Features

CEO Briefing “Leading a sustainable land use transition” argues firms should ensure land is managed well to improve resilience and sustainability.

Energy security equals energy independence, and the key to that is greater electrification, digitization and zero-carbon energy, says Annette Clayton, Chief Executive Officer, Schneider Electric North America

Shipping containers, underground tunnels and abandoned mine shafts are not obvious venues for growing food. Yet many such spaces are being turned into vertical farms.

Will greening cities be enough to fend off ever increasing intense heatwaves?

Affordable energy organisation, Power for All explains why Decentralised Renewable Energy (DRE) solutions such as solar can help countries expand access to on-site clean, sufficient, affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy.

A new intensive review has distilled from more than 400 scientific papers and reports a comprehensive, actionable set of technologies and practices that can mitigate climate change and contribute to alleviating extreme poverty at the same time.

The scale of emissions-related innovation is welcome but the pace must not be allowed to slow if global shipping is to achieve a 5% zero-emission fuel target by 2030, argue Climate Champion Katharine Palmer and Global Maritime Forum CEO, Johannah Christensen.

Karim Elgendy, Chatham House & Martina Juvara, International Society of City and Regional Planners, explain why the UK’s planning system tool could be central to integrating climate change mitigation and adaptation in cities.

Communities across the world are coming up with locally-led solutions to help communities adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The share of the world’s population living in cities is expected to rise to 80% by 2050, from 55% now.

Direct air capture could be a solution for combatting carbon emissions that are hard to avoid – like those from certain industries – and for removing carbon that has been emitted over past decades.

Indigenous rights activist and lawyer, Cindy Kobei discusses custodianship, the law, deepening equalities caused by the climate crisis, and the need to rekindle our connection with the natural world.

An A380 Airbus recently flew for three hours with one engine powered entirely by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), made from used cooking oil and other fats.

Current research at the Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge University tackles how we can reinvigorate the world’s largest potential carbon sinks: oceans.

Seafood firms can reduce their impact on climate and the oceans – and in doing so can ensure they have a long-term thriving business, writes Nigel Topping, UN High Level Champion for Climate Action at COP26.

A new AI-based study compares cities’ trees and lakes to how much concrete they have, to gauge their ability to respond to climate shocks.

A sustainable and resilient agricultural sector is key to sub-Saharan Africa’s economic future. Here’s how solar water pumps can help.

The MENA region is already the most water-scarce region in the world – and the increasing temperatures are predicted to lead to more persistent and acute drought. Building resilience is key, which is why effective climate action is vital to limit the worst effects of the climate crisis.

As with tortillas in Mexico and rice in West Africa, symbolism around bread has a spiritual dimension. Egyptians handle bread with care and respect at the bakery, on the street and in their homes.

The IPCC’s latest report on climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability made it explicit that people living in informal settlements are the most vulnerable urban populations to climate change.

Africa’s experience managing e-waste provides interesting approaches for all countries to consider when building an e-waste management system.

“If we are to realise the full benefits of ending deforestation and transitioning to sustainable production, we need to see more action now” – Nigel Topping, UN High-Level Climate Champion for COP26.

Robert Nasi, Director General, Centre for International Forestry Research explains why we must better protect and manage these vital ecosystems.

Scientists now say that the combination of rising sea levels, extreme weather events and population change in low-lying areas will put about a billion people at risk from coastal climate hazards beyond 2040. But they’ve also found that cities can offer the best hope of limiting that threat.

Any truly resilient city must have a flood management plan that integrates natural, engineered and social systems, argues Faith Chan, University of Nottingham and Olalekan Adekola, York St John University.

Women must wait 136 years before we get gender parity. To highlight this imbalance, and to mark 2022’s International Women’s Day, SHE Changes Climate has released a new short film.

Because women possess unique knowledge and experience, particularly at the local level, their inclusion in decision-making processes is critical to effective climate action.

Combined solutions to climate change and gender inequality exist – women leaders, new and emerging, just need more support.

Here’s why investment by G20 economies in nature-based solutions needs to double by mid-century to help prevent an environmental crisis.

To build out the energy infrastructure the world needs at speed and scale, circular economy will play a vital role in three main ways.

Green corridors have been likened to special economic zones at sea — arenas where companies deploy new technologies and business models at full scale, interacting with each other and with regulations and incentives tailored to their efforts.

Transforming global shipping is a critical part of reaching the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C and building zero emissions, resilient global supply chains that billions of people rely on.

