EkoNews
What Happened on the Environmental Agenda? September 2022
Business
Climate Club as an emission reduction tool!
An initiative called Climate Club was launched with the aim of enabling white-collar workers to track carbon emissions in their working lives and then offer specific recommendations on how they can make changes. The startup's first customers include large companies such as Meta (Facebook) and Bain.
The initiative will provide each employee with data that will enable them to monitor their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Then, it will suggest to each employee the areas that need improvement and the activities they can do accordingly.
It is obvious that it is challenging to track the emissions produced along a company's value chain. Therefore, Climate Club focuses on areas of emissions that workers can affect. For example, Climate Club makes emission reduction recommendations by tracking the emissions of the following activities:
- Business travel-related activities, including air travel, ground transportation, and hotels.
- Employees commuting to work,
- The amount of energy used in remote and hybrid studies.
- Food purchased for employees,
- Wastes,
- Other purchased goods and services used by employees.
Climate Club is also working to create solutions tailored to specific business categories such as engineering, finance, purchasing, marketing, human resources, and event management.
Impact of Climate Change on Banking
The Fed has announced that six of the largest banks in the United States will participate in a pilot climate scenario analysis study in 2023. The study is planned to be an exercise in measuring the risk level created by climate change for banks and to reveal how banks manage risks in the future. It was announced that no sanctions will be applied based on the results of the study, and the results will be shared as a general summary, not with company-specific information.
On the other hand, the announcement was met with skepticism in the industry. The Bank Policy Institute, which represents large banks, argued that climate risk may not pose a serious threat to bank stability and is a study with unnecessary detail.
Banks to participate in the study are Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo.
From Energy to Jellybean Circular Economy
Obsolete blades are becoming a growing problem as larger, more efficient turbines replace older ones. Wind energy association WindEurope expects about 52,000 tons of blades per year to be decommissioned by 2030. Thus, how to recycle turbine blades is considered one of the biggest challenges with wind energy.
Chemical engineers at the University of Michigan; invented a new type of resin, the material that covers turbine blades. This material can be reused to make countertops, car taillights, power tools, diapers and even jelly beans. With the use of this innovation, it will be easier to transform stands that are 50 m in length – almost half the size of a professional football field.
Politics
Energy Shortage Switched Off the Lights of Eiffel Tower
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo stated that the flashing lights of the Eiffel Tower, which is the symbol of the city, will be turned off 1 hour before the normal time. The lights of the iconic building will go out at 23.45. Anne Hidalgo said this is a symbolic but important step and is part of a broader energy saving plan.
Under this savings plan, heating will be reduced from 19 degrees Celsius to 18 degrees Celsius in city-managed buildings, excluding nursing homes for the elderly, and heating will start one month later than usual. Public pools will also be lowered by one degree to 26 degrees Celsius. Other public monuments in the city will also have lighting arrangements, but streetlights will be exempted from these regulations for safety reasons.
After Russia reduced the energy supply to many European countries and increased the prices of natural gas and electricity because of their support of Ukraine, most cities started to take measures in this regard. In the past months, Berlin has launched a similar saving plan.
Climate Scores When Buying Bonds
The European Central Bank (ECB) said it would give companies climate scores before purchasing their bonds, and that it plans to prioritize those that do more to uncover and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Frankfurt, Germany-based bank stated that with this decision, it took steps to support the climate targets of the European Union.
The companies' scores will measure progress in reducing past emissions, their plans to reduce them in the future, and the completeness of reporting the amount of greenhouse gases they emit.
The bank stated that it will only apply the climate criteria to the bond ratio in its portfolio, not to the volume of purchases.
Gas Leak in the Baltic Sea
Last week, Danish navy officials announced that a gas leak dangerous for maritime traffic has been observed in the Baltic Sea on a pipeline from Russia to Europe. In a statement from Nord Stream 2, it has been confirmed that a leak has been detected in the gas pipeline southeast of Denmark's Bornholm Island in the Baltic Sea.
Officials from Sweden and Denmark said the potential impact of the spills on marine life in the Baltic Sea is worrying and the climate impact is likely to be very significant due to the significant amount of greenhouse gasses released into the air.
As a precaution, ships were warned to maintain a distance of at least five nautical miles (10 kilometers) from spills, also warnings were issued on behalf of air traffic.
Life
Planetary Health Plan from Finland
The Finnish city of Lahti has invited local residents to try its planetary health plan. Five people were given personalized regimens in the plan to see if green options were good for citizens' health. In this small-scale study, promising results were obtained regarding the concept of planetary health plans.
Bicycle Friendly Cities
A German insurance company analyzed nearly 90 cities around the world by various parameters and ranked them as bike-friendly. In parameters; Incidents such as percentage of bike users, weather conditions, crime and safety (such as accidents and bike theft rates), infrastructure, bike sharing opportunities, and special “car-free days” were included.
The top ten of the list are as follows:
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Utrecht, Netherlands
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Munster, Germany
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Antwerp, Belgium
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Copenhagen, Denmark
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Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Malmö, Sweden
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Hangzhou, China
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Bern, Switzerland
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Bremen, Germany
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Hannover, Germany
10th Anniversary of the Festival of Thrift in England
The Festival of Thrift in Kirkleatham, England, on sustainable living offered free entry to the area so people could have a good time without spending anything. The festival featured ethical initiatives such as local producers, food producers and skill-sharing workshops. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the festival is said to be particularly relevant to the current life crises of recent times.
References:
https://www.politico.eu/article/eiffel-tower-light-paris-cut-energy-cost/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63071552
Ece Özyaşlı
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Elif Aslan
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Elif Çora
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