In this week's brief, we're looking at a new shoe from Allbirds with zero emissions, the United Kingdom's leadership on cutting their emissions, and the continued reduction of deforestation in Colombia.
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Allbirds designs shoes without carbon footprint: Allbirds has launched a new shoe called Moonshot, which the company claims has a zero-carbon footprint, challenging the traditional formula of achieving carbon neutrality through corporate carbon offset purchases. The M0.0NSHOT Zero shoe is made from carefully curated materials, including merino wool sourced from the Lake Hawea Station sheep farm in New Zealand, which uses solar and wind energy, reforestation, and regenerative agricultural practices to offset emissions. The shoe's midsole is made from a new foam called SuperLight, which includes 80 percent biocontent and is made with a molding process that reduces fillers and additives, resulting in lower emissions.
UK stands alone in submitting emissions-cutting plan: The United Kingdom is the only one of the world's 10 largest economies to submit an updated emissions-cutting plan to the United Nations that meets the expectations set out in the Paris Agreement. The country pledges to cut carbon emissions 81% by 2035 relative to 1990 levels. The UK has historically been a leader in climate diplomacy, becoming one of the first large economies to commit to a legally binding net-zero target and creating an independent watchdog to hold the government accountable for its climate goals. The UK's biggest success so far has been removing coal from the power grid, and it is now trying to repeat this success with natural gas, a much tougher task, by relying heavily on carbon capture technology and directing nearly £22 billion towards it over 25 years. The UK's economy is currently facing challenges, including soaring energy costs and a multi-billion-pound black hole in public finances, which may impact the government's ability to meet its climate goals. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has signaled support for the expansion of Heathrow Airport and potential oil and gas projects in the North Sea, contradicting the UK's climate ambitions.
Nearly 200 nations miss deadline for climate plans: Nearly 200 nations failed to meet a deadline to submit their plans for cutting emissions of heat-trapping gases. The United Nations climate chief, Simon Stiell, emphasized that quality is more important than timeliness, and over 170 countries have informed his office that they are working on their national plans. The submitted plans account for only 16.2% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, with major emitters like the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates being among the few to submit their 2035 targets.
“Taking a bit more time to ensure these plans are first-rate makes sense. These will be the most comprehensive climate plans ever developed.” — Simon Still, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC
Singapore works to reduce emissions: Singapore announced plans to extend its greenhouse gas emissions cuts through 2035, aiming to lower total emissions to between 45 million and 50 million tons by that year. The city-state's current emissions stood at 74.3 million tons in 2023, and its previous goal was to reach 60 million tons by 2030. According to the National Climate Change Secretariat, achieving the lower bound of the new 2035 target would put Singapore on track to meet its net zero target by 2050. However, the nation faces challenges in deploying renewables, and its decarbonization pace heavily depends on the development of new technologies and international cooperation. Singapore is exploring various options to reduce its reliance on natural gas, which currently accounts for over 90% of its electricity, including importing cleaner power from neighboring nations. The city-state is also studying the deployment of nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage to achieve its emissions targets.
New book on Patagonia founder: David Gelles, who covers climate and business for the New York Times and leads their insightful Climate Forward newsletter, has a new book out this September on Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. The book, Dirtbag Billionaire: How Yvon Chouinard Built Patagonia, Made a Fortune, and Gave it All Away, is available now for pre-order. You can also listen to my interview with Kristine Tompkins, the longtime CEO of Patagonia, who shared her experience protecting millions of acres of land across South America and offered stern, inspiring words on the need for responsible action from the business community.
Starbucks joins coalition to cut food waste: Starbucks joined a major initiative to cut food waste, which already includes companies such as Walmart, Sodexo, ALDI US, Amazon Fresh, Aramark, and Whole Foods Market. The U.S. Food Waste Pact, run by ReFED and the WWF, aims to address the issue of food waste, which affects over a third of all food in the US and represents a $250 billion opportunity for food businesses and 6 percent of all US greenhouse gas emissions. As a pact member, Starbucks, which has over 15,000 U.S. stores and generates 23 percent of its global sales from food, will share best practices, drive innovation, and work with peers to create a more resilient and sustainable food system.
