An electric car at an eVgo charging station in a parking lot in Dublin, California on June 20, 2018. Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday that would ban the sale of new cars in California that run only on gasoline by the year 2035. The bid to reduce emissions and combat the climate crisis would make California the first state to ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines, according to POLITICO.
<p>"This is the most impactful step our state can take to fight climate change," said Newsom in a <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/09/23/governor-newsom-announces-california-will-phase-out-gasoline-powered-cars-drastically-reduce-demand-for-fossil-fuel-in-californias-fight-against-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">statement</a> that accompanied the signing of the executive order. "For too many decades, we have allowed cars to pollute the air that our children and families breathe. Californians shouldn't have to worry if our cars are giving our kids asthma. Our cars shouldn't make wildfires worse – and create more days filled with smoky air. Cars shouldn't melt glaciers or raise sea levels threatening our cherished beaches and coastlines."</p>
<p>The threats posed by the climate crisis are playing out in dramatic fashion in California. This summer, the state has seen record-setting wildfires, heat waves and drought. Those mounting climate crisis-related challenges have spurred the move away from the state's leading source of greenhouse gas emissions, as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/09/23/california-electric-cars/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reported.</p><p>"We can't continue down this path," Newsom said at a briefing, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/23/california-cars-electric-vehicles-gavin-newsom-climate-change" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported. "If you care about your kids and your grandkids, if you care about disadvantaged communities, if you care about seniors, if you care about rural communities, if you care about inner city communities that have been underserved by our fossil fuel economy, then you care about the core construct that we are advancing here in this executive order."</p><p>Newsom added that the order will create "green collar jobs" that Californians are well-positioned to capitalize on since 34 <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/electric-vehicles">electric car</a> manufacturers are already in the state.</p>
<p>"Our second largest export in the state of California are electric vehicles," he said, according to The Guardian. "Those 34 manufacturers, those public trading manufacturers, represent close to half a trillion dollars of market capitalization, some $500bn … this is an economic opportunity."</p><p>For the order to be successful, the technology, scalability, and affordability of electric cars would have to improve dramatically in the next decade. Also, the state will need to make sure charging stations are readily available. California currently has the largest market for electric and hybrid vehicles, with roughly 257,000 new registrations for electric vehicles in 2018, according to The Washington Post. Yet, that number was not even 10 percent of the state's new car market.</p><p>While the order is sure to meet legal challenges, it may set the trend that carmakers need to increase their investment in fossil-fuel-free vehicles.</p>
<p>"The automotive industry was already on the road toward electrification as a long term goal, but many automakers have been guilty of setting short term targets for their electrification strategy that never came to fruition," said Jessica Caldwell, director of insights at Edmunds, an online resource for car data, in an emailed comment to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/23/cars/california-zero-emissions-passenger-vehicles/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CNN</a>. "This rule, if implemented, establishes a specific timeline that they'll collectively need to adhere to. California is a major market that automakers desperately need to maintain sales within to ensure their own viability."</p><p>The announcement also earned the praise of environmental groups.</p><p>"The Governor's Executive Order is a meaningful step in addressing the climate crisis and protecting the health of Californians," said Coalition for Clean Air in an email to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/23/916209659/california-governor-signs-order-banning-sales-of-new-gasoline-cars-by-2035" target="_blank">NPR</a>. "Electrifying transportation will also create jobs and help California move forward in its economic recovery."</p>
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The Västra Hamnen neighborhood in Malmö, Sweden, runs on renewable energy. Tomas Ottosson / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 3.0
By Harry Kretchmer
By 2030, almost a third of all the energy consumed in the European Union must come from renewable sources, according to binding targets agreed in 2018. Sweden is helping lead the way.
<p>As well as targeting <a href="https://sweden.se/nature/energy-use-in-sweden/" target="_blank">100% renewable electricity production</a> by 2040, the country is <a href="https://www.buildup.eu/sites/default/files/content/transforming-a-residential-building-cluster-into-electricity-prosumers-in-sweden.pdf" target="_blank">transforming homes into highly efficient 'prosumers'</a> - buildings which both produce and consume the vast majority of their own energy.</p><p><span></span>Meanwhile local 'district heating' plants are using excess heat to produce <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421520304080" target="_blank">over 75% of the warmth that Swedish households need</a>. The country also manages to combine the world's highest carbon taxes with <a href="https://www.thelocal.se/20200124/why-electricity-prices-are-low-in-sweden-right-now" target="_blank">relatively cheap energy prices</a>.</p><p>These are all reasons why Sweden tops the <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Fostering_Effective_Energy_Transition_2020_Edition.pdf" target="_blank">Forum's Energy Transition Index</a> - providing environmental leadership at a time when a <a href="https://www.weforum.org/great-reset/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Great Reset</a> has never been more needed. Here's how Sweden is building up local solutions in its energy revolution.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQzMzEyOS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1OTU2OTQ1Nn0.lCCzsNTLPm6fhSrx0TYLxHqceeW6KKm2_uItDuHATEc/img.png?width=980" id="a42bf" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3bdefd81caddfc39dd77bf3e0ca9b203" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Sweden is a world leader in renewable energy consumption. Swedish Institute/World Bank
Naturally Warm
<p>54% of Sweden's power comes from renewables, and is helped by its geography. With plenty of moving water and 63% forest cover, it's no surprise the <a href="https://sweden.se/nature/energy-use-in-sweden/#" target="_blank">two largest renewable power sources</a> are hydropower and biomass. And that biomass is helping support a local energy boom.</p><p>Heating is a key use of energy in a cold country like Sweden. In recent decades, as fuel oil taxes have increased, the country's power companies have turned to renewables, like biomass, to fuel local 'district heating' plants.</p><p>In Sweden these trace their <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544217304140#fig3" target="_blank">origins back to 1948</a>, when a power station's excess heat was first used to heat nearby buildings: steam is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/district-heating-system" target="_blank">forced along a network of pipes</a> to wherever it's needed. Today, there are around 500 district heating systems across the country, from major cities to small villages, providing heat to homes and businesses.</p><p>District heating used to be fueled mainly from the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544217304140" target="_blank">by-products of power plants</a>, waste-to-energy plants and industrial processes. These days, however, Sweden is bringing more renewable sources into the mix. And as a result of competition, this localized form of power is now the country's<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544217304140#fig3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> home-heating market leader.</a></p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQzMzE0OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxOTk2MDE5NH0.AtGztm8u1Chy4nEcQ4YG0L7Vixfc4a0VhxJ9RM3ZlPc/img.png?width=980" id="a3224" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bd8e92706785ef8c7aadb1319d23007d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Sweden is using smart grids to turn buildings into energy producers. Huang et al/Elsevier
Energy ‘Prosumers’
<p>But Sweden doesn't stop at village-level heating solutions. Its new breed of energy-generation takes hyper-local to the next level.</p><p>One example is in the city of Ludivika where 1970s flats <a href="https://www.buildup.eu/sites/default/files/content/transforming-a-residential-building-cluster-into-electricity-prosumers-in-sweden.pdf" target="_blank">have recently been retrofitted with the latest smart energy technology</a>.</p><p>48 family apartments spread across 3 buildings have been given photovoltaic solar panels, thermal energy storage and heat pump systems. A micro energy grid connects it all, and helps charge electric cars overnight.</p><p>The result is a cluster of 'prosumer' buildings, producing rather than consuming enough power for 77% of residents' needs. With <a href="http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1232060/FULLTEXT01.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">high levels of smart meter usage</a>, it's a model that looks set to spread across Sweden.</p><div id="d7bf9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8757b138d5570bec9d6aad18074a429a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1273556364263071744" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Read more about Western Harbour and book a visit: https://t.co/ujSmVs9rNK 🏡🌳🌊 https://t.co/C5PuPziqIM</div> — Smart City Sweden (@Smart City Sweden)<a href="https://twitter.com/SmartCitySweden/statuses/1273556364263071744">1592474473.0</a></blockquote></div>
