Turkey’s first nuclear power plant has an expected operational date in 2023. The country’s nuclear energy proponents anticipate celebrating their country’s entrance into the global “nuclear club,” while opponents worry about sufficient nuclear safety measures.
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists 24th Nov 2021 read more »
UK’s energy system is ‘broken’, warns industrial group. The UK’s energy system is “broken” and climate change targets without detailed policies could drive foreign industries, the head of one of Britain’s most advanced glass makers warns. increase. Britain’s heavy industry, from steel to chemicals, has been severely affected by the energy crisis of recent months, with glass producers tending to have lower profit margins and suffering the worst. Steve Keaton, managing director of the UK subsidiary of Nippon Electric Glass, a major Japanese specialty glass maker, said soaring energy prices would almost wipe out operating profit this year. The UK government’s ambition to compete by reducing emissions to net zero by 2050 without the investment and policies needed to overhaul the power system could create a dark outlook for the industry, he said.
FT 29th Nov 2021 read more »
Dale Vince, the new-age traveller turned green-energy entrepreneur, has launched a furious attack on the directors of a rival renewable power company that he has been trying to buy. Vince’s firm Ecotricity owns 27 per cent of competitor Good Energy and has repeatedly tried to acquire the Aim-listed company this year. Over the summer, Vince offered 340p a share for the company, and in September, increased his bid to 400p — a price valuing the business at about £66.5 million. But Ecotricity’s approaches were rebuffed by Good Energy, which said they were “opportunistic” and undervalued the group. The shares are now just 275p. Vince said: “I speak as the largest shareholder in Good Energy. I have seen a serious destruction of value to Ecotricity’s shareholding in Good Energy, along with all other shareholders.” The latest chapter in the fracas between the two companies erupted after Good Energy told investors on Thursday that it was planning to sell its wind farms and other generation assets, and instead focus on services for electric vehicles. This would include its Zap-Map platform for electric cars. Vince said the moves made “no sense” and that he should have been told when he was trying to take over the company. “We will be considering what steps are now available to both prevent this value-destroying disposal … and to hold the directors of Good Energy properly to account,” he added.
Times 28th Nov 2021 read more »
West coast village launches ‘UK’s largest community-owned hydropower scheme’. A community on the west coast of Scotland has officially launched. The Barr River scheme was completed in July on a forest site 11 miles from the village of Lochaline. Friday marked the opening of two further community-developed facilities – a community hub and new housing. what is understood to be the UK’s largest community-owned hydropower scheme.
Scotsman 26th Nov 2021 read more »
Scottish Housing News 26th Nov 2021 read more »
The National 26th Nov 2021 read more »
A start-up hoping to mine lithium in Cornwall for electric vehicle batteries has secured up to £18 million in investment from a group focused on metals for use in technology. Cornish Lithium said that, subject to shareholder approval, TechMet would invest an initial £9 million at 13½p per share. It would then have the option to invest a further £9 million at 20p per share once the company completes a scoping study for its Trelavour mining project, due by the second quarter of next year. It said the fundraising was “a significant step forward for Cornish Lithium and allows the company to step up its activities towards creating a domestic supply of lithium and other battery metals for the UK”.
Times 26th Nov 2021 read more »
Prysmian Group welcomes EC decision: “Ensuring fair competition is in the interest of our customers and the whole community” Milan, 18 November 2021. Prysmian Group, the world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, welcomes the European Commission’s decision to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of optical fibre cables from China. The European Commission has today imposed anti-dumping duties ranging between 19.7% and 44% on imports of optical fibre cables from China. The… Source: RealWire
As businesses continue to set and perform against ambitious decarbonisation targets, reducing Scope 3 emissions is quickly being incorporated into business strategies. As such, edie has launched a new guide detailing everything businesses need to know.
The guide is free to download for edie users
What are Scope 3 emissions? How are they calculated? How can they be mitigated and reduced? And, what are the business benefits of doing so? This free edie Explains guide gives you everything you need to know.
Simply put, Scope 3 refers to all of the indirect carbon emissions which occur in an organisation’s value chain, which do not relate to the generation of purchased energy. Whilst Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions tend to sit within the organisation, Scope 3 typically sits outside – both upstream and downstream.
Because Scope 3 carbon emissions are so wide-ranging in what they encompass, and vary so significantly for different types of organisation, they are the most complex part of
an organisation’s emissions.
