FtF News #129 – 24th November 2021
Climate colonialism, cobalt in the Congo and the complexities of tackling illegal deforestation
Hello, and welcome to Forge the Future, your weekly rundown of the latest climate news.
This week brings a somewhat welcome lull in climate news as the momentum of COP26 subsides and things return to normal. Politicians are hailing it as a success, activists decrying it as a failure, but ultimately, it seems like it was somewhere in between. Progress was made, but much more needs to be done – a message I feel I repeat every week. Nevertheless, it feels awareness and desire to act is growing month by month, and pledges and agreements happening now would have been unimaginable just a couple of years ago.
State of the world
Climate research and findings, weather events and studies
Climate weather is back in the news again, as the Pacific North West has been hit by massive amounts of rain. The storms caused flooding across the region along with landslides and mudslides which left many cut off. At one point, Vancouver was entirely unreachable by road from the rest of Canada. No climate attribution studies have been done as yet on whether the rain is climate crisis-induced, but the wildfires that struck the region over the summer will definitely have worsened the impacts.
On a similar topic, Carbon Brief looked at the growing importance of hourly rainfall analysis. Until recently, most rainfall data was only gathered daily at best, but in a warming world, short but extreme storms are growing in frequency and severity. Such events can overwhelm drainage systems and cause flooding, and with limited awareness of their impact, the gap between the growing risks being faced and action being taken is increasing.
An Australian study has concluded that ‘blue’ hydrogen is actually more expensive as well as more polluting than green hydrogen. Blue hydrogen is hydrogen made from fossil fuels, but where emissions are captured and stored, versus green which is created using renewable energy. The study found that fossil fuel infrastructure leaks significant amounts of methane, and the expense of high-effectiveness CCS (carbon capture and storage) technology meant that blue hydrogen may not be the cheap route to clean hydrogen some have touted it to be.
A paper has mapped the location of ‘irrecoverable’ carbon – carbon stored in ecosystems that would take centuries to recover if lost. This includes peatlands, mangroves and old-growth forests. The authors found that around half this carbon is concentrated on just 3% of Earth’s land area, and whilst a third is managed by Indigenous and local communities, and 23% is within existing protected areas, there is still a significant proportion which could benefit from further protections. Such a study could help focus ongoing efforts to protect more of the biosphere by prioritising the most vulnerable and carbon-rich ecosystems.
Climate Visuals
A picture tells a thousand words…
An excellent visualisation from the NYT comparing the cumulative emissions of 23 developed nations with those of the rest of the world.
Planet positives
Moving towards a greener and more equitable world
Soy Sourcing
The EU is putting together new rules on key commodities such as soy, beef, palm oil and more, aiming at goods currently linked to illegal deforestation. The regulations would force operators to know exactly where a good originates from, with only deforestation-free products allowed to enter the EU. While such rules are far from perfect (see this week’s Adverse circumstances), they start to put pressure on producers to clean up their supply chains, especially when coming from a major bloc such as the EU.
Repair over replace
In a major win for right-to-repair advocates, Apple has finally backed down and will offer spare parts and repair guides for the first time. The move initially only covers the company’s latest iPhone 12 and 13 models, but it has said it will soon offer similar services for its new M1 Mac computers as well. Apple’s products have long scored poorly on ease of maintenance and repair, but with measures in France forcing manufacturers to publish repairability scores for devices, and the rise of companies like FairPhone and Framework, maybe this signals a shift from incumbents towards making repairs more feasible.
Adverse circumstances
Events that move the needle in the wrong direction
Harmful Hides
In contrast to the upcoming EU laws on tracing deforestation-linked goods, the New York Times published an investigation into leather sourced from Brazil. Despite many firms from slaughterhouses to leather companies implementing some form of cattle tracking, illegal ranchers are still able to pass their cattle into the system. Whilst beef demand drives much of the growth in deforestation and cattle ranching, leather is also a major factor, with significant demand from the US car industry. Ultimately, tracking the true source of cattle is hard, and there’s little motivation right now for firms to look too closely.
One rule for me, another for thee
‘We are simply exporting most of our environmental damage to the developing world’
In another instance of developed countries off-shoring their environmental issues, Greenpeace has tracked thousands of tonnes of neonicotinoid pesticides sold from the EU and UK to developing countries. The pesticides are hugely destructive to pollinators like bees, and were banned from use in the EU several years ago, and the bloc is even considering banning imports of any foods containing trace amounts of the chemicals. However, firms are still allowed to manufacture the pesticides for export, which they are doing in large amounts, shipping to countries like Brazil, Mali and Pakistan, which have weaker regulations on pesticide use.
Long Reads
Interesting deep-dives into climate-related topics
One of the impacts of the worldwide growth in clean energy and EVs is a massive race to secure and develop sources of the various metals needed. One such resource is cobalt, almost exclusively found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The New York Times explores the messy and complex dynamics between companies and countries looking to extract minerals and the Congolese government, which wants to ensure it receives some of the vast wealth being exploited.
Another NYT story explores the challenges of improving gender equality in conservation. Women are often excluded from conservation movements, despite research showing time and again that their participation improves many indicators of success. The piece explores women-led marine sanctuaries in the Philippines, which are demonstrating how their more collaborative, future-focused approaches are proving successful in halting and reversing marine ecosystem destruction.
The idea of countries, companies and other organisations reaching net-zero has become increasingly mainstream in recent years, but it is merely the latest in a long line of ideas that have come out of climate negotiations and discussions. In this piece, several career climate scientists discuss the history of the concept, its flaws, and suggest that the entire idea of ‘net-zero’ emissions may be a dangerous trap that allows complacency when it comes to reducing emissions to the degree required.
Quick Headlines
Some quick climate news nuggets to sate your appetite
The UK has announced that it will build 145,000 EV charging points a year through to 2030 to support growing electric vehicle sales.
A Dutch cow feed that cuts cattle’s methane output by 30% is nearing approval in the EU after being declared safe and effective.
Just days after COP26, the Biden administration is conducting the largest ever sale of oil and gas drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico.