Today’s ESG Updates
- UK Appoints Climate Security Representative, Billed as a World First: Dame Madeleine Alessandri, who chairs the joint intelligence committee, will advise No. 10 on climate-linked national security risks.
- Sakatti Mine Puts EU Nature Law and Critical Metals Goals at Odds: Part of Anglo American’s copper, nickel and cobalt project lies beneath a protected Finnish wetland, and Helsinki has sought Brussels’ view before it weighs an exemption that would be a first for a Finnish mine.
- COP31 Leaders Warn War and Trade Disputes Must Not Crowd Out Climate Action: Brazil, Turkey and the UN chief urged closer cooperation as talks centre on a proposed goal to lift electricity’s share of global energy use to 35% by 2035, while the U.S. stayed away for a second year.
- India’s Grid Panel Clears $7.34bn Corridor for Clean Power: The national transmission panel approved a 1,150-kV link that would carry western renewable output to eastern demand hubs, with a build time of about six years and a first phase across Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal.
UK appoints world’s first climate security representative
The UK has appointed Dame Madeleine Alessandri, chair of the joint intelligence committee, as its special representative for climate security, a post billed as the first of its kind worldwide. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is due to unveil the role at COP31 in Antalya, Turkey. She will advise No. 10 on climate-linked national security risks.
A joint intelligence committee report from her tenure warned that security impacts could begin within five years, from food shortages to mass migration. The move follows the hottest summer on record for Britain.
Burnham will also back a proposed 35% electrification target for 2035 and plans to raise £5 billion in private finance for clean energy projects worldwide. Campaigners point to the approved Jackdaw gasfield, the Rosebank oilfield under review, and cuts to climate finance. Mohamed Adow of Power Shift Africa sees double standards.
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Sakatti mine tests EU nature rules and critical metals goals
Anglo American’s Sakatti project in northern Finland could supply copper, nickel and cobalt that Europe needs to cut reliance on China. Part of the deposit sits beneath Viiankiaapa, a rare wetland shielded by both the EU Habitats Directive and a Finnish mire law.
Helsinki has asked Brussels for advice before it weighs an exemption, which would be a first for a Finnish mine. The company says the project could double national copper production, lift nickel output by 25% and add nearly €500 million a year to the economy. Two Finnish agencies doubt its offset plan, and one found it may protect only three of 12 affected habitats and species.
Conservationists and Green MEPs warn of precedent, though a ministry official disagrees. Lapland’s regional council has until January 31, 2027, to file extra data. Agencies then review it, and a ministry official expects the Commission to need four to six months.
Related Articles
Here is a list of articles selected by our Editorial Board that have gained significant interest from the public:
COP31 leaders urge climate action as war and oil shocks divert focus
Leaders at COP31 in Antalya urged the world to keep climate action on the agenda despite wars and trade disputes. Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said arms and tariffs now outweigh concern for future generations.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said the crisis outruns the response. The U.S. and Israeli war on Iran has hit Middle East oil shipments and lifted fuel prices worldwide. Saudi Arabia’s energy minister argued that climate measures must not block economic development.
Talks center on a Turkish proposal to lift electricity’s share of global energy use to 35% by 2035, from just above 20% today. Critics say it may achieve little without a clearer plan to cut fossil fuel use. The U.S. stayed away for a second year, and five other G7 nations sent no top leader. A UN report last month said the world is on course to break the 1.5C limit.
India approves $7.3billion 1,150-kV corridor for clean power
India’s national transmission panel has cleared a 1,150-kV power corridor that would route clean electricity from the west to industrial and urban users in the east. The project carries an estimated cost of nearly 688 billion rupees ($7.34 billion) and a build time of about six years. It would be India’s highest-voltage network, able to dispatch far more power than today’s 765-kV lines. A 1,150-kV system can carry substantially more electricity, or the same volume over fewer lines and less land, with lower losses.
The plan reflects fast growth in renewable output in western states such as Rajasthan and higher power needs in eastern states such as Odisha. Phase one would connect Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal and link to a 6,000-megawatt renewable power system from Bhadla, Rajasthan’s solar region. India aims for 500 gigawatts of non-fossil generation by 2030, up from over 300 gigawatts.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — Cover Photo Credit: Blesson Poulose