An initiative, founded by the Ocean Race, is helping to increase understanding of ocean health by filling critical data gaps in remote areas and corroborating findings in locations where research already exists.

The Exponential Roadmap Initiative spoke to UK headquartered multinational consumer goods company Unilever to find out about the actions they are taking to help halve global emissions by 2030.

The Boston Consulting Group has traced the “true value” of a cookie made from ingredients sourced from multiple countries and sold in the UK. The analysis could influence big value chain decisions, such as sourcing and supplier relationships and product formulation.

Inclusive development and poverty reduction are essential to protecting the poor from disasters. Improving access to financial, technical, and institutional resources will make them better able to respond to climate change, argues David Malpass, Président, Groupe de la Banque mondiale.

A review of 16 university carbon-management schemes showed that none had quantitatively considered how their land might be used to offset emissions. David Werner, Professor in Environmental Systems Modelling, Newcastle University explains why universities should use carbon offsetting strategies for the land under their management.

Electric cars could help to power millions of households in the coming years, simply by harnessing their battery power. The electricity in the vehicle’s battery could be plugged back into the grid, instead of being stored.

We need to recognize the contributions of women as decision makers, stakeholders, educators, and experts across borders and sectors to drive long-term solutions. It’s time we realize women are the missing piece in our global efforts to protect and regenerate our planet, argues Mariah Levin & Gwendoline de Ganay, World Economic Forum.

Natural climate solutions are the key for the Race to Zero and the Race to Resilience. They can take us beyond net zero, to actually achieve drawdown. With all of the cascading benefits to people and the planet, it is clear that climate finance should support nature-based climate solutions, says Mamta Mehra, Senior Fellow, Land Use & Research Program Officer & Chad Frischmann, Senior Director, Drawdown Solutions, Project Drawdown

Heavy-duty trucking presents a special challenge. While it constitutes only 1% of total fleet vehicles, it is responsible for a disproportionate 25% share of global road emissions.

Transportation can change from being a high-emitting sector to being a climate solution…and that all depends on you, argues Heather Jones, Transportation Research Fellow, Project Drawdown.

“Scaling up NCS is a crucial step if we are to address these challenges, reach net zero and facilitate the transition to a future where we live well, within planetary boundaries,” argues Giulia Carbone, Director, Natural Climate Solutions Alliance.

“Seen side by side, these two Blue Marbles, taken half a century apart, would bring home the consequences of climate change wordlessly, instantly and globally.” Robert Poole, Professor of History, University of Central Lancashire explains why we need a fresh perspective.

“We clearly have a different problem, a leadership problem, that is now causing us to not move forward on the rescue of our ecosystems. When analysing the leadership structures of COPs since their inception, it becomes very clear, that the missing element from these conferences have been women.” Bianca Pitt, Co Founder, SHE Changes Climate.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, Oregon Governor Kate Brown and the Premier of British Columbia John Horgan introduce a regional partnership called the Pacific Coast Collaborative to advance climate policies, build a clean energy economy and infrastructure, and increase their state’s resilience to impacts already occurring.

Massive Attack has commissioned the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research to produce a roadmap for live music, setting out emissions reductions that would make the sector compatible with Paris/1.5C targets.

“In the last 12 years, nine of the 13 oldest and five of the six largest baobabs on continental Africa have died. And it looks like climate change is one of the reasons for this,” award winning filmmaker and naturalist Cyrille Cornu.

There is no viable route to limiting global warming to 1.5°C and building resilience without urgently protecting, managing and restoring nature, argues Nature4Climate Coalition Director, James Lloyd.

“Both Natura and The Body Shop have worked for the last two decades with traditional and indigenous communities on how we can generate a business model that gives more value to the Amazon and other countries around the world.” Keyvan Macedo, Natura & Co. Sustainability Director, explains why the company is aiming for net positive.

Ocean-based solutions not only mitigate climate change but play a large role in climate adaptation. Opinion by Project Drawdown’s Emilia Jankowska, Mamta Mehra and Chad Frischmann.

Archie Crofton and Sarah Humphrys from education-to-action organisation AimHi Earth explain why climate literacy is fundamental to tackling the climate and nature crisis locally and globally.

The Africa Green Finance Coalition (AGFC) will help bring African countries together to pool resources, share learning and create a pathway for increased flows of green investment capital to the continent.

