Banks Could Buy Out Coal Plants For Early Closures
Insurer Prudential and lenders ADB, Citi, and HSBC plan to speed up the closing of coal-fired power plants in Asia by buying and closing them within 15 years. Fifteen years is much shorter than a plant’s average lifetime of 46 years,
Are the G7 Countries Sabotaging Their Own Climate Efforts?
To emerge out of the pandemic without having significantly invested into greener economies would be an “unforgivable lost opportunity” for wealthy nations, warns recently re-elected United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. Yet, since the pandemic outbreak, the G7 countries have been
Why we Need Global Cooperation on Border Carbon Adjustment
Border carbon adjustment (BCA), long avoided and dismissed as a policy instrument sure to trigger trade disputes and poison the atmosphere of multilateral climate negotiations, is now the subject of earnest discussion among trade and climate policy-makers, civil society, affected
Should Governments Subsidize Hydrogen?
As countries chart paths to net-zero economies by 2050, hydrogen has enjoyed a new wave of attention. Proponents believe that it could play a key role in decarbonizing industries such as steel, cement, heavy-duty vehicles, and shipping that cannot feasibly
Energy Charter Treaty Reform Gives Strong Political Signal
While a recent amendment on fossil fuel investments is a promising sign that a modernized Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) could spur more ambitious climate action, governments must consider alternative paths toward this goal. On Wednesday 7 October, EU parliamentarians finalized their negotiating mandate
From Apartheid to the Climate Crisis: The Limits of Shareholder Engagement
Derek Bok, Harvard University President, had a problem. The horrors of Apartheid were rocking the nation’s conscience, and demands for divestment from stocks linked to the South African regime were growing louder by the day. Bok needed a response. In a
G20 Recovery Packages Benefit Fossil Fuels More Than Clean Energy
Decisions taken in response to the COVID-19 crisis today will lock in the world’s development patterns for decades. With policy decisions made on a daily basis, information about how public money is being spent can be hard to follow. That
Despite the Climate Emergency, Developing Countries Still Deserve Help With Extractives
Supporting good governance will help, not hinder, the transition from extractives to clean energy in low- and middle-income countries. This summer, the British charity Cafod lambasted the UK government for allocating a small portion of its foreign aid budget to helping low-
Silicon Valley Insider: AMP Americas Extracts Methane from Manure to Fuel Dairy Fleets
Over the past decade (and beyond), we have consistently heard and read about electric cars and their potential to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, in 2018, the US saw electric vehicle sales increase by 81%, which was largely
Raising Awareness of Sustainable Bioenergy in West Africa
The Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) has produced a set of twenty-four indicators aimed at the assessment and long-term monitoring of bioenergy sustainability at the national level. The GBEP Sustainability Indicators are intended to inform policymakers about the environmental, social and economic
Planetary Prosperity Means Zero Carbon
Mother Nature seems to be in full revolt. A stone's throw from the city of Oakland, where Global Footprint Network is based, the seasonal Diablo winds recently reached record intensity, fanning the worst fires that the famous wine-producing region of
U.S. Action on Climate Change Will Continue
President Donald Trump’s announcement that he wants to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement was a mistake of historic proportions, not only because such a move is the antithesis of Sustainable Development Goal 13 — to “take urgent