Learn about Shell's mega-profits, the benefits of tree coverage, the UN-convened coalition banning carbon credits, and more, with our summary of this week's sustainability news.
03/02/23
This past week was filled with interesting sustainability and climate news, we’ve summarised the top stories below.
Shell makes highest profits in 115 years amid calls for bigger windfall tax
Shell reported its quarterly profits hit £50bn - one of the largest profits in UK corporate history according to the Guardian.
Trade unions and the opposition have criticised Rishi Sunak for letting oil and gas companies “off the hook”.
The government has been put under pressure to reconsider its windfall tax strategy after Shell confirmed it only paid $134m in British windfall taxes during 2022.
News about Shell’s record profits come amid predictions that the energy price cap will go up in April 2023.
Shall and other oil and gas companies have observed spikes in profits due to the embargoes imposed on Russian oil since the invasion of Ukraine. Russia has also cut off gas supplies to continental Europe.
The company has also faced criticism over misleadingly overstating how much it is spending on renewable energy.
The UN-convened investor coalition bans carbon credits
Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA) is an UN-convened member-led initiative of institutional investors committed to the net-zero by 2050 target in their investment portfolios.
In its latest net-zero guidance framework for investors and asset owners, the coalition has announced that it will soon require its members to stop relying on carbon offsetting schemes.
The investors are also being asked to set targets for private equity investments, which is supposed to guarantee more ambitious standards for emissions reductions and more transparency on how assets are progressing towards net-zero.
NZAOA is using Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) science-based emission pathways for emissions reductions. These range from 22% to 32% by 2025 and from 40% to 60% by 2030.
The group is also requiring its members “to give due consideration to societal impacts when steering their portfolios towards net-zero economy alignment”.
Government announces plans to restore England’s wildlife habitats
Britain will soon announce a new environment improvement plan aiming to restore 500,000 hectares of wildlife habitat to protect some of England’s rarest species.
The new plan comprises 70 new projects, 25 of which will involve establishing or expanding National Nature Reserves.
Currently, National Nature Reserves cover only 0.7% of England’s land surface.
The announcement follows recent criticism of the government from the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) regarding a chronic decline in the abundance of key plants and wildlife species, and the government's failure to reach its environmental targets.
Other plans announced by the government involve ensuring that everyone lives within a 15-minute walk from a green space or water, restoring 500 miles of river, and establishing 3,000 hectares of new woodlands.
New study finds that more tree coverage in cities could reduce heat-related deaths
A new study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health has found that planting more trees could significantly lower the temperature in cities and prevent heat-related deaths.
If the tree cover in European cities increased from an average of 14.9% to 30% it could reduce heat-related deaths by as much as 39%.
The study was based on a first-of-its-kind modelling of 93 European cities.
Heatwaves and fluctuating temperatures are associated with numerous negative health outcomes, such as cardiorespiratory failures.
Heat-related illnesses and deaths are expected to become an even bigger burden to health services in the future as climate change progresses.
Cities in the south and eastern Europe are expected to benefit the most from the increase in tree coverage, as this is where summer temperatures are highest, and tree coverage is lower compared to the rest of the continent.
In Lisbon, Portugal, tree coverage has been estimated to be as low as 3.6%, and in Barcelona, it is 8.4%. London’s tree coverage is 15.5%.
One of the study's co-authors said there is enough space to plant more trees in all analysed cities, and there is no need to replace existing buildings with parks. However, he mentioned that car-dominated cities should consider replacing asphalt roads with trees.
