Climate Alarmism
More than 1,600 companies identified by non-profit platform CDP as having the biggest impact on the environment are not disclosing environmental data, it said as it launched its latest campaign to get firms to provide the information.
CDP, which has standardised data to allow investors and others to compare corporate performance in areas like climate change, water and deforestation, said 288 financial institutions with around $29 trillion in assets will write to the companies to urge them to disclose the data.
The companies targeted in the 2023 campaign include repeat non-disclosers such as Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Glencore (GLEN.L) and Caterpillar (CAT.N), CDP said in a statement.
Exxon said it had a plan “to reduce emissions to support a net-zero future while growing value for our shareholders and stakeholders.”
In an emailed statement, the oil giant said between 2016 and end-2021 it had cut the emissions from its own operations and reduced methane emissions intensity from operated assets, and it had hiked the amount it plans to invest on lower-emission initiatives.
Glencore declined to comment.
Caterpillar did not respond to a request for comment.
Collectively, the non-disclosers emit an estimated +4,200 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually – which CDP said was almost equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of the United Kingdom, the European Union and Canada combined.
CDP works to help small groups of lead shareholders target companies and ratchet up pressure on boards to listen, said Claire Elsdon, CDP’s joint global director of capital markets.
Financial institutions need the data “to support risk management practices, tracking portfolio alignment to net zero goals and unlocking sustainability-linked opportunities,” she said. “These uses can serve to not only safeguard but also boost long-term profitability,” Elsdon said.
Since it launched in 2017, CDP has expanded the universe of companies it targets for data disclosure. That has meant the number of non-disclosing companies targeted this year is higher than in its 2022 campaign.
Despite the progress, disclosure remains a problem in high-emitting sectors and getting laggards to submit data will prove tricky, she acknowledged.
Overall, about 50% of companies across sectors disclose environmental data, Elsdon told Reuters.
The 2022 campaign delivered responses from 388 high-impact companies out of nearly 1,500 targeted, and CDP said firms were 2.3 times more likely to disclose if they were directly engaged by financial institutions.
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Read MoreGlobal airlines are setting up a task force to deal with non-carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, stepping up efforts to tackle cloudy streaks formed by aircraft known as contrails, an environmental threat that until now has taken a backseat to carbon pollution in the response to global warming.
The move comes as the International Air Transport Association (IATA), representing some 300 major airlines, is preparing to discuss the warming effect of contrails for the first time at its annual meeting in Istanbul next week.
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Read MoreCompanies listed on US stock exchanges — including Canadian ones — are pushing back on new Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) rules for disclosing carbon emissions in a move backed by the Biden Administration as it poises to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure spending.
The new rules, which were first proposed last summer but delayed, would force companies to disclose more information on so-called ‘Scope 3’ emissions, which are defined as indirect emissions that stem from everything from employee commuting, waste disposal, business travel and even purchased goods and services.
According to the Washington Post, the new rules affect everything from pizza deliveries to financial services in addition to the typical huff and puff smokestack industries.
It’s being pushed by the US government, which according to the Brookings Institute, spends about $655 billion a year in goods and services making it by far the largest outside contractor in the country. It’s also being advocated by climate activists who are threatening legal action to force the issue.
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Read MoreThe account, cheekily titled ‘Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody),’ became an overnight sensation when Twitter helmsman, Elon Musk, gave a nod of acknowledgment to one of its tweets.
Socialist Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), lit up Twitter on Tuesday, sharing her histrionic reaction to a popular parody account that artistically crafts a satirical version of the congresswoman – and effectively blowing up its existence.
The account, cheekily titled “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody),” became an overnight sensation when Twitter helmsman, Elon Musk, gave a nod of acknowledgment to one of its tweets.
The lighthearted exchange involved a playful confession from the parody account, stating, “This might be the wine talking, but I’ve got a crush on @elonmusk.” Musk responded in kind, striking a chord with a fire emoji.
The congresswoman took to her Twitter, addressing her followers about the account. “FYI there’s a fake account on here impersonating me and going viral. The Twitter CEO has engaged it, boosting visibility. It is releasing false policy statements and gaining spread. I am assessing with my team how to move forward. In the meantime, be careful of what you see.”
Among the account’s delightful quips are gems like:
I’m having my staff report every single tweet that makes fun of me to the DOJ.
To make windmills more effective – when the wind doesn’t blow, we should have helicopters hover over each of them and keep them turning year round.
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Read MoreArnold Schwarzenegger calls for rebranding climate change: ‘No one gives a sh– about that’
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Read MoreThis essay provides a rough estimate of the environmental benefits associated with
imposing the GHG cap on the oil and gas industry. We show that eliminating all GHG
emissions from the oil and gas sector in 2030 would reduce Canada’s projected GHG
emissions by 29 percent. This is not a trivial number, as an absolute value, even for a
single sector of Canada’s emitting industries.
However, when seen in a global context, even if Canada eliminated all of its GHG
emissions expected in the year 2030 as a result of the new greenhouse gas caps implemented by the current government (187 Mt), the emission reduction would equal fourtenths of one percent of global emissions, a reduction unlikely to have any impact on
the trajectory of the climate in any detectable manner, and hence, to offer only equally
undetectable environmental, health, or safety benefits
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Read MoreToday, oil and gas operations account for around 15% of total energy-related
emissions globally, the equivalent of 5.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas
emissions. In the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050
Scenario, the emissions intensity of these activities falls by 50% by the end of the
decade. Combined with the reductions in oil and gas consumption in this scenario,
this results in a 60% reduction in emissions from oil and gas operations to 2030.
Fortunately, oil and gas producers have a clear opportunity to address the problem
of emissions from their activities through a series of ready-to-implement and costeffective measures. These include tackling methane emissions, eliminating all
non-emergency flaring, electrifying upstream facilities with low-emissions
electricity, equipping oil and gas processes with carbon capture, utilisation and
storage technologies, and expanding the use of hydrogen from low-emissions
electrolysis in refineries.
Upfront investments totalling USD 600 billion would be required to halve the
emissions intensity of oil and gas operations globally by 2030. This is only a
fraction of the record windfall income that oil and gas producers accrued in 2022
– a year of soaring energy prices amid a global energy crisis. This report aims to
inform discussions on these issues in the run-up to the COP28 Climate Change
Conference in Dubai in November and is part of a broader World Energy Outlook
special report to be released later in 2023 focusing on the role of the oil and gas
industry in net zero transitions
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Read MoreThe fat of dead pigs, cattle and chickens is being used to make greener jet fuel, but a new study warns it will end up being worse for the planet.
Animal fats are considered waste, so aviation fuel made from the material has a much lower carbon footprint.
Demand for fuel made from animal by-products is expected to triple by 2030, with airlines leading the charge.
But experts fear scarcity will force other industries to use more palm oil – a huge generator of carbon emissions.
Airlines are under pressure to rein in their huge carbon emissions, which mainly come from burning fossil-based kerosene in aircraft engines.
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Read MoreThis is the moment that a furious motorist drives through a crowd of Just Stop Oil eco zealots during the evening rush hour.
The frustrated driver can be heard pleading with the eco-clowns before he loses his patience and tells them: ‘I will run you over’.
In chaotic scenes, the protesters can be seen trying to thwart his attempts to move them out the way but he presses on, managing to part the crowd before driving off.
Just Stop Oil supporters took up positions on London’s bridges on Tuesday afternoon, bringing traffic to a standstill during rush-hour.
A mob of 68 Just Stop Oil climate activists took a stand around Waterloo, Blackfriars, London Bridge and Tower Bridge – but police were quick to move them off the road.
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