It’s time we stop focusing so much on the cascade of destruction that climate change may bring, and start talking about the cascading benefits, argues Chad Frischmann, Senior Director, Drawdown Solutions, Project Drawdown.

Rapid phase-out of emissions from coal power, which so far have been the single largest source of global temperature increase, is one of the first and most critical steps the world must take to deliver on the 1.5-degree goal.

Covid has hit culture hard. In Glasgow, half of the city’s 160 cultural organizations have no plans to reopen due to financial distress. It’s time to come up with a master plan to save the arts, which allows the industry to more easily deacarbonize, says Annika Ericsoon, founder of digital art condition report tool, Articheck.

The World Economic Forum has created a visualization of some of the most flood-impacted parts of the world.

Exposure to dangerous temperatures increased by 200% since the mid 1980s, with poor and marginalized people particularly at risk, according to a new study.

Here are the winners of the Mangrove Photography Award 2021, each showing the importance of preserving, conserving, and restoring the world’s mangrove forests.

From oyster die-offs and coral reef bleaching, to marine heat waves and harmful algal blooms, coastal communities around the world are feeling the effects of ocean acidification. A leading group of ocean experts discuss the significance of investing in SDG Target 14.3.

Africa’s youth population is growing rapidly and is expected to reach over 830 million by 2050. The Africa Youth Initiative on Climate Change explains why this growing force for good must have a seat at the climate decision-making table.

More than 150 industry leaders and organizations representing the entire maritime value chain – including shipping, cargo, and finance – are calling on world leaders ahead of COP26 for ambitious, urgent policy actions to fully decarbonize international shipping by 2050, and make zero-emission shipping the default choice by 2030.

“The science is clear, business as usual is not an option and the pace we had in the past, cannot be the pace in the years to come,” H&M CEO, Helen Helmersson discusses the company’s race to become circular and climate positive.

About 195 countries are expected to finalize a new accord to to halt and reverse losses of the planet’s plants, animals and ecosystems at the two-part COP15 UN summit.

Every day, more than 500 ships pass through the narrow strip of ocean separating the UK from continental Europe, creating huge amounts of pollution, with sulphur and nitrogen emissions a particular problem.

From flooding and coastal erosion to the impacts of urbanization and increasing populations, the coastal zones of the South Atlantic are in crisis.

Investing in nature and biodiversity has the potential to bring about both economic and ecological benefits that would greatly outweigh the near-term costs of transition.

“Achieving our shared climate goals demands an all-hands of deck collaborative effort supported by unifying, not divisive, politics,” Carlos M. Duarte, a member of Extreme E’s Scientific Committee and a Distinguished Professor of Marine Science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

How does a sector – defined by the movement of people and in the midst of a crisis – get to net zero by 2050 at the very latest? 

The rapid growth of solar and wind power in recent years has breathed hope into global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit the most dangerous effects of climate change.

50% of the global workforce has the potential to be affected by, and directly fight, climate change. According to LinkedIn co-founder Allen Blue, if we are to secure our existence on a stable planet, we need a whole-of-the-economy approach that involves redefining many of our professions. 

Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) can provide around 30% of the emissions reductions needed to limit global warming to 1.5° or 2° C, says a new report.

“Coronavirus has led to the greatest disruption in higher education in a generation. As London Fashion Week resumes, now is a good time for reflection and planning. As we look forward to a new academic year, we should stop regarding students as consumers but as fellow citizens in pursuit of solutions to the world’s urgent climate crisis.”

Across the globe, momentum is building to increase adoption of light-duty passenger electric vehicles (EVs) and make traditional vehicles — with an internal combustion engine — go the way of the horse and cart.

The road to a fully decarbonized electricity system is clear. We must rapidly phase out fossil fuels whilst simultaneously accelerating our expansion of renewables. The transition to clean power is the crucial foundation of the energy transition, and achievement of the Race to Zero breakthrough ambition is a key step forward in achieving our sector goal of net zero.

It’s time for shipping to step out of the shadows, to be forthright and act boldly, taking the initiative on carbon before the industry is forced to take action. Waiting for regulation to emerge from an agency and effectively drive change is not the right answer, argues Ami Daniel Co-Founder and CEO, Windward & Lord John Browne, Chairman, BeyondNetZero, and Chairman, Windward.

As Europe aims to eliminate the sales of polluting vehicles by 2035, Monica Araya, Special Adviser, High Level Champion for Climate Action, COP26, considers how such an ambitious policy can transform electric transportation across the globe.

