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What's been baking in Sustainability in the past week?

EU's Green Deal Industrial Plan, Major Events of Past Year Affecting the Energy Transition, and Other Interesting Things to Know

February 07, 2023

Welcome to this edition of Green Digest, where you will get updated about everything happening in the sustainability space in less than 5 minutes. 🌎You can expect to learn about all the latest things impacting the planet and society, from the circular economy to climate to social impact to corporate responsibility and everything in between.We go through tons of articles and data from the most reliable sources, filter & simplify them and serve them to you in bite-sized chunks every week. 🍀This week’s read time: 3 minutes

🇪🇺Last week, the European Commission announced the launch of its Green Deal Industrial Plan, a series of strategies and initiatives aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the EU’s net zero industries and the transition to climate neutrality, including creating a simpler regulatory framework, upskilling the European workforce, accelerating access to investment and financing, and enhancing global trade cooperation.

The plan has identified seven key tasks that will help the EU reach its goals:

  1. Establishing a fit-for-purpose framework for industrial decarbonization;

  2. Developing industrial competitiveness and resilience;

  3. Enhancing innovation and digitalization;

  4. Supporting workforce transitions;

  5. Enhancing global trade cooperation;

  6. Accelerating access to finance and investments; and

  7. Strengthening international cooperation.

Each task has a set of actions and initiatives to ensure the EU meets its net zero ambitions, and the head of the EU’s commission, Ursula von der Leyen, closed its World Economic Forum speech with the words “the story of the cleantech economy will be written in Europe”. This must mean something, right? 👀

đź’ˇA new report (Energy Outlook 2023) by the energy giant BP explores three scenarios for the next three decades, taking into account the past year's events, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the passage of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. These scenarios predict an accelerated energy transition, with lower demand for fossil fuels, a greater share of renewable energy, and increased government support for the energy transition. BP maintains that oil will continue to play a major role over the next 15-20 years in each of the scenarios.

The report emphasizes that the transition from fossil fuels will require unprecedented collaboration between government, industry, and other stakeholders. To ensure a successful transition, BP recommends that governments need to provide clear policies, coupled with adequate support mechanisms, to enable the transition. Additionally, industries need to invest in research and development and infrastructure to support the energy transition and create new products, services, and jobs in the clean energy sector. Finally, stakeholders must work together to create a favorable environment for the energy transition.

Just Climate, a climate-focused investment firm launched by Generation Investment Management in 2021 and chaired by Al Gore, has made its first three investments in companies focused on decarbonizing the steel sector, promoting electric mobility, and providing renewable energy for manufacturers. The first three portfolio companies include ABB E-Mobility, H2 Green Steel, and Meva Energy. ABB E-Mobility provides electric vehicle charging solutions and advanced energy and fleet management solutions, while H2 Green Steel is building the world's first large-scale fossil-free steel plant. Meva Energy provides a technology to convert biogenic residue into renewable gas for manufacturing companies. The investments aim to catalyze climate solutions in energy, transport, industry, and buildings while delivering appropriate risk-adjusted returns.

UniCredit, Italy's second-largest bank, has committed to reducing emissions in the oil & gas, power generation, and automotive sectors, and has pledged to stop financing new oil and gas explorations and expansions, as well as oil and gas activity in the Arctic region. The bank aims to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and has joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance to help advance global net zero targets through financing.

According to a new analysis, 99% of the US' coal-fired power plants are more expensive to keep running than building an entirely new solar or wind energy operation nearby, due to the plummeting cost of renewable energy and the Inflation Reduction Act. Coal is no longer cost-competitive with renewables and is a heavily carbon-intensive fuel responsible for 60% of planet-heating emissions from electricity generation. Despite this, coal is unlikely to disappear in the immediate future due to the scale of renewable infrastructure and investment in the fuel source.

Despite economic and geopolitical concerns, a Honeywell report found that over 85% of companies plan to increase sustainability spending in 2023, focusing on technology-based solutions and investments in energy efficiency, emissions reduction, pollution prevention, and circularity/recycling. Companies are shifting towards a balanced blend of process and technology to achieve sustainability goals.

Stat of the week:

That’s it for this week. Thanks for making it to the end, you’re a real Planet Powerhouse 💪.

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