Scaling Up
<p>A recent development by E.ON in Hyllie, a district on the outskirts of Malmö, southern Sweden, <a href="https://www.eonenergy.com/blog/2019/February/sweden-smart-city" target="_blank">has scaled up the smart grid principle</a>. Energy generation comes from local wind, solar, biomass and waste sources.</p><p>Smart grids then balance the power, react to the weather, deploying extra power when it's colder or putting excess into battery storage when it's warm. The system is not only more efficient, but bills have fallen.</p><p>Smart energy developments like those in Hyllie, Ludivika, and renewable-driven district heating, offer a radical alternative to the centralized energy systems many countries rely on today.</p><p>The EU's leaders have a challenge: how to generate 32% of energy from renewables by 2030. Sweden offers a vision of how technology and local solutions can turn a goal into a reality.</p>From Your Site Articles
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An Extinction Rebellion protester outside the Bank of England on Oct. 14, 2019 in London, England. John Keeble / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
In another win for climate campaigners, leaders of 12 major cities around the world — collectively home to about 36 million people — committed Tuesday to divesting from fossil fuel companies and investing in a green, just recovery from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
<p>The announcement from C40 Cities — a global network of communities dedicated to tackling the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate emergency</a> — came on day two of <a href="https://www.climateweeknyc.org/climate-week-nyc-2020" target="_blank">Climate Week NYC</a>, some of which is being held online because of the COVID-19 crisis.</p><p>"Now is the time to divest from fossil fuel companies and undertake investment and policy change that prioritizes public and planetary health, building back a more equal society and addressing this climate emergency," <a href="https://www.c40.org/press_releases/cities-commit-divest-invest" target="_blank">declared</a> New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.</p><p>"In New York City, we know that taking action on climate change is not optional," added de Blasio, whose community has been hit hard by the pandemic. "As we recover from COVID-19, we must make our cities even stronger."</p>
<p>In 2018, de Blasio and London Mayor Sadiq Khan established the first-of-its-kind Divest/Invest Forum to help city leaders shift money away from fossil fuels and toward the creation of low-carbon jobs. Khan said Tuesday that his city has "demonstrated that divestment is possible and indeed essential for our future."</p><p>"Through our work with New York and C40, I'm delighted to bring together 10 more cities to join us in taking Divest/Invest action," he added. "As the world recovers from COVID-19, we need to work together to ensure a fairer, fossil-fuel-free green recovery."</p><p>Berlin, Bristol, Cape Town, Durban, Los Angeles, Milan, New Orleans, Oslo, Pittsburgh and Vancouver have all signed on to C40's declaration, "<a href="https://www.c40.org/divest-invest" target="_blank">Divesting from Fossil Fuels, Investing in a Sustainable Future</a>."</p>
<div id="401b5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f557fec553a3680fde961b824afb0188"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1308441659798171649" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We are proud to be one of 12 cities around the world committing to
@c40cities' declaration “Divesting From Fossil… https://t.co/qelg6N2x7o</div> — LDNMayor Environment (@LDNMayor Environment)<a href="https://twitter.com/LDN_environment/statuses/1308441659798171649">1600791776.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"We're in a make-or-break decade for the preservation of our planet and our livelihoods," said C40 chair and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. "Our declaration makes a clear statement: If we're serious about a sustainable, just, and prosperous future, we have to put our money where our mouth is, remove public dollars from companies harming the Earth, and power our cities with bold investments in low-carbon industries."</p><p>Specifically, the mayors are committing to taking all possible steps to divest city assets from fossil fuel companies and increase investments in climate solutions; calling on pension funds to follow suit; and advocating for fossil-free and sustainable finance by other investors and all levels of government. A C40 statement called the declaration "a critical next step towards realizing the vision for a Global Green New Deal, announced last October at the C40 World Mayors Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark."</p>
<p>The mayors' latest move comes as western U.S. states including California battle <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/16/us/west-coast-wildfires-wednesday/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unprecedented wildfires</a> while the Gulf Coast recovers from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/17/bolstering-calls-climate-action-mutant-sloth-hurricane-sally-leaves-major-mess-gulf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hurricane Sally</a> and prepares for the possibility of more storms. Scientists have emphasized that both the intense blazes and slow-moving, destructive hurricanes are connected to global heating that results from human activity, especially the burning of fossil fuels.</p><p>"The declaration sends a loud clear message to the fossil fuel industry," <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/09/22/may-boeve-joins-mayors-12-major-cities-committed-divest-fossil-fuel-companies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> 350.org executive director May Boeve, whose advocacy group has spearheaded <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/30/ahead-may-day-500-groups-worldwide-demand-just-and-visionary-recovery-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">demands</a> for a green, just recovery. "As we watch wildfires burn in the U.S. and devastating floods in parts of Africa, we know that fossil fuels are not a safe investment: the sector is too volatile to be <a href="https://350communications.cmail19.com/t/t-l-xbdyky-autddlkti-y/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">deeply vulnerable</a>, it is time to divest from fossil fuels and invest in the green and just recovery of the future."</p><p>Globally, over $200 billion in COVID-19 recovery funding <a href="https://www.energypolicytracker.org/" target="_blank">has been</a> pledged to fossil fuels. Boeve argued that "it is essential to ensure that today's investments do not lock-in polluting technologies and carbon-intensive industries. Investments should instead support the solutions we need to avert climate breakdown, create good jobs, advance environmental justice, and support livable communities."</p>
<p>Signatories to the C40 declaration agree. "Pulling out of climate-damaging and ethically problematic investment strategies is a key step in the transition to a sustainable economy," said Michael Müller, governing mayor of Berlin. "The fact that C40 cities are taking this ambitious step and actively promoting divestment sends an important political signal."</p><p>Last year, the Vancouver City Council took action to divest city and staff pensions from fossil fuels. By signing the declaration, said Mayor Kennedy Stewart, "we are furthering this work, which aligns with City Council's 2019 vote to unanimously recognize a global climate emergency and local climate crisis."</p><p>Former Vancouver City Councillor Andrea Reimer participated Tuesday in an NYC Climate Week event, hosted by <a title="Original URL: https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fStand.earth&c=E,1,2oxw9peuNmXdM3-IVcc3MU11FD_LpPqn-0YYMY8KmkFp8NKhgi2ZwWQXVWeT5o0wya6eaAe1o1OsEUOQmuOPrNUC_6Kg7lbHWBzKsIBd9VP2wi5M&typo=1. Click or tap if you trust this link." href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flinkprotect.cudasvc.com%2Furl%3Fa%3Dhttps%253a%252f%252fStand.earth%26c%3DE%2C1%2C2oxw9peuNmXdM3-IVcc3MU11FD_LpPqn-0YYMY8KmkFp8NKhgi2ZwWQXVWeT5o0wya6eaAe1o1OsEUOQmuOPrNUC_6Kg7lbHWBzKsIBd9VP2wi5M%26typo%3D1&data=01%7C01%7Cepollak%40theclimategroup.org%7C9395c5b8b70e4330779508d83fbec0e6%7Cdc6bc025abec4b55b2a05a63afca742b%7C0&sdata=NRWAlXdDOHBf97iPAqWNbffp1%2B%2F943LF%2B%2BxIqi%2BAKPU%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">Stand.earth</a>, about local efforts to facilitate "a just transition to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a>, a green recovery, and a livable climate."</p>
<div id="4ec15" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="75b9da530a37a63517787159519175e3"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1308466188532346880" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We’re live at #ClimateWeekNYC! Our “Cities Lead: Phasing Out Fossil Fuels” event is happening 2-3:30pm ET today. Fo… https://t.co/c4cpi7KlQU</div> — Stand.earth (@Stand.earth)<a href="https://twitter.com/standearth/statuses/1308466188532346880">1600797624.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The event — which also featured speakers from Stand.earth, Baltimore, Berkeley, and King County, Washington — included sample policies, success stories and resources for grassroots organizers and local government leaders.<br></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/22/mayors-12-major-global-cities-home-36-million-people-make-unified-fossil-fuel" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Activists gather in John Marshall Park for the Global Climate Strike protests on September 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. Samuel Corum / Getty Images
By Alexandra Villarreal
As West coast wildfires color the skies dystopian red and orange and an aggressive hurricane season batters the U.S. Gulf coast, college students are demanding their schools take bold action to address the climate crisis.
