This week’s insights: record-breaking heat, contentious offsets, and a push for sustainable aviation fuel.
The key takeaways:
🌡️ Hottest day ever – last Monday (22nd July) broke records with an average global temperature of 17.15°C, surpassing the previous day’s record of 17.09°C, per the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. This highlights the intensifying effects of global warming and the urgent need for climate action.
🌩️ UK storms intensified by Climate change – a study from the World Weather Attribution group found that severe storms last Autumn/Winter were made 20% worse from climate change. The resulting destruction and flooding underscore the increasing impact of global warming on extreme weather events.
🌎 Shaky offsets – Microsoft has signed a deal with Occidental Petroleum to buy millions in carbon offsets via direct air capture. However, Occidental admits that similarly captured carbon could be used to extract more oil in the future, raising concerns about the effectiveness and integrity of such offsets.
✈️ Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) push – Airbus and several other airlines launch a $200m fund for SAF development, aligning with the UK’s new mandate for 2% sustainable fuel use by 2025, rising to 22% by 2040. The move is part of a broader effort to reduce aviation's carbon footprint.
Featured chart
Source: Global Footprint Network National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, June 30th 2024.
The ecological footprint measures how fast the world’s population consumes resources and generates waste, compared to how fast nature can absorb waste and generate new resources. A score above one indicates that humanity is using more from nature than the planet can regenerate in a year.
Why this matters
Our over consumption and waste production rates are far beyond what our planet can sustain. At current levels, we would need nearly two earths to remain sustainable. Given we only have one, it’s alarming news. Reducing our ecological footprint is crucial.
Opportunities in Sustainability
This urgent need to reduce our ecological footprint opens up opportunities for companies investing in:
- Green energy: making use of natural, replenishable, resources while reducing reliance on emissions-heavy fossil fuels.
- Resource efficiency and the Circular Economy: innovations that enable us to use fewer resources, while minimising waste by reusing and recycling materials.
- New Climate Technologies: Advancements that help mitigate the impacts of climate change and promote sustainable practices.
By focusing on these areas, we can work towards a more sustainable future.
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