Today’s ESG Updates
- Hormuz Disruptions Drive Increase in Coal: The war in Iran is causing energy disruptions worldwide, as many countries are increasing their use of climate-polluting coal.
- SFDR Review Opens Fossil Fuel Industries to ‘Transition’ Category: The newest review of the SFDR by the ECON committee allows investments in companies actively increasing fossil fuel production.
- Google Signs Massive Carbon Credit Deal With Mitti Labs: The four-year agreement could save 1.5 trillion liters of water and eliminate 3 million tons of near-term warming impact in Global Warming Potential in 20 years.
- Climeworks Doubles Carbon Capture Performance: The DAC leader has seen a 50% decrease in operating costs and doubled performance at its Mammoth facility in Iceland.
Hormuz gas and oil disruptions correlate with increased coal consumption
The International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report on Thursday detailing the increase in coal consumption worldwide. The IEA estimates that global coal use would reach a record 8.94 billion metric tons, up 1.2% from 2025. While the report clearly states that disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz do not directly affect coal supply, disruptions to oil and gas supply have created a ripple effect across global energy markets.
The IEA also pointed to El Niño as a reason for increased coal consumption. As the weather phenomenon causes heatwaves and drought across the planet, countries like India and Vietnam will likely reduce hydropower output and increase coal use, aligning with higher demand for air conditioning.
Five years ago, diplomats met in Glasgow, Scotland, and agreed to phase out climate-harming coal use in their countries. Despite these promises, coal use across Japan, Korea, China, and Europe has grown. The resource is cheap and easy to acquire, but its effect on the environment is detrimental. While countries are also looking to renewable energy sources to combat the oil and gas chokehold caused by the war in Iran, coal is filling the interim need and polluting air across the globe.
Klimado – Navigating climate complexity just got easier. Klimado offers a user-friendly platform for tracking local and global environmental shifts, making it an essential tool for climate-aware individuals and organizations.
EU opens fossil fuel industries to “transition” category in SFDR
The European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) met this week to discuss the current Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). Many, including the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF — formerly World Wildlife Fund), are upset with the outcome.
During the review of the SFDR, ECON proposed allowing companies that are expanding their fossil fuel production to be listed under the SFDR’s “transition” category, allowing these companies to receive investments that should be reserved for companies committed to the energy transition.
Thibault Girardot, Sustainable Finance Policy Officer at WWF EU, said, “Climate science is largely absent from ECON’s position. They have narrowed who the rules apply to and loosened what counts as a credible transition to sustainability. This undermines what the SFDR is meant to achieve and puts Europe’s sustainability goals at risk.”
Related Articles
Here is a list of articles selected by our Editorial Board that have gained significant interest from the public:
Google signs agreement to purchase one million carbon credits
Google signed one of its largest carbon credit deals with Indian startup Mitti Labs. Through the four-year agreement, Google promises to purchase one million carbon credits by 2030, which could save 1.5 trillion liters of water and eliminate 3 million tons of near-term warming impact in global warming potential (GWP20) over 20 years.
Founded in 2023, Mitti Labs has developed a scalable Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) method aimed at helping small rice farmers reduce their methane emissions. Methane emissions are a critical environmental issue, as methane has 85 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide, and rice paddies are a major contributor to these emissions. Through Mitti Labs’ AWD practice, rice farmers could cut their methane emissions in half. Not only will it reduce emissions, but the practice will cut water use by around 40%. The startup has already saved 500 billion liters of water, and the partnership with Google will cover more than 100,000 hectares.
Climeworks doubles carbon capture performance at Mammoth facility
Climeworks is a leader in direct air capture (DAC) and carbon removal solutions worldwide. Since beginning operations at its Mammoth facility in Iceland 18 months ago, the facility has doubled its carbon capture performance. An article published by Jan Wurzbacher, Climeworks’ co-founder and co-CEO, details the key performance improvements at the Mammoth facility, with claims that operating costs have seen a 50% decrease.
Since beginning real-world operations, the Mammoth’s two carbon capture collectors have reached a peak daily run rate of 1.37 tons of captured CO₂. This has led to the permanent removal of approximately 675 tons of carbon dioxide in the first half of 2026. The company plans to test its next-generation DAC technology at the start of 2027, further strengthening its position as a leader in successful carbon capture.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — Cover Photo Credit: Vikash Singh.