<p><br/></p>
<p>Caitlyn Daas is among them. The senior at Appalachian State University and organizer with the Appalachian Climate Action Collaborative (ClimACT) stands on the frontlines of her school's grassroots push to go "climate neutral," part of a years-long, national movement that has inspired <a href="https://reporting.secondnature.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hundreds</a> of institutional commitments to reduce academia's carbon footprint.</p><p>Carbon neutrality commitments typically require schools to dramatically cut their carbon emissions by reimagining how they run their campuses — everything from the electricity they purchase to the air travel they fund. Colleges across the country, from <a href="https://secondnature.org/climate-action-guidance/carbon-neutral-colleges-and-universities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the University of San Francisco</a> to American University in Washington DC have already attained carbon neutrality. Other academic institutions, including the University of California system, have taken steps to <a href="https://www.kpbs.org/news/2020/may/20/university-of-california-completes-fossil-fuel/#:~:text=The%20University%20of%20California%20announced,as%20solar%20and%20wind%20power." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fully divest from fossil fuels</a>.</p><p>But as young activists like Daas urge their universities to do their part to avert climate disaster, many are frustrated by tepid responses from administrators whom they feel lack their same sense of urgency and drive. Appalachian State, part of the University of North Carolina system, has committed to reaching net-zero emissions decades down the line, but Daas and her fellow activists fear that's far too late. She's baffled that an institution devoted to higher learning is seemingly ignoring the science around the climate emergency.</p><p>"If our voices don't matter, can you please stop telling us that they do?" Daas says.</p>
<p>College activists concerned about the climate crisis have largely focused their efforts on two popular movements that go hand-in-hand: reaching<a href="https://www.purdueexponent.org/campus/article_3cbb5394-d27a-11ea-8d95-efad3d7293d1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> carbon neutrality</a>, and<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/23/opinion/letters/colleges-divestment-fuels.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> divesting university endowments</a>. Broadly, the term "net carbon neutrality" means that a campus zeroes out all of its carbon emissions, says Timothy Carter, president of<a href="https://secondnature.org/mission/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Second Nature</a>, a nonprofit focused on climate action in higher education. This can be achieved through modifying campus operations, often with the help of alternatives, such as renewable energy certificates and voluntary carbon offsets (activities that atone for <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/carbon-offset" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">other emissions</a>). In Second Nature's definition, investment holdings don't factor in a school's carbon footprint. Carbon neutrality often falls within a wider umbrella of climate neutrality, which also incorporates justice and other concerns.</p><p>Divestment campaigns, meanwhile, pressure universities to shed investments in fossil fuels in their endowments. "We cannot truly be climate neutral if we continue to invest in a fossil fuel industry," says Nadia Sheppard, chair of the Climate Reality Project <a href="https://climaterealityproject.org/chapters-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">campus corps chapter</a> at North Carolina State University, where oil, gas and consumable, nonrenewable fuels account for around <a href="http://www.technicianonline.com/news/article_2aed037e-4b7b-11e9-9660-73d3cbdd1487.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$43m</a><a href="http://www.technicianonline.com/news/article_2aed037e-4b7b-11e9-9660-73d3cbdd1487.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> in university investments</a>.</p><p>Across North Carolina, the heated campus battles brewing over climate policy this fall represent a microcosm of the national conversation. The University of North Carolina system – <a href="https://www.northcarolina.edu/about-us/" target="_blank">which includes 16 universities</a> and one gifted public residential high school – has set a <a href="https://rmi.org/our-work/electricity/elab-electricity-innovation-lab/elab-accelerator/elab-accelerator-teams-2014/elab-accelerator-2014-teams-university-north-carolina-system-energy-future/" target="_blank">2050 goal</a> to go carbon neutral, the same year as the state <a href="https://deq.nc.gov/energy-climate/climate-change/nc-climate-change-interagency-council/climate-change-clean-energy-16#:~:text=Clean%20Energy%20Plan%20Goals&text=Reduce%20electric%20power%20sector%20greenhouse,attain%20carbon%20neutrality%20by%202050.&text=Foster%20long%2Dterm%20energy%20affordability,modernizing%20regulatory%20and%20planning%20processes." target="_blank">at large</a>.</p><p>But students are frustrated by the distant deadline. "I do believe 2050 is realistic," says Isaiah Green, president of the UNC system-wide Association of Student Governments. "But it's so realistic that it's just not enough, in my opinion."</p>
<p>Laura England, a ClimACT member and senior lecturer in sustainable development at Appalachian State, approaches the issue with similar gravity as the undergraduates at her school. "That concept, 'our house is burning,' was a metaphor. But really in 2020, it is literal," she says.</p><p>Students and faculty at Appalachian State are angling for net zero emissions by 2025, or at least 2035, but have felt unheard. ClimACT lambasted the school's administration last week in a letter emancipating themselves from the official climate action planning process, at least until its leadership declares a climate emergency and responds accordingly. "The question we face is astonishingly simple," the group wrote. "Do we have the political will to chart a path toward a safe and just climate future, or will we continue careening toward hot house earth?"</p><p>Lee F Ball Jr, chief sustainability officer at Appalachian State, admires young people's passion and would "bottle" and "serve it" if he could. But to reach neutrality by 2025, the university would need to spend tens of millions of dollars it doesn't have.</p><p><span></span>"There's no real silver bullet of clean energy out there that we've been able to find, so we're in a wild west of carbon accounting and climate action," Ball says. "There's no rulebook, there's no prescription for this stuff."</p>
<p>Other students in the UNC system are advocating for more transparency and accountability around their school's investments.</p><p>Kelsey Hall, the leader of a divest campaign at UNC Asheville, <a href="https://www.unca.edu/events-and-news/stories/unc-asheville-commits-to-environmental-social-and-governance-criteria-for-portion-of-endowment/" target="_blank">successfully pushed the school administration</a> to divest around 10% of its endowment from fossil fuels last year. But the other 90% remains in the hands of the UNC management company, which invests in a nebulous category of "<a href="https://uncmc.unc.edu/files/2020/02/FY-2019-UNCIF-Annual-Report-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">energy and natural resources</a>" – oil, natural gas, power, etc.</p><p>"Returns [on investments] are very, very close" between the competing portfolios so far, says John G Pierce, vice-chancellor for budget and finance at UNC Asheville. But university leadership isn't prepared to entertain divesting more of its endowment just yet.</p><p>"It's frustrating," Hall says. "But it's something that I've learned since becoming involved with the campaign, is just that, like, universities move slowly."</p>
<p>At Duke University, a top tier private institution in North Carolina, the administration has agreed to a much quicker <a href="https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2019/12/duke-university-carbon-neutrality-2024-offsets" target="_blank">2024 climate neutrality date.</a> There, students have been more concerned with how they arrive at that target.</p><p>They want the school to reduce actual emissions as much as possible, "rather than relying on more questionable, less rigorous ways of offsetting emissions in the books", says Claire Wang, a recent Duke alumna and Rhodes scholar.</p><p>"It'd be very easy for a huge polluter to, you know, only pick a low-hanging fruit, maybe bring emissions down 10%, and instead buy very cheap carbon credits for the remaining 90% and say they've reached carbon neutrality," Wang says.</p><p>Although student activists often direct their ire toward school administrations, their greatest antagonist may simply be a ticking clock. Undergraduates generally only get a four-year window on campus to make a difference, and they've lost precious time because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has in some ways pulled focus from climate issues.</p><p>Environmental campaigns, meanwhile, require long-term, dedicated attention spans. Gabriela Duncan, co-president of UNC Reinvest at UNC Chapel Hill, found article after article in her school paper about past divestment movements, and she knows that "there realistically is no way" that the university will divest during her academic career.</p><p>To avoid yet another loss of momentum, she's focusing on creating "a really strong foundation, so that we can have a sustainable movement for many years."</p>
<p><em>This story originally appeared in</em> <em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> </em><em>and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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World's Richest One Percent Are Producing More Than Double the Carbon Emissions as the Bottom 50 Percent
21 September
Climate
A new report from Oxfam found that the wealthiest one percent of the world produced a carbon footprint that was more than double that of the bottom 50 percent of the world. PickPik
A new report from Oxfam found that the wealthiest one percent of the world produced a carbon footprint that was more than double that of the bottom 50 percent of the world, The Guardian reported. The study examined 25 years of carbon dioxide emissions and wealth inequality from 1990 to 2015.
