Sustainability is becoming a growing concern as the effects of global warming and climate change cause disruptions all over the globe in the form of hotter temperatures, severe weather events, droughts, higher ocean acidity. Those poses dangers for marine life, food insecurity and higher health risks resulting from poor nutrition, lack of clean drinking water or an increased incidence of infectious diseases such as malaria as a result of changing climate patterns.
People living in developing countries may have already been at risk of displacement or poverty, with estimates showing that approximately 23 million people are left vulnerable to poverty each year as a result of weather-related disasters, a number that is bound to increase in the future if things don’t change.
UK ETS
The UK Emission Trading Scheme is a cap-and-trade system which aims to cap the whole level of greenhouse gas emissions with the purpose of incentivising decarbonisation.
Recently, the government revealed plans to integrate energy coming directly from waste plants as well as woodland projects and carbon removals. The plan to get the ETS to include CO2 emissions from waste incineration is expected to become a reality from 2028 as a means to encourage the adoption of decarbonisation tech across all operators.
Clothing repairs
Waste is a growing problem all over the world as a result, an unsurprising issue considering the fact that people often shop for items they don’t need or barely even want.
One of the sectors where this trend is most apparent is fashion, which is single handedly responsible for the production of more than 90 million tons of discarded garments that end up in landfills. Only around 20% are ever reused or recycled, although many of them could still be worn several times more.
The rise of micro trends and ultrafast fashion has changed shopping patterns and made it so that a piece might only be put on once or twice before ending up in the bin. In an effort to reverse the trends, France will begin using repair bonuses for consumers looking to repair and mend old items in order to extend their lifetime and reduce waste.
Ecocide
On February 22nd, 2024, Belgium made history as the first European country to make ecocide a criminal offence on both the national and international levels. The move has been hailed as a hallmark of outlawing the destruction of ecosystems, with climate activists hoping that it will encourage other countries to follow in Belgium’s footsteps and include environmental concerns in the penal codes.
The new penal code provides imprisonment of up to twenty years for individuals found guilty of ecocide, while the businesses that refuse to comply with the standards and regulations might be eligible to pay approximately 1.6 million euros in fines.
This movement is part of a more significant push for sustainability within the corporate world as well, including a focus on recycling through the use of Balen in Dutch, more efficient and sustainable power solutions and a commitment to avoid harming the environment through the excessive extraction and use of natural materials.
Green shipping
Freight and transportation are responsible for a fair share of carbon emissions, but since they are indispensable to human life, the only solution is to find ways through which their impact can be brought and kept to a minimum.
In May 2024, a new strategy was revealed that could change things for ports in the UK and Ireland. The project aims to establish green shipping corridors, routes through which zero-emission transports are not just theoretically possible but also practically demonstrated and reported between the two regions.
The eco-friendly freight would take place through electric vessels, with the first viable routes identified between Belfast and Heysham, as well as Dublin and Birkenhead. Ships would also get clean electricity while docked, a process that could help curb emissions even further and reduce gas footprints, both crucial aspects for the environment and human communities.
Hydrogen
Germany is well-known as a debt-averse nation, which has created doubts regarding its path in the transition to green energy. The use of hydrogen might provide an answer to the conundrum, as the country is gearing up to build a network that can make use of it. This infrastructure would be operated by a private enterprise, with users charged just enough to cover the construction costs in their entirety until 2055. This plan would be in full compliance with the debt break of Germany since the nation expects to see sizable profits from the endeavour.
The financing of this network has been regarded as a pivotal milestone in Germany, and the fact that the legislation could be implemented so quickly has been a cause for optimism. The use of hydrogen could make Germany a leader in green technology through the use of a device called an electrolyser, which gathers hydrogen directly from water. The tech could potentially clean up the entire heavy industry, like steel-making.
Icelandic companies
Iceland has one of the largest concentrations of SMEs in the entire world. This terminology refers to small and midsize enterprises that keep their revenues, employee numbers and assets under a certain threshold. These businesses are closer to their customers, as well as far more flexible and able to make decisions much faster.
At a national level, they generate lots of employment, foster growth, innovation, development and allow for a much more equal distribution of wealth and income across all regions. A larger number of smaller businesses are also more environmentally sound than large corporations since they typically consume less energy and resources and produce less waste.
Viking Link
The Viking Link is the longest undersea cable in the world, connecting the United Kingdom with Denmark. Its main impact will be to boost the UK’s electricity interconnection level compared to its previous 6% rate recorded ten years ago. The link delivers low-cost and low-carbon power directly to consumers in the United Kingdom. As the project is a joint Danish-UK effort, it will benefit the economies of both countries and allow for improved security of electricity supplies.
Sustainability and green policies should be regarded as a work in progress and a project for which continuous improvement is a necessity. Businesses, organisations, governments and individuals must all do their part in order to ensure that the world can stop the effects of climate change and create a brighter, cleaner future for everybody.