However, for most businesses Scope 3 emissions also make up the lion’s share of their total emissions. Many organisations report that 80% of their emissions fall under the auspices of Scope 3 and, for some, Scope 3 accounts for as much as 97% of their overall emissions. Therefore,
in the context of the UK government’s 2050 net-zero target, they are arguably the most important emissions to address.
The guide has been produced with assistance from supporting partners UL and explains everything you need to know about Scope 3 emissions. It features a viewpoint from UL on the importance of getting to grips with Scope 3 emissions to assist holistic decarbonisation strategies.
Earlier this year, the SBTi announced that it is increasing the minimum temperature pathway ambition for verification to 1.5C, from the “well-below 2C” minimum at present. This represents a major shift in a short amount of time – at the start of 2018, there were only three firms with 1.5C SBTi targets, namely Tesco, Carlsberg and BT.
For targets to be verified in line with 1.5C, if a business’s Scope 3 emissions account for 40% or more of its total annual footprint, targets must be developed to address at least two-thirds of Scope 3 emissions.
Scope 3 emissions requirements are likely to be even more strict under the initiative’s new Net-Zero standard, described as the world’s first science-based certification of companies’ net-zero targets. Validation for the new standard will launch officially next year, following a pilot scheme with seven large businesses. Click here for edie’s full story.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE EDIE EXPLAINS GUIDE.
edie staff
CDP and the SME Climate Hub have launched a new framework to help SMEs measure, report and reduce their climate impacts, amid growing concerns that they are facing numerous decarbonisation barriers that do not impact large firms as much.
SMEs account for around half of employment – and half of business-related emissions – globally
Launched today (25 November), the tool is called the SME Climate Disclosure Framework and will help SMEs in all sectors to measure and report their own direct (Scope 1), power-related (Scope 2) and indirect (Scope 3) emissions. Also included in the tool are the definitions for more complex emissions and climate terminology, plus tailored advice for reducing emissions in line with climate science, taking into account SMEs’ size and sector.
The Exponential Roadmap Initiative and Normative contributed to the development of the tool, alongside CDP and the SME Climate Hub.
The creators of the framework have stated that more and more SME suppliers are being asked to measure, report and decrease their emissions by the large companies who source from them. Corporates are increasingly setting Scope 3 targets and, indeed, will need to do so to have targets verified in line with 1.5C or Net-Zero by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).
There are also increasing demands for sustainability from stakeholders including investors and individual consumers. Moreover, CDP and the SME Climate Hub are highlighting the fact that governments may choose to increase disclosure and decarbonisation requirements for SMEs in the coming years, expanding mandates already placed on corporations.
As well as pressures, the organisations are highlighting the opportunities for SMEs accelerating the low-carbon transition, including increased investment; contribution to sustainable development in emerging economies and the ability to develop and test emerging innovations.
Currently, around 1,800 SMEs disclose climate information through CDP. It is hoped that the new framework will help to increase uptake. The SME Climate Hub covers some 3,000 businesses and has stated that it will use the framework as a “foundation” for simplifying reporting tools on its site.
The framework is modular, meaning that SMEs can complete as many or as few sections in one sitting as they want to. However, there are some minimum reporting requirements. A draft version was tested earlier this year.
Normative’s chief executive and co-founder Kristian Roenn said: “To limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C and prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change, every business needs to achieve net-zero emissions, but we recognize that small companies have limited finances and resources.
“That’s why we are developing free tools to engage SMEs in the race to net zero, helping them calculate, understand, and reduce their emissions. Because we know that in the end, what gets measured gets managed.”
A recent report from the British Business Bank, which polled 1,200 decision-makers at SMEs on their approach to reducing emissions, found that 76% are yet to implement comprehensive decarbonisation strategies. Barriers include a lack of in-house environmental expertise and limited finance.
Sarah George
Sustainability specialists from Pukka Herbs, Virgin Media O2, Costain and the Zero Carbon Forum are among our host of expert speakers for our digital Net-Zero Carbon Inspiration Sessions, taking place TODAY (25 November).
A recording of all of the sessions will be available to watch on-demand for those who register
As the flagship digital event of edie’s Net-Zero November campaign, the Net-Zero Carbon Inspiration Sessions offer up an afternoon of live, interactive webinar presentations and discussions – all dedicated to accelerating your organisation’s decarbonisation progress.
This premium online event effectively combines four edie webinars and masterclasses into a single afternoon, with each session taking a particular format. Registrants will get access to all four webinar sessions on the day.
Be sure to keep an eye on all of edie’s Net-Zero November content here.
