What Caught Our Eye
Developments that we found particularly interesting during the week and why.
Hydrogen for UK home heating ruled out; still important for industry
The 2nd National Infrastructure Assessment report came out during the third week of October. This is particularly interesting: "The Commission’s analysis demonstrates that there is no public policy case for hydrogen to be used to heat individual buildings. It should be ruled out as an option to enable
The beauty of simplification
Sustainable investing evangelist Nawar Alsaadi had a really interesting post on LinkedIn comparing the internet portals of the 1990s to the ESG and sustainability data companies of today. I certainly remember the days of Lycos, Yahoo!, Altavista etc and as Nawar points out they built themselves on being one stop
Corporate lobbying needs closer attention.
... and the ecgi has done just that! Tom Gosling, Executive Director at the European Corporate Governance Institute (ecgi) recently interviewed Professor Michelle Lowry on her research paper ‘Firms’ Transition to Green: Innovation versus Lobbying’ We strongly encourage all Sustainability Professionals to watch the interview (the above video) and then read
Environmental litigation funding - increasing pressure to prevent?
US hedge fund Gramercy (along with some of its clients) has provided $552.5 million in litigation funding (a secured loan) to Pogus Goodhead, a UK law firm involved in a number of class action lawsuits with environmental links.
CBAM: will carbon border taxes help or harm industries?
The trial period for the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism has begun. This could be a game changer, but there is a lot of detail to sort out.
Cooperatives and appellations: addressing the gap between the cost of coffee and farmer income.
The gap between coffee price and farmer income needs bridging. Can Co-operatives and appellations help.
Can renewable electricity now be sold direct to the consumer (in Korea)?
Most households and small businesses have to buy their electricity from a retailer (often known as a distributor), who gets it via the grid. There are some good reasons for this. In most countries, companies that distribute electricity are regulated (for safety reasons), and buying electricity via retailers means consumers
Home energy electrification - more complicated than you think.
We tend to think about home electrification as one of the easiest transitions. Good alternatives already exist. We 'just' need people to switch to electricity for home heating/cooling and cooking. Then we factor in home EV charging, and job done. But, the reality is a lot more
Kenya farm hosts first on-site green hydrogen-to-fertiliser plant.
US-based Talus Renewables, a manufacturer of modular green ammonia systems is starting up a plant in Naivasha, Kenya that will enable local production of both low-cost and carbon-free fertilisers. Talus will supply Kenya Nut Co with fertilisers under a 15-year take-off agreement with the plant expected to produce one tonne
20's plenty?
The introduction of a 20 mph speed limit in built-up areas in Wales has not been without controversy. So emotive was the move that a no confidence vote in the minister who led the introduction of it, Deputy Climate Change Minister Lee Waters, was brought although was easily defeated. The
Building regs backlash in Germany
German Housing Minister Klara Geywitz, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and a number of other senior cabinet members of the German coalition have expressed their concern about potential revisions to the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which would include mandatory renovations for buildings with the worst energy performance. The
All swans are black in the dark
In a recent LinkedIn post, Andreas Posavac, Global Head of ESG, Corporate Governance and M&A Advisory at S&P Global Market Intelligence discussed a multi-year research study by The Generation Foundation and 2° Investing Initiative called "All swans are black in the dark." The study