<p>The findings, <a href="https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/621052/mb-confronting-carbon-inequality-210920-en.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y" target="_blank">Confronting Carbon Inequality: Putting climate justice at the heart of the COVID-19 recovery</a>, reveal how current economic systems have created extreme carbon inequity and brought the planet to the brink of ecological collapse. It also provides a roadmap for governments around the world to create fairer, more sustainable economies.</p><p>"Our current economic model has been an enabler of catastrophic climate change and equally catastrophic inequality," former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in the report.</p><p>The brief found that the roughly 630 million people who make up the world's wealthiest 10 percent were responsible for 52 percent of the world's carbons emissions from 1990-2015. They alone depleted the world's "carbon budget" by 31 percent. Carbon budgets define the total amount of carbon emissions allowed within a set period. By contrast, the world's poorest 50 percent, consisting of nearly 3.1 billion people, were responsible for just seven percent of global emissions and four percent of the available carbon budget.</p><p>The analysis further examined how wealth correlates to carbon emissions. It found that the richest one percent, about 63 million people, were responsible for 15 percent of carbon emissions. The wealthiest five percent were responsible for more than a third of carbon emissions growth over the 25-year time frame. The growth emissions from the top one percent amounted to three times the growth in emissions compared to the bottom 50 percent.</p>
<p>"The over-consumption of a wealthy minority is fueling the climate crisis yet it is poor communities and young people who are paying the price," Tim Gore, Head of Climate Policy at Oxfam and author of the report said in a <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/carbon-emissions-richest-1-percent-more-double-emissions-poorest-half-humanity" target="_blank">press release</a>. "Such extreme carbon inequality is a direct consequence of our governments decades long pursuit of grossly unequal and carbon intensive economic growth."</p><p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/climatechange-emissions-wealth/in-suvs-and-on-planes-richest-1-drive-climate-heating-emissions-idUSL8N2GF31C" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reported that consumption from the world's wealthiest people had depleted the carbon budget to the point where there isn't much room for poorer countries to grow without worsening the climate crisis.</p><p>In order to keep the planet from warming more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, poorer countries will need to develop renewable energy sources while the wealthiest people and nations will need to limit over-consumption, reported Reuters.</p><p>"The global carbon budget has been squandered to expand the consumption of the already rich, rather than to improve humanity," Gore told the Guardian. "A finite amount of carbon can be added to the atmosphere if we want to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. We need to ensure that carbon is used for the best."</p>
<p>The report noted that if emissions continue to go unchecked, the wealthy will use up the world's available carbon budget by 2030, even if the rest of the world slashed its emissions to zero today.</p><p>Oxfam reported that transportation contributed about a quarter of current global emissions, citing SUVs as the second biggest contributing factor.</p><p>"Simply rebooting our outdated, unfair, and polluting pre-Covid economies is no longer a viable option," Gore said in the Oxfam release.</p><p>"Governments must curb the emissions of the wealthy through taxes and bans on luxury carbon such as SUVs and frequent flights. Revenues should be invested in public services and low carbon sectors to create jobs, and help end poverty," Gore added.</p>
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Plastic waste is bulldozed at a landfill. Needpix
The plastic recycling model was never economically viable, but oil and gas companies still touted it as a magic solution to waste, selling the American public a lie so the companies could keep pushing new plastic.
<p>"The bottle may look empty, yet it's anything but trash," claims a 1990 ad showing a plastic bottle bouncing out of a garbage truck, <a href="https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/energy-environment/2020/09/13/381750/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled/" target="_blank">Houston Public Media</a> reported. It's full of potential.… We've pioneered the country's largest, most comprehensive plastic recycling program to help plastic fill valuable uses and roles."</p><p>While the ad and countless others like it extolling the value of recycling sound environmentalist in nature, they were paid for by the plastics industry and their lobbying and trade organizations, the news report added.</p><p>Americans believed these ads and have been recycling plastic for decades, trusting the discards would be kept out of burgeoning landfills and oceans and reborn as new goods. The reality, however, is that most plastic can't and won't be recycled, reported NPR. According to the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/plastics-material-specific-data" target="_blank">EPA</a>, in the last 40 years, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/recycling-plastic-reality-2615116844.html" target="_self">less than 10% of plastic has been recycled</a>.</p><p>Up until 2018, most recyclable plastic was shipped to China to deal with, reported Forbes. When the latter banned imports of 24 kinds of waste, including plastic from the U.S., more plastic ended up in U.S. landfills, the news report said. In 2017, 35,370 tons of plastic were produced and 26,820 tons of that was landfilled, the EPA estimated, reported Forbes.</p>
<p>A series of investigative reports done by <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/03/31/822597631/plastic-wars-three-takeaways-from-the-fight-over-the-future-of-plastics" target="_blank">NPR</a> and the PBS series <em>Frontline</em> this year found that the oil and gas industries — the makers of plastic — knew all along that plastic recycling would never be realistically feasible on a large scale, yet they spent tens of millions of advertising dollars each year telling the public that plastic can and should be recycled.</p><p>Internal documents from the 1970s and former executives confirmed that the industry knew all along that recycling at a large scale would never be economically viable because the process costs more than making new plastic, NPR reported.</p><p>Larry Thomas, who led the industry's lobbying group for more than a decade, broke his silence about what happened decades ago. The plastic industry never wanted recycling to work, because recycling was in direct competition with their business of selling as much oil as they possibly could, <a href="https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/energy-environment/2020/09/13/381750/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled/" target="_blank">Houston Public Media</a> reported.</p><p>"You know, they were not interested in putting any real money or effort into recycling because they wanted to sell virgin material," Thomas told the news report.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, starting in the late 1980s, the industry misled consumers into believing that recycling could be a magic panacea. Spending $50 million a year, big oil and plastic ran ads, installed collection centers and funded recycling projects and public regulation campaigns to convince the public that recycling works, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled" target="_blank">NPR</a> reported.</p><p>"Selling recycling sold plastic, even if it wasn't true," another former plastic executive told NPR.</p><p>Most of these projects never came to fruition before funding was cut, or have long since ended, reported Houston Public Media.</p><p>The industry also lobbied 40 states to put recycling symbols with numbers on all plastic, even if they weren't recyclable, to bolster the public image that plastic can be a renewable resource, the news report found.</p>
<p>"It's pure manipulation of the consumer," Coy Smith, a frustrated recycler out of San Diego, told Houston Public Media. He witnessed firsthand how the symbols caused consumers to think any plastic with the symbol was recyclable.</p><p>Again, lobbying groups and the plastics industry knew all this. A 1993 industry report said that the codes created "unrealistic expectations" about how much plastic can actually be recycled and were being misused by companies as a "green marketing tool," Houston Public Media reported.</p><p>When plastic bans started to pop up in the '80s and '90s, the industry similarly promoted recycling as an alternative to the bans, NPR reported. The industry again decided to "advertise [its] way out" of cultural and policy shifts that could potentially lead to falling sales of new plastic, NPR reported.</p><p>"The feeling was the plastics industry was under fire, we got to do what it takes to take the heat off, because we want to continue to make plastic products," Thomas told NPR. "If the public thinks the recycling is working, then they're not going to be as concerned about the environment."</p>
<p>The strategy worked, and the companies promoted recycling while selling billions of dollars worth of new plastic. Meanwhile, old plastic continued to get trashed.</p><p>In response to the investigation, industry representative Steve Russell said the industry has never intentionally misled the public about recycling and is committed to ensuring all plastic is recycled, Forbes reported. Still, according to the news report, the oil industry makes $400 billion a year producing plastic and is discussing how to increase investment in plastic production given that demand for oil for cars is down.</p><p>As the truth about recycling comes out, states and environmentalists struggle to see <a href="https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2020/03/13/fix-recycling-america/" target="_blank">if the broken system can be fixed at all</a>. While they do that, plastic production is predicted to triple by 2050, NPR reported, and, "once again, the industry is spending money on ads and public relations to promote plastics and recycling."</p>
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A field of sunflowers near the Mehrum coal-fired power station, wind turbines and high-voltage lines in the Peine district of Germany on Aug. 3, 2020. Julian Stratenschulte / picture alliance via Getty Images
By Elliot Douglas
The coronavirus pandemic has altered economic priorities for governments around the world. But as wildfires tear up the west coast of the United States and Europe reels after one of its hottest summers on record, tackling climate change remains at the forefront of economic policy.
<p>The German Economics Minister Peter Altmaier made history last week by announcing the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-climate-change-co2/a-54891520" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"historic compromise" of a new climate charter</a> for Europe's economic powerhouse. Days later, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the EU's Green New Deal climate goals would become even more ambitious, with a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the bloc by 55% by 2030.</p><p>Germany's climate charter would bring the country in line with Brussels' plans and put Germany at the forefront of green policy. But is Altmaier's charter just political posturing?</p>
<h3>What Is the Climate Charter?</h3><p>"This is the first time the economics ministry of a major country has openly embraced policies suggested by groups like Fridays for Future," climate change policy expert Miranda Schreuers told DW. "That is really quite dramatic."</p><p>Schreuers is a professor of environment and climate policy at the Technical University of Munich, and is among those who cautiously welcome Altmaier's announcement.</p><p>Youth environmentalist movement Fridays for Future, led by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, has enjoyed widespread support in Germany — millions of people took to the streets in what became known as climate strikes last year.</p><p>The establishment of the "Charter for Climate Neutrality and Economic Strength" may indeed be a response to some of their demands. Altmaier's announcement also enshrines the EU goal of complete climate neutrality by 2050, with the application of annual goals in Germany. But prominent London-based think tank Energy Transmissions Commission <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/net-zero-emissions-mission-possible-by-2050-says-industrial-think-tank/a-54946076" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">described the goal as "mission impossible" on Wednesday</a>.</p>
<div id="b8f89" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ee9d985b6f927ce8f72d98cd509f2889"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306543640886599680" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We owe it to our children and grandchildren to take action now.
