11 AM CET The UK government announces over £200 million in funding for projects to advance greener air travel
The UK government has announced over £200 million in funding for projects to advance greener air travel and boost the country’s economy. The funds, delivered through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme, will support the development of innovative landing gear and more efficient aircraft wings, engines, and sensors with reduced carbon emissions.
The investment is expected to create high-skilled jobs and attract further private investment in aerospace, totaling at least £20 billion and supporting over 100,000 jobs. The initiative aligns with the government’s commitment to economic growth and achieving net-zero air travel by 2050.
The funding announcement was made by Industry Minister Nusrat Ghani at the Paris Air Show. Ghani emphasized the government’s support for sectors like aviation and the goal of positioning UK firms as leaders in developing future technologies for sustainable air travel. The ATI Programme, backed by the government, has already provided £3.2 billion of support for the aerospace sector since 2013, driving over 300 R&D projects and creating thousands of high-wage, green jobs nationwide.
Airlines are also looking to take steps to become more sustainable. At Paris Air Show, Riadh Air CEO Tony Douglas affirmed that airlines must become sustainable to be competitive in the future. Mr. Douglas will be one of the speakers at Reset Connect next week in London. Reset Connect is the largest sustainability event in the UK, and Impakter is a partner of the event.
10:30 AM CET – ATP Tennis Player and Infosys Launch their Carbon Tracker to track and mitigate their emissions
ATP – the Association of Tennis Professionals – and Infosys have launched Carbon Tracker, a unique app that allows tennis players to track and mitigate their travel emissions. With hundreds of professional players traveling extensively for tournaments each season, travel contributes significantly to their overall carbon footprint.
Developed in collaboration with Infosys, Carbon Tracker enables players to monitor their travel, understand their emissions, make conscious travel decisions, and offset their impact by purchasing verified carbon credits. The long-term goal of the app is to promote greener travel choices on the Tour, providing players with insights into their emissions across multiple seasons and offering educational resources on sustainability practices.
Several players, including Dominic Thiem and Andrey Rublev, have committed to tracking and mitigating 100% of their tournament travel emissions in 2023. The app utilizes Gold Standard, a leading sustainable development standard and climate action partner of the ATP, which offers over 2,900 certified projects worldwide.
These projects range from supporting biodiversity conservation to improving cookstoves in various countries. The app also features a leaderboard where the top three players at the end of the season can win a share of a $100,000 prize pool donated to environmental sustainability charities of their choice.
10 AM CET – Himalayan Glaciers melting put in danger the lives of two billion people
Glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayan mountains are undergoing unprecedented melting rates, posing significant risks to the region.
According to a report from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, if greenhouse gas emissions are not drastically reduced, these glaciers could lose up to 80% of their volume by the end of this century.
Most of the world’s #glaciers will completely disappear at 2°C of warming.
The Alps. The Andes. Patagonia. Iceland. Scandinavia. The North American Rockies. New Zealand.
We’re currently on track for 2.7°C.
– at this temperature, even three-quarters of glaciers in the Hindu… pic.twitter.com/inqUaX2lka
— ICIMOD (@icimod) June 19, 2023
The report highlights the growing likelihood of flash floods and avalanches in the coming years, impacting nearly two billion people downstream of the twelve rivers from these mountains.
The Hindu Kush Himalayan ice and snow are vital water sources for these rivers, providing fresh water to millions across Asia. The report emphasizes that the communities in these mountainous regions, which have contributed minimally to global warming, are at high risk due to climate change, and current adaptation efforts are insufficient to address the challenges they face.
The study underscores the alarming impact of climate change on the cryosphere, areas covered by snow and ice, which are among the most severely affected by global warming. Recent research reveals that Mount Everest’s glaciers have lost the equivalent of 2,000 years’ worth of ice in just the past three decades.
9 AM CET – UN Adopts Historic High Seas Treaty
In March this year, the United Nations (UN) agreed on a legally-binding treaty to protect marine life on high seas. On Monday, June 19, the treaty passed legal scrutiny and was adopted by UN members.
The high seas treaty contains 75 articles focusing on protecting marine ecosystems and biodiversity. This is a historic first in protecting our oceans.
Our ocean is under threat.
But the High Seas Treaty on protecting biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction gives the ocean a fighting chance.
This historic achievement is an example of global threats being met by global action.https://t.co/3aS4Ys4c9H pic.twitter.com/tk2DTK4oAi
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) June 19, 2023
“The ocean is the lifeblood of our planet, and today, you have pumped new life and hope to give the ocean a fighting chance,” the UN Secretary-General António Guterres told delegates in his remarks on the treaty on Monday.
On September 20, during the General Assembly’s annual meeting of world leaders, the new treaty will be opened for signatures. For it to be effective, it must be ratified by at least 60 countries. Read more about the High Seas Treaty in a separate article.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of Impakter.com — In the Featured Photo: Himalayan Mountains. Featured Photo Credit: Unsplash.