EU to propose new emissions target: The European Union's executive is set to propose a law by the end of March to establish an interim emissions-reduction target for the bloc, aiming to reduce emissions by 90% by 2040, as part of its ambitious climate agenda. The proposed target will be included in an amendment to the European Climate Law, which makes the region's 2050 net zero target binding and will set a slightly steeper emissions-reduction path to climate neutrality compared to the current track.
Colombia's deforestation continues to decrease: Colombia's Environment Minister Susana Muhamad announced that deforestation in 2024 is expected to be among the lowest levels in 23 years, despite being higher than the previous year. Deforestation in Colombia fell by more than a third to 792 square kilometers in 2023, down from 1,235 square kilometers in 2022, according to the environment ministry. The 2024 deforestation figure is forecast to be the third-lowest in 23 years, following the significant decrease in 2023.
New York expands fast chargers: Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $60 million transaction to accelerate the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across New York City. The loan was provided by the NY Green Bank to Revel, the largest provider of public EV fast-charging in New York City. The funding will enable Revel to more than triple its current New York City public fast-charging network this year, with the construction of 267 new charging stalls across nine sites.
Science Moms launch regional Super Bowl ad: The nonpartisan group Science Moms, composed of climate scientists who are also parents, aired a 30-second regional Super Bowl ad titled "By the Time" to urge climate action, which will air on KTTV (Fox 11 Los Angeles) and various streaming platforms. The goal of the ad is to sway viewers to support climate action, particularly targeting the people most likely to be moved on the issue, with an expected reach of 11 million Americans across platforms, and the group will monitor social media conversation and website traffic to determine the ad's impact.
Freeze in US federal funding hits red states: President Trump froze federal grants for clean energy projects, including battery factories and electric school buses, and halted federal approvals for wind and solar projects, causing economic damage mainly to Republican states and districts. The freeze has affected various projects, including a biofuels plant in Montana that did not receive a $782 million payment, $1 billion in projects to modernize the power grid in Georgia, and a half-dozen large solar projects on federal lands in Nevada. The upheaval has put Republicans in a difficult position, defending the White House's stance on clean energy while working to protect their towns from the loss of new manufacturing jobs. Analysts predict that the political turmoil could put planned manufacturing projects at risk, with over half of the nearly $30 billion in clean technology factories scheduled to come online in 2025 facing delays or cancellations.
Concerns over the cancelation of grants from NOAA: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been ordered by the Commerce Department to identify grants related to global warming and other climate-related topics targeted by President Trump's executive orders, sparking concerns that these grants may be canceled. The instructions require NOAA staff members to review all active financial assistant awards and identify those that could be "potentially impacted" by one of Mr. Trump's orders, specifically the one aimed at dismantling federal government programs addressing climate change. The demand to identify climate-related grants follows the revelation that members of the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, had gained access to NOAA's computer systems, prompting Democrats to send a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urging him to defend NOAA against Mr. Musk's "unlawful attacks."
India tempers climate goals following failure on international climate finance: India is unlikely to strengthen its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for reducing carbon emissions due to insufficient climate finance from developed nations, according to sources familiar with the situation. The country had demanded more financial aid at the COP29 climate summit, but rich nations only agreed to triple the funding to $300 billion a year through 2035, which Indian negotiator Chandni Raina called "paltry" and inadequate for enabling climate action. The country's current pledge under the Paris Agreement involves reducing emission intensity by 45% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, generating half of its power needs from non-fossil fuel sources, and planting trees to capture up to 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide. However, analysts at Climate Action Tracker say India needs to reduce emissions by 68% over the same period to maintain a pathway to 1.5C degrees of warming.