Sustainability and ESG News

California Rules that by 2035 the State will ban the Sale of new Gasoline Powered Cars.

The California Air Resources Board on August 25th approved the Advanced Clean Cars II rule. This rule outlines a year-by-year roadmap as to how the state will make it so that 100% of new cars and light trucks sold in California will be zero emission vehicles by 2035.

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How Climate Change, Supply Chain Strain, and COVID-19 may Impact our Food

A new insight from McKinsey warns that a food shortage could be coming sooner than later. Many people have heard the rumors or worries regarding possible food shortages and have even felt the impacts of rising prices. As it turns out, due to the War in Ukraine, supply chain issues that are leftover from COVID-19, and climate events such as heat waves and droughts, this could leave the world about 60 million tonnes of grain behind by the end of 2023.

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New study finds California is due for its “100 Year Flood”

California is commonly known for it’s earthquake risk and more recently, severe drought and wild fires. However, the tides are changing for California as a new study from UCLA predicts that potentially catastrophic flooding or what being called a “megaflood” is likely to happen. While there isn’t a clear timeline on when this “megaflood” may hit, the study from UCLA indicates that the possibility has been almost doubled thanks climate change.

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California Adopts Renewable Energy Goals to Power more than 25 Million Homes

This week, The California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted a set of goals that will enable the state to develop clean energy through offshore wind. This offshore wind development is expected to generate 2,000-5,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind by 2030, and should increase to 25,000 MW by 2045. Assuming the state hits these goals, that would be enough electricity to power 3.75 million homes by 2030 and 25 million homes by mid-century.

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U.S. Senate Passes biggest Climate bill in U.S. history.

On Sunday the United States Senate passed The Inflation Reduction Act and it’s expected to pass in the House of Representatives later this week. The Inflation Reduction act is a package that would fulfill multiple longstanding goals including addressing climate change, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and adjust tax codes.

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New Zealand Releases First-Ever Climate Adaptation Plan

On Wednesday this week, New Zealand’s government released it’s first-ever climate action plan. This climate adaptation plan depicts how New Zealand plans to prepare for floods, fires, and rising sea levels that are expected in response to the climate crisis. A big point of interest is around how the country planning to have entire communities either relocate or change the structure of their homes in response to rising sea levels.

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UN General Assembly Declares Access to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, a Human Right.

Thursday last week, The UN General Assembly adopted a historic resolution. This resolution declared that access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a universal human right and continues to emphasize that climate change and environmental degradation are some of the most pressing threats to humanity's future.

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McKinsey Reports on the Impacts of Plastics

In a new report by McKinsey, Climate impact of plastics, the total green house gas contribution of plastic versus the alternatives is scientifically measured. McKinsey looked at examples from the top five plastic consuming sectors and measured not only the product lifecycle of plastic vs other options, but also the impact of our use. The results may come as a bit of a surprise to many

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Canada Proposes a System to cap and cut oil Industry Emissions.

This week, the Canadian federal government is proposing a new cap and trade system that will essentially set a “cap” or a ceiling for emissions, specifically from the oil and gas industry. The goal of this would be to drive down emissions by 40-45% from the 2005 levels by 2030

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Germany’s economy & climate ministry announces 80% Renewable Electricity Target.

This week, the German government approved a new package of measures to speed up the expansion of renewable energy. Previously, the German government had a target of 65% of energy to be clean energy by 2030. With this new commitment, the goal is for 80% of energy to be clean energy by 2030. As of April this year, just under 41% of Germany’s power consists of clean energy.

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New Supreme Court ruling limits climate action options.

This week, the supreme court came to a conclusion regarding the interpretation of the 1970s Clean Air Act. Essentially, This ruling limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate green house gas emissions and says that the EPA does not have the authority to shift power generation from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

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IPCC Climate Change Mitigation Report: What you need to know.

IPCC Climate Change Mitigation Report: What you need to know.

Early in April, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published the second part of their sixth evaluation report. This report primarily focuses on mitigation of further climate change, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.

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Micro Plastics polluting our Earth are now found in our blood.

This week, Environmental International published an article outlining research that found microplastics in the blood of 17 out of 22 participants (about 77%). This is the first time that we have actually found microplastics in the human blood stream. The effects of this new find are still largely unknown.

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European Commission presents Green Deal Strategies aimed at reaching a true Circular Economy.

Yesterday, The European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA) published their final report on the European Union Carbon Market. Key findings from the ESMA website note that while there weren’t any major deficiencies found, there are a few policy recommendations that to no surprise, end up centralized around transparency and monitoring.

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ESMA shares Final Report on the EU Carbon Market, and it comes with policy recommendations.

Yesterday, The European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA) published their final report on the European Union Carbon Market. Key findings from the ESMA website note that while there weren’t any major deficiencies found, there are a few policy recommendations that to no surprise, end up centralized around transparency and monitoring.

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The SEC Launches Proposal to Enhance and Standardize Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.

Yesterday, The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched their proposal of a new set of rules to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures for investors.

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