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Sadiq Khan: ‘The climate emergency remains one of the biggest threats we face’

Posted on June 28, 2020July 27, 2020 by dishanth

Ahead of London Climate Action Week, Mayor urges businesses and politicians to ensure momentum is maintained in run up to delayed COP26 Summit

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is preparing to kick off the second annual London Climate Action Week from next week with a stark warning for business and political leaders to step up efforts to tackle the looming “climate emergency”.

The series of events that make up London Climate Action Week have switched to virtual platforms in response to the pandemic and Khan said he was “proud to see that it’s back in 2020, despite the huge challenges posed by Coronavirus”.

“The climate emergency remains one of the biggest threats we face,” he added. “As we recover from Covid-19, we can’t replace one health emergency with another – we need to come out of this crisis embracing a new normal which puts tackling the climate emergency at the heart of everything we do.”

He also stressed that there was an urgent need for businesses and policymakers to work together to further bolster the UK’s reputation for climate action ahead of the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, which has been delayed by a year until autumn 2021

“With the delay to COP 26 we can’t lose the momentum on climate action, so I’m pleased to see that London organisations are leading the way, showing once again that the capital is a driving force for action nationally and globally,” Khan said.

The comments come amidst growing fears that the UK may struggle to submit its updated climate action plan to the UN by the end of this year, as agreed under the Paris Agreement.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) yesterday published a wide-ranging report on the UK’s decarbonisation efforts, which warned progress remained too slow on a number of fronts and urged Ministers to deliver a green recovery that can accelerate emissions reductions across the economy.

Next week’s series of virtual events are expected to both showcase some of London’s world-leading climate projects and provide forums for leading experts from across government, finance, business, and civil society to discuss how to accelerate the next phase of decarbonisation.

Specifically, the events are set to focus on how to mobilise green investment to rebuild economies; enhance international collaboration to address the climate crisis; and develop and deploy solutions that boost climate adaptation and resilience.

“The Covid-19 crisis and the shift of the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow to 2021 threatens to take momentum out of global climate action at the very time when huge decisions are being made on economic recovery which will shape our future world,” said Nick Mabey, Chief Executive of think tank E3G. “Actions over the next 18 months will determine whether the world moves onto a path that will keep 1.5C within reach. London Climate Action Week is an opportunity for London’s cutting-edge climate organisations to re-energise the climate debate by working with colleagues worldwide to find innovative solutions.”

His comments were echoed by Fiona Reynolds, chief executive at the Principles for Responsible Investment, who argued that “with COP26 postponed due to Covid-19 London Climate Action Week is more important than ever”.

“We must keep momentum and focus on the transition to a net-zero world,” she added. “We really are in the race of our lives.”

Nigel Topping, High Level Climate Action Champion for COP26, said the hope was that the event would advance one of the top priorities for the climate summit – building support for, and momentum around, the net zero transition.

“What I’d like to see on climate action is for every business, every investor, every city, every country to commit to get to net zero carbon as soon as possible,” he said. “And for them to lay out the practical steps they’re going to take in the next five years to put them on track for that goal.”

The week is scheduled to include more than 60 events hosted by a raft of organisations, including the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), the Grantham Research Institute at LSE, Chatham House, HSBC, climate charity Ashden, and think tank Carbon Tracker.

Source www.businessgreen.com

By James S Murray

Peatlands are under threat. Here’s why we must act now to save them

Posted on March 3, 2020August 12, 2020 by dishanth

Peatlands play a huge role as carbon sinks and biodiversity hotspots.
Centuries of depletion, either by drainage or peat extraction, have put them under huge risk.
The damage can be reversed, as current projects demonstrate.
We must regenerate damaged peatlands and save those that still exist today.

Wetlands are known by many names such as peatlands, marshes, bogs, fens or mires. What they all have in common is that their landscape is temporarily or permanently saturated with water. But if you think that these areas are just swamps with no significant role, then you are wrong. These landscapes are of special importance – not only for their water storage and purification capacity, but also in their roles as carbon sinks and biodiversity hotspots.

Why are peatlands important?

Peatlands are a particular type of wetland that builds up peat by accumulating dead plant material, which is prevented from biodegrading thanks to the water saturation. In peatlands, this constantly growing layer of organic matter (peat) slowly accumulates carbon and permanently sequesters it. And even though little attention has been given to peatlands so far, their hidden potential is enormous. Currently covering around 3% of the earth’s solid surface, peatlands store around 33% of the world’s overall carbon, which represent more carbon than in all forests combined worldwide.

Peatlands are also hotspots for biodiversity. Although few plant and animal species live in these nutrient-poor, acidic and wet raised wetlands, those that do are highly specialised and dependent on this habitat.

An intact peatland also contributes to a balanced water budget for an entire landscape by helping attenuate floodings during heavy precipitation.

Peatlands are at risk

Peatlands have been at risk for centuries. They are either drained to make way for fertile pasture and cropland, or they are destroyed by the extraction of peat, which is used as a source of energy. When peatlands are drained, their peat is exposed to air and releases its carbon in form of CO2, 20 times faster than it was sequestered.

