Alan Pears would like you to know that your Zoom meeting is not, in fact, going to destroy the planet. All the CO2 that’s already in the atmosphere, however... I get a bit tired of repeated, breathless articles “exposing” how almost every action that helps our transformation towards a low-carbon, advanced global economy is actually a problem. Nothing is perfect, but a lot of changes are positive—if they are well-managed. For example, I often hear expressions of concern about the carbon (and broader) environmental impacts of digitalisation. The International Energy Agency has looked at this iss ..read more

The world’s patience with the fossil fuel industry is wearing thin. This was the stark message delivered to major international oil companies this week in an unprecedented day of reckoning for their role in the climate crisis. In a stunning series of defeats for the oil industry, over the course of less than 24 hours, courtrooms and boardrooms turned on the executives at Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron. Shell was ordered by a court in The Hague to go far further to reduce its climate emissions, while shareholder rebellions in the US imposed emissions targets at Chevron and a boardroom overhaul a ..read more

Exxon Mobil suffered a stunning loss at its annual shareholder meeting yesterday, as a small new activist investor focused on climate change, Engine No. 1, won at least two seats on its 12-member board. To corporate America, the upset was a clear sign that company boards and leaders need to pay attention to environmental, social and governance issues (known as E.S.G.) — or suffer rebukes ..read more

Net zero does not cost jobs: it replaces 5 million lost in oil, gas and coal with eight times as many jobs for engineers, electrical experts, offshore operators, solar technicians or lithium miners, whether directly or indirectly. It does not raise energy costs: it cuts the average bill for households on heating, cooling, electricity, and car fuel from $US2800 ($3630) to $US2300 ($2980) a year by 2030 in advanced countries. The energy share of disposable income halves from 4 per cent to 2 per cent by mid-century. It is tantamount to free energy ..read more

That’s the bold assessment from the International Energy Agency, the organization that has spent four decades working to secure oil supplies for industrialized nations. In its new road map for achieving net-zero global carbon emissions by 2050, the IEA laid out in stark terms what the planet must do to avoid harmful the climate change -- and just how far that is from our current reality ..read more

ExxonMobil is the greatest single-use plastic waste polluter in the world, contributing 5.9m tonnes to the global waste mountain, concludes the analysis by the Minderoo Foundation of Australia with partners including Wood Mackenzie, the London School of Economics and Stockholm Environment Institute. The largest chemicals company in the world, Dow, which is based in the US, created 5.5m tonnes of plastic waste, while China’s oil and gas enterprise, Sinopec, created 5.3m tonnes ..read more

Macquarie Group chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake says Australia is trailing the world on electric vehicles after the investment powerhouse reported a record full-year profit and outlined a bold plan to accelerate its push into green financing. Ms Wikramanayake said Australia was at an earlier stage than other markets on the transition to electric vehicles and called on industries with large transportation fleets, such as the mining sector, to convert ..read more

It’s encouraging that the new president’s climate action strategy includes important and valid emphasis on climate change mitigation. He has spoken favorably about decreasing greenhouse gas emissions primarily through increasing investments in renewable power, while increasing regulations to direct the private sector toward more efficient technologies and operations. Nevertheless, to connect this strategy to apply to all Americans, the White House must emphasize climate resilience. So far, the administration’s policies are trending in a positive direction ..read more

Australia can achieve a net-zero carbon emissions electricity system without threatening affordability or reliability of supply. It’s a myth that Australia needs to continue to rely on coal-fired power stations to keep electricity bills down. But we should not rush to 100 per cent renewable energy, because ensuring reliability would be costly – especially in the depths of winter in the southern states when electricity demand is high, solar supply is low, and persistent wind droughts are possible ..read more

The casualties of the climate crisis could include financial stability, the global economy, and the value of investments. As governments catch up to the realities of climate change and the policy response continues to gather pace, global markets need transparency into the financial impacts of climate change on companies. ‌The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) released their recommendations in 2017 to improve and increase reporting of climate-related financial information. Today, 2,000+ organizations support TCFD, including 110+ regulators and government entities a ..read more