Full details of the four webinar sessions are as follows:
Kicking off our Net-Zero Carbon Inspiration Sessions, a selection of energy and climate experts will discuss how the global ambitions of the recent COP26 climate talks are shaping the political, regulatory, infrastructural and institutional elements of net-zero business in the UK.
Discussion points:
Chair:
Speakers:
From rooftop renewables to EV rollouts, our second Inspiration Session will showcase an array of best-practice case studies to help energy and sustainability managers make net-zero buildings and mobility a reality for their business.
Discussion points:
Chair:
Speakers:
Our third Inspiration Session takes a ‘masterclass’ format, we a selection of energy management and behaviour change experts on-hand to show you new and innovative ways to secure buy-in and increase engagement with decarbonisation goals, across the business.
Discussion points:
Chair:
Speakers:
Our fourth and final Inspiration Session will focus on Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs) – breaking down how such Agreements work and how they can support your organisation’s renewable energy and decarbonisation strategy.
Discussion points:
Chair:
Speakers:
A recording of all of the sessions will be available to watch on-demand for those who register.
edie staff
Retailer Ikea’s charitable foundation is allocating a £4.5m grant to the University of Oxford’s Sustainable Finance Group, which is working to help the UK’s financial sector align with the Paris Agreement’s climate pathways.
Pictured: Smiths School of Enterprise and the Environment, where the Group is based. Image: Oxford University
The grant package, confirmed on Monday (22 November), will be allocated over a three-year period and support four of the Group’s research, development and innovation projects. Each project will support the financial sector in divesting and engaging in a manner consistent with net-zero by 2050 and capping the global temperature increase to 1.5C.
A project working to gather and publish “consistent, comprehensive and accurate” data about the historic and current emissions from high-emitting sectors, on an asset-level basis, is the first to receive funding. It is called the Spacial Finance Initiative and it is hoped that it will improve transparency, making it easier for financial firms to measure and manage financed emissions and climate-related risks. This information could then also be disclosed to businesses and the public.
The second project, the Energy Transition Risk and Cost of Capital Project, is working to track changes in the cost of capital for polluting industries and companies amid the growing net-zero movement. Factors that are pushing up costs include policy and regulatory changes and changing investor demands. As well as helping investors measure and manage risk, the project could help policymakers forecast the impact of stricter requirements in more granular detail.
Also receiving funding is the Group’s Public and Third Sector Academy for sustainable finance, which will provide public sector and civil society organisations with the expertise they need to design effective policies, regulations and campaigns for driving a just low-carbon transition among investees. The Academy launched this year and is already supporting central government organisations, local authorities, regulators, NGOs and charities.
The fourth and final project from the Group to receive the Ikea Foundation’s support is a new ‘Future of Engagement’ workstream. This is due to launch next year and will develop, pilot and scale new processes for financial institutions to engage with high-emitting businesses on climate action.
Earlier this month, UK-based asset owners with investments of more than £5.9bn, including universities and NGOs, urged their asset managers to implement more “robust” escalation policies for firms that do not take on board requirements from engagement. There has been much discussion this year on whether engagement processes are transparent enough and whether they should, ultimately, have a fixed end date at which point divestment would be used.
The Oxford Sustainable Finance Group’s director, Dr Ben Caldecot, said that all four projects are potentially “transformative interventions” that are “about going after the big wins, not slight improvements and incremental change”.
The Ikea Foundation’s head of climate action Liz McKeon added that the global mission to cap the temperature increase to 1.5C will not be successful without “interventions from – and change within – the finance sector”.
She said that academic institutions can “provide the north star” in terms of gathering and disseminating information that can help ensure policy and business decisions are made with climate front-of-mind.
Back in April, to mark Earth Day, the Ikea Foundation outlined plans to spend an additional €1bn on initiatives supporting the low-carbon transition within five years.
COP26 context
At COP26, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a vision for making the nation the world’s first “net-zero financial centre”.
This will be no mean feat. The Government has repeatedly been criticised for excluding sector-specific information for finance in policy packages intended to support its overarching net-zero goal, seemingly relying on private sector leverage rather than new mandates for finance firms in the most part. The Bank of England has also come under fire.
Changes announced by Sunak at COP26 included:
According to WWF and Greenpeace, UK banks and asset managers collectively financed projects emitting 805 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2019 – around twice the UK’s annual national carbon footprint.
Sarah George
Experts in helping your company save money on electric and gas supply.
Copyright © 2020 Company Saving Expert Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Recent Comments