Peatlands in Switzerland

In the early 19th century, there were around 250,000 hectares of wetlands in Switzerland. This area had already reduced by 40% by 1900; today there are less than 2,000 hectares left. This means that over the past 200 years, more than 90% of the peatlands in Switzerland have been lost. They might be gone altogether within this century if no action is taken.

Restoring peatlands

To avoid this nearly irreversible loss, regeneration measures have been taken in around 30% of the remaining Swiss peatlands over the past three decades. To date, regeneration projects have been financed mainly by the Swiss federal government and the cantons.

As part of its sustainability efforts for the 2019 Annual Meeting, the World Economic Forum also supported the restoration of 2.5 hectares of three different peatlands in the region of the Engadin in the Grisons, two of which are now completed. Acknowledging that an event such as the meeting in Davos by nature consumes finite resources and causes emissions, the Forum wanted to take responsibility for both. In addition to measuring and offsetting these, the Forum also sought to create a positive legacy within the region that hosts the Annual Meeting.

The biggest of the three sites – ‘Salastrains’, in St. Moritz – was drained in the last century by the installation of artificial ditches and its peat was mined for heating purposes. Three restoration measures have been taken in response: First, the installation of watertight wooden dams around the area; second, damming the old drainage ditches; and third, directing the spring water back into the bog area. The peatland area is now rewetted, stopping biological degradation and the release of CO2 emissions, but instead sequestering carbon. Regular plant samples allow us to assess the condition of the rewetted area, and progress of the peat development over time. A final report on this project will be published in April this year.

With only 1 to 10 millimetres of peat being built up per year in a peatland, regeneration measures are indispensable, and protecting the remaining peatlands is crucial.

Read more about sustainability at the Forum: http://wef.ch/sustainability

Written by

Laura Saputelli, Sustainability Specialist, Swiss Public Affairs and Sustainability, World Economic Forum

Peter Staubli, Co-founder and director, Beck & Staubli

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

This top-10 of business risks misses the biggest of them all: climate change

Posted on January 7, 2020August 12, 2020 by dishanth

Climate change is a very real and serious threat to society. Extreme weather events such as heatwaves and flooding are becoming more commonplace and severe, leaving communities to deal with often devastating humanitarian and economic costs.

In the past 12 months, global protests have brought millions of young people to the streets to voice their opinions, with the result that both policy-makers and businesses are beginning to sit up and take notice. And a report by a UK environmental non-profit showed that the world’s largest 500 companies could potentially face $1 trillion of financial risks in the short term due to climate change impacts such as higher operating costs, asset write-offs and falls in demand.

This is why, while reading the results of the World Economic Forum’s 2019 Regional Risks for Doing Business report, which is based on a survey of around 13,000 European business leaders, I was surprised to see that climate change did not appear anywhere in the top-10 risks. For me, it is the biggest existential risk for doing business in Europe – and companies need to act now to be prepared.

Unfortunately, we are not on track to meet the Paris Agreement targets. Businesses urgently need to understand where and how their operations and supply chains are vulnerable to the physical risks of climate change. Equally important is that companies assess their transition risks so that their business models not only remain relevant in a lower-carbon future, but they can seize the opportunities that will be presented.

What are the risks identified for Europe by the report?

Cyberattacks are the top threat in Europe, according to the report. The digital world continues to evolve rapidly; more and more devices are connected to the internet and attackers are getting more organized, meaning the threat from external cyberattacks is always increasing.

It’s important that customers trust the companies they do business with not to just provide them with the products and services they need, but to do so in a way that is responsible, ethical and protects their personal information.

What’s not on this list is as important as what is
Image: World Economic Forum 2019 Regional Risks for Doing Business report

This means businesses must continuously invest in their cybersecurity capabilities and should allocate significant resources to proposition development and artificial intelligence. Doing so allows firms to better serve their customers and protect them against constantly evolving cyber-risks.

Turning towards macroeconomic and geopolitical risks, Europe is experiencing the twin effects of a natural slowdown in the economic cycle and a political move to the right. Unfortunately, one feeds the other: weak growth tends to result in a shift to the political right and more inward-looking economies. Factors like Brexit and the US-China trade war only serve to increase the chances of a market sell-off and to heighten volatility across the region.

“(Climate change) is the biggest existential risk for doing business in Europe”

In such a scenario, it is likely that central banks will further loosen interest rates and increase asset purchases, driving prices higher, inflating today’s asset bubble further and causing discontent among those who feel savers are being penalized.

Companies with a strong balance sheet, a global/local business model and well-diversified portfolios will be better-placed to navigate these headwinds and be there for their customers when needed. Moving from a reactive to a preventative role will become increasingly important.

Economic, geopolitical and cyber-risks undoubtedly pose an immediate threat to doing business in Europe. However, we all need to acknowledge that climate change is an existential risk to the world – and that includes how we do business. It needs to be at the forefront of decisions, because – if left ignored – the damage will be extensive and irreversible.

Written by

Alison Martin, CEO EMEA and Bank Distribution, Zurich Insurance Group

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.