California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a landmark climate disclosure bill into law, requiring large companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks starting in 2026. This legislation aims to enhance transparency and accountability in corporate environmental practices.

Australia’s ambitious goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 is mapped out in a comprehensive new report. This detailed analysis outlines the necessary steps and technologies to transition to a low-emissions economy.

As part of their “Jet Zero” strategy to achieve net-zero emissions in aviation by 2050, the UK government has mandated that 2% of jet fuel must come from sustainable aviation fuel by 2025. With the new mandate, the government hopes to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support economic growth.

Earlier this year SBTi caused controversy by suggesting they would allow the use of Environmental Attribute Certificates to scope 3 emissions. In new publications by the organization, there are suggestions that this move is being reversed. The implications of this will be the need for new and clearer guidance by SBTi on the use of carbon credits and for companies whom were earlier relying on the use of credits to achieve reduction targets to rethink this.

The article highlights the significant shortfall between current national proposals and the necessary carbon dioxide removal (CDR) levels to achieve Paris Agreement targets. Despite countries committing to net-zero goals, the study identifies a notable "CDR gap," emphasizing the urgent need for enhanced emissions reduction ambitions and innovative policies to bridge the disparity and effectively combat climate change.

The article dives into the hurdles of implementing carbon pricing in the US, highlighting challenges such as upfront costs, political resistance, and the debate over effectiveness. Drawing from successful cases, it suggests tying policies to public concerns, fostering innovation, and emphasizing state-based approaches to avoid federal debates. Despite concerns about global competitiveness, successful US implementation could set a climate leadership example. While immediate political gains might be elusive, the strategy could leave a transformative legacy for future administrations. Overall, it explores strategies and challenges, proposing a state-based approach as the way forward.

On November 20th, the United Nations released its 2023 Emissions Gap Report with an eye-catching headline, “Broken Record; Temperatures hit new highs, yet world fails to cut emissions (again)”. This report is the 14th annual edition in a series written by the world’s top climate scientists to look at future trends in global warming.

This week, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) released their new report "Net Zero Buildings - Halving construction emissions today." This report highlights that we need to cut emissions in half in the built environment by 2030, and then outlines practical steps that could be taken to do so. Through the report and executive summary, we’ve put together our own summary of what you need to know.

This month, The Circularity Gap report of 2023 was published in collaboration with Deloitte. This report being the 6th annual report of its kind, is looking at how close we are to a true circular economy on a global scale compared to years past. A circular economy could not help to fulfill people’s needs, but could do so with just 70% of the materials we currently use, making human impact more sustainable and safer for our planet. This report highlights that while a circular economy is ideal, we are currently nowhere near that goal. In fact, this report outlines that we are down to only 7.2% circular compared to the 9.1% circular that was seen in the first ever report of 2018.

The Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) launched this week the first ever target-setting protocol for insurers at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. This protocol is expected to accelerate the transition to a global net-zero economy by enabling NZIA members to set science based intermediate targets to transition insurance underwriting portfolios to net-zero. Version 1.0 requires that existing NZIA members will set and discloser their target(s) by July 31st 2023, which is just around the corner.

Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, recently announced a cap-and-invest program to fund a sustainable and affordable future for all New Yorkers are part of the 2023 State of the State. This new cap-and-invest program will charge large greenhouse gas emitters and fuel distributers in New York more than $1 Billion per year. The proceeds from this will hen be reinvested in emissions reduction initiatives as well as supporting vulnerable communities facing rising energy prices.

In the first mandate of its kind, the Japanese capital’s local assembly now requires all new houses built in Tokyo by large-scale homebuilders after 2025 must install solar panels.