Cutting net EU greenhouse gas emissions by 55% com… https://t.co/qkpOUTxQHX</div> — European Commission 🇪🇺 (@European Commission 🇪🇺)<a href="https://twitter.com/EU_Commission/statuses/1306543640886599680">1600339253.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Other key points include subsidies for German businesses which use <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a> sources and the introduction of a scoreboard to rate companies for how efficiently they cut emissions.</p><p>But Altmaier's most radical announcement — at least politically — was his admission that he has made mistakes by not acting faster and that the goals can only be achieved if political parties work together.</p><p>"We have failed to adequately explain our policy. A lot could have happened quicker and faster," the close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel said.</p>
<h3>Importance of the Economic Model</h3><p>Schreuers believes that getting certain key industries to work with the climate charter will be crucial to the success of Altmaier's plan.</p><p>"If we don't manage to get certain industries on board — automobile manufacturing and steel for example — then it simply won't work," she explained.</p><p>"Big industry needs to stay in the country, and it needs to become competitive and green."</p><p>Germany's reliance on high-emitting industries has long cast a shadow on its green reforms. Altmaier hopes that a reform of CO2 pricing can help improve this.</p><p>"The only concrete measure in his plan is the idea of reforming CO2 pricing," said Antje von Broock of environmental organization Friends of the Earth Germany. "And he could have done that in September 2019."</p><p>That was when Germany announced its climate package ahead of the EU's Green New Deal.</p><p>In the new green Europe, which von der Leyen wants to see as the world's first climate-neutral continent, Germany can only keep up if it protects big industry, Schreuers believes.</p>
<h3>Is Germany a World Leader for Climate Protection?</h3><p>But Schreuers also thinks that Germany's role as a world leader in this issue may have been overstated in the last few years.</p><p>"Although Germany has been seen as a leader in climate protection policy, you could argue that Germany has really been crucial in putting on the brakes," Schreuers says. "But now Germany is waking up to the reality that other parts of the world are already streets ahead of them."</p><p>China, Japan and the U.S. state of California are all in the process of developing ambitious renewable energy systems that could leave the EU, and Germany with it, trailing behind.</p><p>Schreuers also believes that this November's U.S. presidential election will be a game-changer for the EU and Germany's climate goals.</p><p>"Right now, it looks like [Democratic presidential candidate Joe] Biden will win — and he wants 100% carbon-free electricity in the U.S. by 2035," Schreuers explains. "That will change the global playing field hugely."</p>
<h3>An Early Start to the Election Campaign?</h3><p>The timing of Altmaier's announcement may also be significant, with Germany heading to the polls in less than a year.</p><p>Von Broock of Friends of the Earth Germany largely dismisses the 20-point plan as electioneering. "Peter Altmaier wants to use climate protection policy to increase his profile in the pre-election campaign."</p><p>There is all to play for in 2021 for Altmaier's center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), as the enduringly popular Chancellor Angela Merkel will step down. The CDU is currently in coalition with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), but the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-greens-projected-to-gain-in-key-local-election/a-54913456" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Green party is catching up with the SPD.</a> Many national polls put the Greens as Germany's second most popular party.</p><p>"All of this means the CDU are setting themselves up for a new coalition partner — possibly the Greens," said Schreuers. The climate charter may be a concession toward this possible future pact.</p><p>Altmaier was insistent that the new charter will "cross party lines" and that the CDU is ready to work together with other parties.</p><p>For both academic Schreuers and activist von Broock, the proof will be in the achievement of the goals.</p><p>"What we need are serious social efforts, led by politicians who courageously initiate the necessary ecological and social transformation," says von Broock. "It is therefore fundamentally to be welcomed that Minister Altmaier wants to bring the economy on board. However, the 20 points of his climate charter do not go far enough."</p><p>"Germany needs to be a player in the next stage of global climate protection," Professor Schreuers explains. "If you are a player, you have more power to shape the narrative. And Germany needs to shape the narrative if it wants to remain an economic powerhouse."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-new-climate-charter-what-will-it-change/a-54957054?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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New Report Reveals How Plastic Polluters Have Avoided Regulation Worldwide for Decades
18 September
Climate
A boy walks through plastic waste on Juhu beach in Mumbai, India on June 2, 2018. Punit Paranjpe / AFP / Getty Images
By Lisa Newcomb
Analysis released Thursday of the world's top 10 biggest plastic polluters in 15 countries reveals how major corporations hide behind the veneer of corporate responsibility while actively working to thwart regulatory legislation around the globe.
<p><br/></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/17/delay-distract-and-derail-new-report-reveals-how-plastic-polluters-have-avoided?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>
<p>"This report is a damning exposé of the tactics employed by the plastics industry and shines a welcome light on the shadowy world of corporate lobbying," Natalie Fee, founder of City to Sea, which supported the research conducted by the Changing Markets Foundation, <a href="http://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Talking-Trash-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">said</a> in a statement.</p><p>"For too long," said Fee, "the true cost of plastic production has been externalized, meaning plastic producers continue to get away with ecocide while waste management companies, consumers and marginalized communities around the world are left to deal with millions of tonnes of toxic plastic waste."</p>
<div id="5899a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f2af5e24600e9a04a59098846be0795c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306489782529335296" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Out now! 📢 Our ground-breaking new report reveals the hypocrisy of the world’s biggest #plasticpolluters, who claim… https://t.co/TWutruUlqA</div> — Changing Markets Foundation (@Changing Markets Foundation)<a href="https://twitter.com/ChangingMarkets/statuses/1306489782529335296">1600326412.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The report—titled "<a href="https://talking-trash.com/" target="_blank">Talking Trash: The Corporate Playbook of False Solutions</a>,"—exposes how Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Danone, Mars Incorporated, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Perfetti Van Melle, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever <a href="http://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Talking-Trash-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">deploy</a> "tactics to undermine legislation in individual countries are in fact part of a global approach by Big Plastic to ensure that the corporations most responsible for the plastic crisis evade true accountability for their pollution."</p><p>According to Changing Markets Foundation Thursday, the investigations <a href="http://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Talking-Trash-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">found</a>:</p><ul><li>Big Plastic is a well-organized network of organizations that fight against proven solutions to the plastic pollution crisis through similar tactics across the world</li><li>Voluntary commitments and group initiatives from the ten biggest plastic polluters are used to distract consumers and governments, enabling polluters to continue with business as usual</li><li>Corporations work behind the scenes to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/31/there-no-end-big-oils-evil-campaigners-condemn-industry-plan-pour-us-plastics-africa" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">delay and derail</a> legislation and ensure they can continue flooding the world with cheap, disposable plastic packaging</li><li>Plastic producers have co-opted the Covid-19 pandemic and capitalized on people's fear to call for regulatory rollbacks and delays on environmental legislation</li></ul>
<div id="688ca" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3370c14123ff2ac521085479120d1260"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306488205198401536" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">DELAY, DISTRACT and DERAIL: 3 tactics that help Big Plastic fight plastic legislation behind the scenes across the… https://t.co/f29Pc86aMj</div> — GAIA (@GAIA)<a href="https://twitter.com/GAIAnoburn/statuses/1306488205198401536">1600326036.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"This report exposes the two-faced hypocrisy of plastic polluters, which claim to be committed to solutions, but at the same time use a host of dirty tricks to ensure that they can continue pumping out cheap, disposable plastic, polluting the planet at a devastating rate," <a href="http://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Talking-Trash-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">said</a> Nusa Urbanic, campaigns director for the Changing Markets.</p><p>"Plastic is now pouring into the natural world at a rate of one garbage truck a minute, creating a crisis for wildlife, the climate and public health," Urbanic continued. "The responsibility for this disaster lies with Big Plastic—including major household brands—which have lobbied against progressive legislation for decades, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/18/greenpeace-finds-labels-plastic-products-mislead-public-and-harm-americas-recycling" target="_blank">greenwashed</a> their environmental credentials, and blamed the public for littering, rather than assuming responsibility for their own actions."</p><p>Big Plastic jumped at the opportunity presented by the Covid-19 pandemic—which has caused a <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/single-use-plastic-covid-180975312/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">surge</a> in single-use plastic consumption—to pressure lawmakers to roll back current regulations and prevent new ones, according to the report. </p><p>Additionally, Changing Markets <a href="http://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Talking-Trash-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">noted</a> that plastic pollution has devastating effects on the environment and is a key contributor to the climate crisis.<span></span></p><p>According to the group:</p><blockquote>"The plastic pollution crisis is a deeply interconnected climate crisis, a biodiversity crisis, and a public health crisis all combined... Plastic saturates almost every surface of the planet—from the deepest abysses to the highest mountains and remotest islands—causing an unprecedented crisis for wildlife... Virgin-plastic production is a major contributor to climate change, generating enough emissions—from the moment they leave the ground as fossil fuels, and throughout their entire life cycle—to use up 10 to 15% of our entire carbon budget by 2050 at current rates of growth. Disposal of plastics through incineration and backyard burning also contributes to climate change and creates a toxic fallout undermining human and planetary health."</blockquote><p>The industry's contribution to the global climate emergency is nothing new, but progressive legislators continue to face an uphill battle when it comes to regulating these powerful corporations.</p><p>President Donald Trump, for example, has called climate change a "hoax," and, despite pleas from environmental advocacy groups and progressive lawmakers, many Democratic lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)—as well as presidential nominee Joe Biden—still do not <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/31/despite-poll-showing-aggressive-climate-action-winning-issue-biden-boasts-i-am-not" target="_blank">support </a>the Green New Deal.</p>
<div id="eaab1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0f6dbe75ec7e7ed4656a767958238c89"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306313773511303169" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Amount of federal government subsidies given to the fossil fuel industry every year: $15 billion. The amount it sh… https://t.co/NRWQWRiw5f</div> — Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders)<a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders/statuses/1306313773511303169">1600284448.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Urbanic urged lawmakers to act to protect the planet.</p><p>"The voluntary initiatives and commitments by the industry have failed," she said in a statement. "Policymakers should look past the industry smokescreen and adopt proven, progressive legislation globally to create the systemic change that this crisis so urgently needs."</p>
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The United Nations Development Program is piloting an insurance scheme to protect and boost the Meso-American reef in Mexico as a natural defense, and as a source of income for coastal populations. vlad61 / Getty Images
By Andrea Willige
More than half of the world's population lives in cities, and most future population growth is predicted to happen in urban areas. But the concentration of large numbers of people and the ecosystems built around their lives has also been a driver of climate change.
