FtF News #169 – 30th November 2022
Good COP, bad COP, floating wind power, hydrogen jets and cultivated meat
Well, another two weeks have passed, and COP27 has now been and gone, and whilst it wasn’t a complete wash, it was hardly a glowing success either. Getting hundreds of disparate nations to agree on anything is a tough call, but lacklustre organisation and the growing influence of the fossil fuel industry suggests that maybe meaningful agreements are too much to hope for.
At least this year, there has been some progress in the form of major deals arranged outside of COP, with financing arranged for Indonesia, Vietnam, and hopefully more nations soon to follow. It’s not enough (it never is!), but it is significant, and something hopeful to look to amidst the post-COP lull.
Once again, this week’s issue was ably assisted by Syuan Ruei Chang, who contributed a number of the articles and stories featured this week. If you spot any stories you’d like to share, you can submit them here.
Wild Weather
Mother nature’s reactions to the ever-warming world
The extreme rainfall in West Africa was made around 80 times more likely by climate change, according to a new rapid attribution study. A similar study on drought in the Sahel failed to find a climate link, in large part due to a lack of accurate data.
It’s Science!
The latest from in climate research and analysis
A new study has found that wet pet food has a far higher climate impact than dry, enough to give the average dog a similar carbon footprint to a human.
Lab-kept honey bees are living around half as long as they did in the 1970s, in another sign of the decline of the insects.
Party Political Broadcast
Climate politics are a special creature indeed
COP27 is over, and for many, it has been a bit of a let-down, with heavy fossil-fuel influence and minimal progress on key negotiations. However, it saw agreement on establishing a ‘loss and damage’ fund, with a framework that could even see India and China paying in, though no money has been committed yet. For a full summary of the summit, see the (extremely thorough) Carbon Brief breakdown.
Several developed nations did commit small sums to loss and damage, including New Zealand, Belgium, Austria, and a few others.
Brazil, the DRC and Indonesia, the three largest rainforest nations, have formally launched a partnership to cooperate on forest preservation.
The G20 pledged for the first time to limit warming to 1.5°C in an overdue but welcome signal to COP27.
The EU is meeting to discuss a reform of the Energy Charter Treaty, which allows fossil fuel firms to sue countries that harm their profits.
China and the US have recommenced formal climate discussions following a meeting between their leaders at the G20 summit.
Countries have voted to regulate the trade in shark fins, in what has been hailed as a landmark decision.
Money makes the world go around
The machinations of climate finance
The deal to provide $20bn in financing to Indonesia to help it move away from coal has been officially announced at the G20 summit.
A similar $11bn deal for Vietnam is in the final stages of negotiation, with parties hoping it can be closed before the EU-ASEAN summit in mid-December.
With developing countries’ debt burdens growing, more and more countries are turning to ‘debt for nature’ deals to write down debt in return for protecting key ecosystems and biodiversity.
Haha, Business!
Climate happenings in the corporate world
Many corporate carbon-neutrality claims are backed by vast amounts of essentially junk offsets that have minimal to no impact on emissions and just act as cheap greenwashing.
BP has refused to say how much money it is saving through a loophole in the UK windfall tax scheme that lets it avoid tax by investing in even more fossil fuel development.
Meanwhile, Shell has said it will be reevaluating £25bn in UK investments after the government ramped up the windfall tax (even though the company pays no tax through the same investment loophole).
Currently the UK government is paying £5bn a month to energy firms to shield consumers from high bills, despite the industry watchdog saying that the companies are failing customers.
California’s attorney general is suing 3M, DuPont and other firms over the costs to clean up PFAS ‘forever chemicals’.
The emissions of the 15 largest meat and dairy companies are larger than those of Russia, Canada and Australia.
Lyft has announced a partnership to recycle its e-bike and scooter batteries, though its recycling partner has yet to demonstrate its closed-loop technology.
The Future is Electric
Renewables, EVs and all things electrification
The global pipeline for floating offshore wind has doubled in the past 12 months, to 185GW.
US EV registrations have risen 57% in the first nine months of 2022 versus the same period last year, with more than 530,000 registered.
The Australian clean energy industry has warned that there’s growing evidence of modern slavery in much of the renewable energy supply chain.
Breakthroughs
New inventions to inspire hope
The US FDA has approved a lab-grown meat product for the first time, in what’s being hailed as a turning point for the industry.
Rolls-Royce has successfully run a small modern jet engine on hydrogen for the first time as part of a larger project to de-risk hydrogen aviation.
Climate Inequity
A hard look at the inequities of the climate crisis
The US pledged to protect fish for tribal communities, but an investigation has shown that the fish they eat is dangerously high in chemicals and metals.
COP has long been a male-dominated environment, but this year was worse than usual, with women making up just 34% of countries’ negotiating teams.
Speaking truths
Efforts in activism and awareness
The UK is pushing for ever more draconian measures to stop escalating climate change protests, but is it sleepwalking into becoming a police state?
Long Reads
Interesting deep-dives into climate-related topics
This deep look at the changes Palau is facing really helps convey the true impact of climate change on low-lying nations.
The impact of construction is gaining increased attention, and with it there’s renewed focus on ways to reuse and upcycle old buildings.
Saudi Arabia has been very active at COP27, presenting visions of EVs and renewables, but despite this, it has no plans to stop producing oil any time soon.
The Guardian took a fascinating look at efforts on Socotra in Yemen to save the unique endemic dragon’s blood tree from the growing dangers of climate change.
Nomadic people in rural Kashmir are increasingly moving to urban areas as glaciers melt and traditional lifestyles become harder and harder to maintain.