Sue Peachey participated in the UK’s first ever Citizens’ Assembly on climate change. Here she discusses the role of citizens in driving climate ambition with UN High Level Champion for Climate Action, Nigel Topping.

Almost half of the world’s 2.2 billion children face a “deadly” threat from climate and environmental shocks, according to a new report.

If food waste was a country, it would be the third-highest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, after the US and China.

By 2030, climate and demographic change will add 25 new countries to the 32 already experiencing increasing floods, the researchers estimate, according to a new study.

In the race against climate change, every fraction of a degree by which the global temperature rises counts. Every country – and every business – must bring the best they have to this race with the shared goal of winning it, argues María Mendiluce, CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition.

The healthcare sector has a key role to play in climate mitigation and resilience, argue Climate Champions Gail Sucharitakul & Jamie Hardy.

The only way to reverse some of these catastrophic patterns, and to regain a kind of stability in climate and weather systems, is “climate repair”, argues David King & Jane Lichtenstein from the University of Cambridge.

The heavy industry and long-distance transport sectors hold the key to avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. Show that we can decarbonize these, and we can decarbonize the whole global economy, argue Faustine Delasalle, Co-Executive Director, Mission Possible Partnership & Anthony Robert Hobley Co-Executive Director, Mission Possible Partnership.

It takes more than rain to create a flood, and more than a spark to start a wildfire. All of the elements of our climate system – and the hazards it produces – are connected in one way or another, explains Christopher J White, University of Strathclyde.

How communities develop infrastructure, social and economic systems, planning and preparedness can make them more resilient – or more vulnerable – to extreme events, explains Scott Denning, Professor of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University.

“Climate change isn’t about countries: it’s about people. It’s about the world we want to live in for generations to come and the species we share it with. In other words, it’s far too important to leave just to world leaders – this crisis requires all of us to step up” – Governor of California, Gavin Newsom explains what’s at stake.

Mangrove forests cover just 0.5% of the world’s coasts but account for an estimated 10-15% of coastal carbon capture. As we try to stop CO₂ levels rising and put the brakes on climate change, protecting mangroves for their blue carbon value is key, argues Adam Moolna, Keele University.

Mangroves are a vital ecosystem that benefit our environment, economy, and communities. Yet they severely under threat. An estimated 67% of historical mangrove habitat has been lost or degraded worldwide, with 20% occurring since 1980. One of the biggest threats to mangroves is the tourism industry. Here’s how we can turn this ship around.

A sustainable, zero-carbon global economy will, literally and figuratively, rest on concrete. It is the world’s most-used building material. Here’s how to unlock a future built with sustainable, zero-carbon concrete.

Net zero is powerful as a rallying message but we must be more aware of who gets to make use of the ‘net’, argues Clare Wildfire, technical principal and global practice leader for cities, Mott MacDonald

“We have to address who is leading, and how we are leading, to usher in transformation more quickly and more fully than we’re seeing right now,” Dr Katharine Wilkinson on gender inequality, culture, imagination, and the good and the bad of net zero commitments.

A new study that mapped the “blue carbon” uptake from marine and coastal ecosystems around the world highlights how natural sinks and climate change redistribute wealth around the globe.

Abundance in a zero-emissions world means no longer exploiting and wasting finite resources, but rather valuing the nature that sustains and protects us, explain Michael R. Bloomberg , Saleemul Huq and Agnes Kalibata, Global Ambassadors for the Race to Zero and Race to Resilience.

When companies wake up to the dangers of being the last to leave the fossil fuel economy and instead see the competitive advantages of a quick transition, they will become accelerators for change, explains Svante Axelsson, national coordinator of Fossil Free Sweden.

New ways of innovating, operating and partnering will be needed to create a true shift to circular economy. And digital players, including telecommunications operators, have a key role to play, explains Allison Kirkby, President and CEO, Telia Company.

The sooner we begin retrofitting existing buildings and constructing new ones that can withstand climate change, the better, argues Ran Boydell, Visiting Lecturer in Sustainable Development, Heriot-Watt University.

Rich countries need to hear and react to the calls from developing countries to address loss and damage fairly, and most importantly with concrete ways to fund it, argues Colin McQuistan, Head of Climate and Resilience, Practical Action.

The heathcare sector has a responsibility to train, educate, advocate and influence decision and policy-makers, collaborate widely through its research work, and engage the youth in inclusive programmes, according to Dr Claire Bayntun, Vice President of the Royal Society of Medicine.