<p><a href="https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/poverty-reduction/private_sector/catalyzing-private-sector-investment-in-climate-smart-cities.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cities are responsible for 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions</a>, according to a new report from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). And they are highly exposed to many of the impacts of the climate change they contribute to, in particular heat stress, flooding and health emergencies. <a href="https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2019_Highlights.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Making cities more resilient, sustainable, inclusive and safe</a> is one of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 11), requiring sustained investment.</p><p>By becoming more "climate-smart," as the UN calls it, cities can combat the mounting pressure of climate change they both cause and suffer from. Ultimately, improving the urban infrastructure in this way, cities can enhance their resilience, reduce climate risk and increase liveability and competitiveness.</p><p>Building climate-smart cities can involve a vast range of measures, depending on the location's needs – from flood defenses and drainage canals, to electrified transport and the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332278222_Urban_green_space_cooling_effect_in_cities" target="_blank">creation of green spaces</a> for urban cooling.</p><p>Here are three examples of projects <a href="https://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/km-qap/undp-wb-gif-gpn-Catalyzing_Private_Sector_Investment_in_Climate_Smart_Cities.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">highlighted by the UNDP</a> that underscore the impact of climate-risk-abating measures.</p>
Electric Buses in Santiago de Chile
<p>Over the past few years, Chile's capital, <a href="https://cleantechnica.com/2020/07/01/chile-orders-150-electric-buses-from-byd/" target="_blank">Santiago de Chile, has bought 455 electric buses</a>, and plans to raise this to nearly 800 by the end of 2020. The e-buses do not generate emissions through their operation, reducing air pollution and its associated impact on human heath and productivity. Air conditioning and a quieter ride are also popular with Santiago's public transport users.</p><p><a href="https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/db408b53-276c-47d6-8b05-52e53b1208e1/e-bus-case-study-Santiago-From-pilots-to-scale-Zebra-paper.pdf" target="_blank">Latin America's first "electric corridor"</a> now operates along one of Santiago's major transport axes, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports. It is only served by e-buses and consists of bus stops using solar panels to power free Wi-Fi, USB charging and LED lighting – further adding to the attractiveness of the e-bus network for users.</p><p>The e-buses also help the local government to reduce operational expenditure. They cost an impressive 70% less to operate and maintain than diesel-powered buses, offsetting their higher cost of purchase, which is nearly double that of a conventional bus. These huge reductions may also lead to lower fares – which could encourage more people to use public transport.</p><p>Chile has <a href="https://webstore.iea.org/download/direct/3007" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">electrification targets</a> for both private and public transport and has put substantial effort into building demand for EVs and charging infrastructure. Its transport minister has recently issued a tender for the procurement of 2,000 more e-buses, and the project is set to be extended to other cities in Chile.</p><p>Although more than nine out of 10 electric buses in 2019 were registered in China, <a href="https://webstore.iea.org/download/direct/3007" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">South America is a major growth market for e-buses</a>, according to the IEA. Santiago's e-fleet is the largest, but cities in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador also operate electric buses.</p>New Farming Methods in Abu Dhabi
<p>As the number of urban dwellers grows, feeding them is likely to become an ever greater challenge. By 2050, it is expected that <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/how-to-build-a-circular-economy-for-food/" target="_blank">80% of all food will be consumed in cities</a>. Where space is limited for traditional farming or the climate makes it difficult to grow sufficient food, <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/02/hydroponics-future-of-farming/" target="_blank">hydroponic farming</a> could be one solution.</p><p>Hydroponics is a water-based farming process that feeds plants nutrient-rich water, rather than them being planted in soil. Because roots don't have to burrow into the ground, hydroponically farmed plants take up a smaller footprint and can be stacked vertically.</p><p>By carefully controlling the plant's environment and nutrient intake, hydroponic farming can not only <a href="https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/poverty-reduction/private_sector/catalyzing-private-sector-investment-in-climate-smart-cities.html" target="_blank">increases yield by a factor of 10 per hectare</a>, but it can also make better use of resources – reducing waste, water usage, pesticides and fertilizers - compared with traditional farming methods. Being indoors, they are less affected by pests and weather events, and crops can be grown close to where they will be consumed. This can save 'food miles' and associated emissions, according to the UN report.</p><p>Abu Dhabi is now providing $100 million in funding to build a vertical farm of over 8,200 square meters (88,000 square feet) for both research and development and the commercialization of crops. The objective for the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, which has granted the funding, is to turn <a href="https://www.just-food.com/news/abu-dhabi-invests-big-in-vertical-farming-initiatives_id143518.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"sand into farmland,"</a> boost local food production and accelerate the growth of its agricultural technology ecosystem.</p><p>The facility will house four different vertical farming companies, whose initiatives will include indoor tomato cultivation, the development of an irrigation system and an R&D center.</p><p>Similar forays into vertical farming are under way around the world, including in neighboring Dubai, which recently launched <a href="https://gulfagriculture.com/majid-al-futtaim-launches-dubais-first-in-store-hydroponic-farm-bringing-fresh-and-sustainable-food-options-to-shoppers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">its first in-store hydroponic farm</a>.</p>Insuring Coral Reefs in Mexico
<p>When hedging against climate risk, natural solutions can be important elements in a city's sustainable infrastructure.</p><p>Coral reefs are a case in point, serving as natural barriers against hazards such as ocean surges and flooding. <a href="https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/poverty-reduction/private_sector/catalyzing-private-sector-investment-in-climate-smart-cities.html" target="_blank">They can absorb as much wave energy as seawalls and breakwaters</a>, which are less durable.</p><p>The UNDP report says reefs and other natural defenses are less costly to maintain than man-made solutions and could save as much as $100 billion in cases of natural disasters.</p><p>However, it says, 20% of reefs have been lost globally and another 15% are in danger, and funding for their restoration and maintenance is limited and such initiatives only happen on a small scale.</p><p>In Mexico, the UNDP is now piloting an insurance scheme to protect and boost the Meso-American reef – the second largest globally – as a natural defense, and as a source of income for coastal populations.</p><p>Reef2Resilience is similar to a trust fund that local businesses pay into. The role of the fund is two-fold. It invests in restoring and maintaining the reef – so it can offer better natural protection. And it pays for catastrophe insurance so that the reef and its surrounding ecosystem can recover quickly after a natural disaster, ensuring future protection and protecting the livelihoods of coastal communities.</p><p>An extension of the project to the Caribbean and Asia is being discussed.</p>Climate-Smart Infrastructure as an Investment Opportunity
<p>Climate-smart urban infrastructure, whether technology-driven or natural, represents a $30 trillion investment opportunity – ranging from renewable energy to public transport and from electric vehicles to green buildings, the report says. And that's just in developing economies.</p><p>New funding models, policies and risk assessment will be needed to overcome barriers to investment and bring out the long-term value of climate-smart infrastructure for growing urban populations.</p>
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A Japanese ship that ran aground on a coral reef off Mauritius may have changed course to get a mobile data signal for a birthday celebration on board. imo.un / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 2.0
A Japanese ship that wrecked off the coast of Mauritius in July and sparked one of the worst environmental disasters in the country's history may have run aground because of birthday celebrations on board at the time.
