy transition.?Studies?detail?how climate action could create eight million energy roles by?2050, for example, with US President Joe Biden planning to establish 10 million clean energy roles in the US. Little has been said, however, about job creation ahead of COP26. Research conducted by job site Indeed?suggests?the?green jobs transition needs to be 25 times faster if?governments want to reach 2030 targets.
Tepid?reactions?to Rishi Sunak’s budget by green economy experts implies the initial funding for job creation is not good enough. Time will tell if COP26 does anything to change this.
LEADERS BRANCHING OUT
COP26 sees deal to end deforestation by 2030 – but how effective is it?
What’s happening??A ￡14bn ($19bn) pledge from governments using public and private funds to end deforestation by 2030 became COP26’s first big promise, with Brazil one of the signatories. However, a climate and forests specialist has said a similar deal from 2014 has not slowed deforestation. (BBC News)
Why does this matter??Under minimal disturbance, forests can store carbon for thousands of years, or longer, helping to regulate the global carbon cycle. However, human-driven deforestation for agriculture, forest degradation and extreme weather events such as wildfires can upset this stability – and can change the status of a forest from a carbon sink to a source, when it begins releasing more CO2 than it can store.
Unfortunately, a recent UNESCO?report?signalled 10 forests in World Heritage sites are now net emitters of carbon.
Reasons to be skeptical??No detail has been given about how the deal struck at COP26 will be tracked – or whether there will be repercussions for nations that don’t deliver, or?backtrack?on the promise.?
Indonesia – one of the deal’s most important signatories – has already seemingly?backpedalled?on its commitment. The nation’s vice foreign minister, Mahendra Siregar, has even (and concerningly) questioned whether ending deforestation completely by 2030 was at all part of the pledge.?
领英推荐
ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES
What’s the use of drug repurposing?
What's happening??Dexketoprofen and etodolac – drugs commonly used to treat hypertension and inflammation – may also be beneficial for Alzheimer's treatement, a paper in Genome Medicine suggests. (IRB Barcelona,?Genome Medicine)
Why does this matter??Developing a drug from scratch and getting it to market typically takes around?10-12 years?and can cost up to $2bn. It's also a risky business given there's no guarantee a drug will receive regulatory approval. Many fail during development.?
Approved drugs already have established?safety and efficacy?data, meaning that researchers seeking to repurpose them for new indications can skip the earlier developmental stages and hit the human trial stage quicker. This can result in faster regulatory approvals, meaning patients with high or unmet medical needs receive more timely treatments. Identifying potential candidates for repurposing is also becoming more efficient due to advancements in?AI and machine learning technologies.?
What’s the downside??Although this sounds promising, many repurposing candidates have gone off-patent or are generic, meaning pharmaceutical companies have?low interest?in investing in them for new indications as they will see little return.
One solution may be adopting?subscription models, which the UK's National Health Service is utilising for antibiotics. Pharmaceutical companies are paid upfront for their products based on their usefulness for patients as opposed to price per pack.
THE SUBS DON’T WORK
Do fossil fuel subsidies undermine planned carbon taxes??
What’s happening??The coal, gas and oil industries received $5.9tn in subsidies during 2020, exacerbating the climate crisis, according to research by the International Monetary Fund. (The Guardian)
Why does this matter??Subsidies to oil, gas and coal industries are one of the largest barriers slowing down the world’s shift to renewables. Fossil fuels are?becoming less economical, yet subsidies allow more capital to flow towards them than would under free market conditions – providing the risk of locking us into carbon-intensive energy sources.?
Fossil fuel subsidies could make carbon taxes useless?– There are currently 64?carbon pricing instruments, in the form of carbon taxes and Emissions Trading Systems (ETS), operating globally. With trillions in subsidies flowing to oil, gas and coal, however, it’s possible that firms paying these levies are also receiving financial support – potentially blunting the impact of such prices on carbon.?
According to the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), a carbon tax in Indonesia on coal producers will be?ineffective?if costs are being kept low by government subsidies. This could result in a situation where the government is effectively paying for its own carbon premiums, the CPI added.
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