<p>That's according to a statement from the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), in the latest development from the July 25 wrecking of the Panama-flagged and Japanese-owned M.V. Wakashio, a bulk carrier. The ship, bound for Brazil from Singapore, was sailing through Mauritian waters when it ran aground on a coral reef and <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/mauritius-grapples-with-worst-environmental-crisis-in-a-generation/" target="_blank">leaked almost 1,000 tons</a> of fuel oil.</p><p>In its <a href="https://amp.gob.pa/notas-de-prensa/delegacion-panamena-de-expertos-en-accidentes-maritimos-asiste-en-investigaciones-sobre-el-accidente-de-la-embarcacion-wakashio-en-isla-mauricio/" target="_blank">statement</a> published in Spanish on Sept. 7, the AMP, which is collaborating in the investigation into the accident, said the ship diverted its navigation plan, possibly in relation to "the celebration of the birthday of one of the crew members."</p>
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<p>"[T]he change of course is produced by indications of the captain of the boat, who gave instructions to approach about 5 miles away from the coast of Mauritius, looking for a telephone and internet signal, so that the crew members could communicate with their families," the AMP said.</p><p>The Wakashio's captain was taken into custody on Aug. 18 for endangering safe navigation. According to the government, the ship had failed to respond to several calls from the Mauritian Coast Guard.</p><p>Mauritius's environment minister, Kavydass Ramano, called it an "unprecedented" crisis, and the prime minister declared a national emergency on Aug. 7, a day after oil began leaking from its tank.</p><p>The AMP said its investigation into the cause of the grounding was still in the preliminary phase. It also raised questions about the use of the electronic navigational chart (ENC). "It seems that the wrong chart was being used and with the wrong scale, which made it impossible to properly verify the approach to the coast and shallower waters," the AMP said.</p>
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">Satellite data analysis reported by Forbes shows the ship </span><u style="background-color: initial;"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nishandegnarain/2020/08/09/how-satellites-traced-the-fateful-journey-of-the-ship-that-led-to--mauritius-worst-oil-spill-disaster/#8c542495b428" target="_blank">changed course</a></u><span style="background-color: initial;"> on July 21, putting it on a direct collision path with the island. The outlet also reported that weather conditions in the days leading up to the crash were not adverse, discounting bad weather as a possible explanation for the move.</span><br></p><p>Some observers say the missteps could be linked to the stress that ship crews are under in the upheaval caused by the COVID-19 shutdowns. It has become challenging for shipping operators to make crew changes, leading many seafarers to be stranded at sea, away from their families for long periods.</p><p>The Wakashio ran aground on the reef close to at least three ecologically important sites: a Ramsar wetland, a coral island hosting rare and endemic birds, and a marine protected area. Environmentalists say they fear the spill will have lasting effects on the coral reefs, mangroves and fisheries in the region.</p><p>Last week, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), the Japanese company operating the ship, pledged 1 billion yen ($9.5 million) for environmental preservation efforts and to shore up local fisheries.</p><p>Nagashiki Shipping, the owner of the Wakashio, will also be contributing to this initiative, called the Mauritius Natural Environment Recovery Fund. The money will go toward mangrove recovery, coral reef protection and safeguarding Mauritius's rare flora and fauna, and for research work.</p>
<p>The Japanese government has also offered aid, but the value of its commitment is undecided. Japanese media have reported that Mauritius is seeking 1.34 billion Mauritian rupees ($34 million) from Tokyo.</p><p>Mauritius is also seeking compensation from Nagashiki Shipping. It has started the process of collecting claims from residents impacted by the crash and the spill.</p><p>Mauritian authorities have come under increasing scrutiny at home for letting the ship remain on the reef for more than 10 days, even as choppy waters damaged the vessel and ultimately led to a breach in the fuel tank. The ship broke into two on Aug. 15.</p>
<p>A controversial <u><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/mauritiuss-plan-to-dump-part-of-wrecked-ship-sparks-controversy/" target="_blank">decision</a></u> to sink the front half of the ship on Aug. 25, and the beaching of dozens of dolphins and whales days just days later, fueled further discontent. The causes of the deaths of the cetaceans are yet to be determined.</p><p>On Aug. 29, <u><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/mauritians-take-to-the-street-over-oil-spill-and-dolphin-and-whale-deaths/" target="_blank">thousands of people</a></u> marched in the streets of the capital, Port Louis, to protest what they see as the government's mishandling of the crisis. Another protest was held in Mahebourg, an important fishing village, on Sept. 12.</p><p>Meanwhile, the stern of the broken vessel remains lodged on the reef. Efforts are underway to remove it before the Indian Ocean storm season starts in November.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/birthday-party-on-ship-may-have-led-to-oil-spill-in-mauritius-panama-regulator-says/#:~:text=A%20Japanese%20ship%20that%20ran,flag%20the%20vessel%20was%20sailing." target="_blank">Mongabay</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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An Extinction Rebellion environmental activist mother group protests outside Google's UK headquarters in London, England on Oct. 16, 2019. The group urged Facebook and Google to stop allowing climate deniers to profit on their platforms. Ollie Millington / Getty Images
Tech behemoths Google and Facebook have upped their respective pledges to the environment, joining the ranks of Apple and Microsoft. Earlier this year, Microsoft pledged to go carbon negative by 2030, meaning it will account for all the carbon it has ever produced and add enough mitigation to counteract its effect.
<p>Now Google is following in Microsoft's footsteps and going one step further. The tech giant pledged to be carbon neutral in 2007 and has made an investment to match all of the electricity it uses with <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" target="_self">renewable energy</a>. The company is now claiming that it has purchased enough carbon offsets to bring its carbon footprint dating back to the company's founding, according to a <a href="https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/our-third-decade-climate-action-realizing-carbon-free-future" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">blog post</a> by Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and Alphabet.</p><p>"The science is clear: The world must act now if we're going to avert the worst consequences of climate change," Pichai wrote. "We are committed to doing our part. Sustainability has been a core value for us since Larry and Sergey founded Google two decades ago."</p>
<p>Additionally, the company will become the first to commit to run entirely on carbon-free energy in all of its data centers around the world. Data centers are intensive energy consumers.</p><p>"This is far more challenging than the traditional approach of matching energy usage with renewable energy, but we're working to get this done by 2030," Pichai wrote. He added, "This is our biggest sustainability moonshot yet, with enormous practical and technical complexity. We are the first major company that's set out to do this, and we aim to be the first to achieve it."</p><p>To achieve the ambitious moonshot, Google will pair wind and solar energy together and it will use its robust artificial-intelligence to predict its future electricity demands, as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54141899" target="_blank">BBC</a> reported.</p>
<p>The announcement won praise from climate activists.</p><p>"Today's announcement, combined with Google's promise in May to no longer create artificial intelligence solutions for upstream oil and gas exploration, shows that Google takes its role in combating climate change seriously," said Elizabeth Jardim, senior corporate campaigner at Greenpeace USA, according to the BBC.</p><p>In a move that follows the lead of industry leaders, Facebook announced that it will achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. It's an ambitious goal, but far behind Apple, Microsoft and Google on its climate commitments, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/15/facebook-and-google-announce-plans-become-carbon-neutral" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>"Facebook's global operations will achieve net-zero carbon emissions and be 100 percent supported by renewable energy. We are also setting an ambitious goal to reach net-zero emissions for our value chain in 2030," wrote its director of sustainability, Edward Palmieri, in a blog post, as <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/facebook-commits-to-net-zero-carbon-emissions-by-2030-1.4354701" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Irish Times</a> reported. Facebook houses its data centers for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp in Ireland.</p><p>"Over the next decade, Facebook will work to reduce carbon emissions from our operations and value chain, including by working with suppliers on their own goals, helping the development of new carbon removal technologies and making our facilities as efficient as possible," Palmieri added, as The Guardian reported.</p>
<p>The announcement is designed to bring Facebook in line with the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a>, which aims to curb global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as The Irish Times reported.</p><p>And yet, despite its climate pledges, Facebook has not stopped the thousands of climate misinformation and denial sites on its platform, as The Irish Times noted.</p>
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The BP oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana across the street from Marktown Park on Jan. 8, 2019. Scott Olson / Getty Images
We may have already passed peak demand for oil.
<p>This suggestion comes from an unlikely source: <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil-fuel</a> giant <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bp" target="_self">BP</a>. The company released its annual <a href="https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/energy-outlook.html" target="_blank">Energy Outlook</a> report Monday, and found that oil demand may have already peaked in 2019, as the rise in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" target="_self">renewable energy</a> intersects with the impact of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> pandemic, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/14/global-oil-demand-may-have-passed-peak-says-bp-energy-report" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>.</p><p>"(The energy transition) would be an unprecedented event," BP chief economist Spencer Dale told journalists, as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bp-energy-idUSKBN26410O?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A%20Trending%20Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0vHKXsFVgZ2wnnv66zvdWrWePzm375mU_kVBe6l_kUWkYQE365kESr-IE" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. "Never in modern history has the demand for any traded fuel declined in absolute terms."</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/energy-outlook/introduction/overview.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">report outlines</a> three possible energy scenarios for the next 30 years.</p><ol><li>The Rapid Transition Scenario (Rapid): This envisions a scenario in which energy-based greenhouse-gas emissions decline 70 percent by 2050, in line with limiting global warming to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100.</li><li>The Net-Zero Scenario (Net Zero): This scenario imagines the policies adapted in the Rapid scenario are augmented by widespread lifestyle changes, and energy emissions decline by more than 95 percent by 2050, limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.</li><li>The Business-as-Usual Scenario (BAU): This imagines that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate</a> policies continue at a pace consistent with the past several years, and emissions only decline to less than 10 percent of 2018 levels by 2050.</li></ol>
<p>In the first two scenarios, BP concluded oil demand would already have peaked in 2019, according to The Guardian. In the third, it would plateau after 2019 and peak sometime in the mid-2020s, according to BP.</p><p>However, all three scenarios show <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil-and-gas" target="_self">oil and gas</a> on the wane and renewable energy on the rise, Reuters reported. They show fossil fuels falling from 85 percent of energy demand in 2018 to 20 to 65 percent by 2050. Meanwhile, they show renewable technologies like <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wind" target="_self">wind</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/solar" target="_self">solar</a> expanding from five percent of energy demand in 2018 to 20 to 60 percent by 2050, according to Reuters and The Guardian.</p><p>"In all three of these scenarios the share of renewable energy grows more quickly than any energy fuel ever seen in history," Dale told The Guardian.</p>
<p>The coronavirus is expected to speed the decline in oil demand in part because it is slowing economic growth in developing countries, which tend to drive energy demand. At the same time, many developed countries are upping their climate ambitions and carbon taxes.</p><p>Other factors that may limit the demand for oil include the transition towards <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/electric-vehicle" target="_self">electric vehicles</a> and the growing movement to phase out single-use <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastics" target="_self">plastics</a>.</p><p>The report comes the same year that BP <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-and-gas-emissions-bp-2050-2645140229.html" target="_self">announced plans</a> to be an entirely carbon-neutral energy company by 2050. Monday's report seemingly supports Chief Executive Bernard Looney's plan to "reinvent" the company, Reuters pointed out. It was released as the company begins a three-day event outlining its plans to transition its energy sources.</p>
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New Zealand’s Ardern Pledges 100% Renewable Energy by 2030 if Her Labour Party Wins Next Month’s Election
14 September
Politics
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern prepares to speak at a Business NZ Election Conference on Sept. 11, 2020. Hannah Peters / Getty Images
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has promised to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2030 if her party wins re-election in October.
<p>In announcing the new pledge Thursday, Ardern tied the goal to a green recovery from the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a>, <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/jacinda-ardern-pledges-to-end-non-renewable-energy-generation-by-2030-if-she-s-re-elected?fbclid=IwAR3mHKgNevjrgvI86bFFCtcEQwgO61svpkLr33eP2CqokGOqfPYQQT1Gg-o" target="_blank">SBS News reported</a>.</p><p>"The COVID-19 economic recovery represents a once in a generation opportunity to reshape New Zealand's energy system to be more renewable, faster, affordable and secure," she said.</p>
<div id="5ea56" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d3959186ce8c9cef202e8b35f654c91e"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1303865299951779841" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#BREAKING: We’ve just released our clean energy policy, which outlines that if re-elected we will bring forward our… https://t.co/xgc78zxlHb</div> — New Zealand Labour (@New Zealand Labour)<a href="https://twitter.com/nzlabour/statuses/1303865299951779841">1599700686.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Ardern's pledge ups her Labour Party's previous goal of phasing out non-renewable energy by 2035. New Zealand currently produces 84 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, according to the government. However, these only account for 40 percent of the energy actually used in the country, since it still imports <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" target="_self">coal</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil" target="_self">oil</a> from outside.</p><p>The promise is part of Labour's broader clean energy policy, <a href="https://www.labour.org.nz/release-renewable-electricity-generation-2030" target="_blank">unveiled Thursday</a>. The plan also includes electrifying transportation and industry, investing in new technologies like green hydrogen, working to make energy more affordable and spending an additional $70 million on a pumped hydro storage solution for dry years.</p>
<div id="d95b4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cbbf9c0e9f36a745d129ad5ba04ef870"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1303865428200968192" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">...and accelerating the electrification of transport and industrial sectors to position New Zealand as a world lead… https://t.co/zeEpDqeYyw</div> — New Zealand Labour (@New Zealand Labour)<a href="https://twitter.com/nzlabour/statuses/1303865428200968192">1599700717.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"We are setting ourselves the new goal of 2030, five years earlier than our previous goal, for us to become one of the few nations in the world with 100 percent renewable electricity," Labour energy spokesperson Megan Woods said in the announcement.</p><p>As of 2018, Iceland and Paraguay received 100 percent of their energy from renewable sources, while Costa Rica got 99 percent, <a href="https://archive.thinkprogress.org/a-100-percent-renewable-grid-isnt-just-feasible-its-already-happening-28ed233c76e5/" target="_blank">Think Progress reported</a>. At the time, New Zealand's South Island was also entirely powered by renewable energy.</p>
<p>Ardern has emerged as a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate</a> leader since taking office in 2017. She vowed to focus on addressing the climate crisis <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/new-zealand-trees-2500765147.html" target="_self">during her first campaign</a>, and announced a plan to plant 100 million trees a year upon taking power. During her tenure, she oversaw the passage of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/new-zealand-zero-emissions-2641247378.html" target="_self">New Zealand's Zero Carbon Bill</a>, which set the country a 2050 deadline for carbon neutrality and committed it to the goals of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_self">Paris agreement</a>.</p><p>However, New Zealand's Green Party said that Labour's clean energy plan did not go far enough. While the Green Party plan also set a 2030 deadline for 100 percent renewable energy, it included further measures such as making it cheaper for people to switch to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/solar" target="_self">solar</a> and ending permits for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> extraction.</p>
<div id="02383" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6fa8679dfe5aa9767e7b3f714c2764a6"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1303876360578822144" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Read our bold energy plan here: https://t.co/eCJXAbl4FZ
#nzpol</div> — Green Party NZ (@Green Party NZ)<a href="https://twitter.com/NZGreens/statuses/1303876360578822144">1599703323.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The National Party, <a href="https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/political-parties/" target="_blank">Labour's current opposition</a>, said the party's energy plan would lose jobs and raise electricity costs by as much as 40 percent.</p><p>"This is a policy that will cost thousands of jobs and put even more people on to the unemployment benefit," National Party leader Judith Collins <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/425709/labour-promises-100-percent-renewable-electricity-generation-by-2030" target="_blank">told RNZ</a>. However, the party still said it wanted more renewable energy.</p><p>Ardern, meanwhile, touted the new renewable energy goal as a job creator.</p><p>"Investment in renewable energy is also jobs rich. Our plan will creating new jobs and develop the high skill workforce our future economy needs to thrive," she said in the plan announcement. "Labour's Clean Energy Plan is a critical element of Labour's wider COVID-19 recovery plan that will both prepare New Zealand for the future while boosting jobs and the economy now."</p><p>The election, which was delayed because of the coronavirus, is slated to take place Oct. 17, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/09/jacinda-ardern-begins-new-zealand-election-tour-at-parents-house-so-they-can-babysit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. Labour is currently favored to win, and may even gain enough seats that it can govern on its own without having to form a coalition. During Ardern's current tenure, Labour governed with <a href="https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/political-parties/new-zealand-first-party/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New Zealand First</a>, with the Green Party <a href="https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/political-parties/green-party/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">offering support</a> through a Confidence and Supply Agreement.</p>
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