SBTi Real Estate Guidance, DR Congo, "Heat-Belt", and the Deep Sea
Here are 5 ESG insights you might have missed this week:
1. Science-Based Targets for Private Equity Real Estate Investments-
How real estate private equity investments can set and achieve science-based targets.
Buildings account for ~37% of global carbon dioxide emissions and are an essential part of the transformation to a net-zero economy. As investors in real estate, private equity (PE) firms have a key role and unique responsibility in helping to decarbonize the built environment.
This blog aims to outline how to set and start achieving science-based targets for real estate PE investments in line with the SBTi Private Equity Sector Science-Based Target Guidance (PE Guidance) and more general real estate guidance in the Financial Sector Science-Based Targets Guidance (FI Guidance).
Link to Source: https://sciencebasedtargets.org/blog/science-based-targets-for-private-equity-real-estate-investments
2. DR Congo Opens Oil and Gas Auction Round to Carbon Credit and Crypto Groups-
Rather than drill in rainforests and peatlands, such groups would raise revenue by selling carbon credits.
After opening 30 oil and gas exploration blocks up for auction in some of the world’s largest tropical rainforests and claiming that 'Their Priority Is Not to Save the Planet', DRC is now also opening the auction rounds to carbon credit and crypto groups. Rather than drilling in rainforests, such groups would raise revenue by selling carbon credits and be able to pay justly DR Congo for its environmental services by not destroying such carbon sinks and ecosystems.
“If it can help our economy and the country, why not?” said Didier Budimbu, the hydrocarbons minister. “We’re not doing this to destroy the rainforest, we’re doing it for economic gain . . . With or without oil, what’s important is that we earn [money].”
Link to Source: https://www.ft.com/content/b10a3132-1828-4b7a-8929-33de88b1df84
3. An "Extreme Heat Belt" Will Soon Emerge In The U.S., Study Warns-
A new study reveals the emergence of an "extreme heat belt" from Texas to Illinois, where heat indices would reach above 52 degrees Celsius by 2053.
The findings come from a hyperlocal analysis of current and future extreme heat events published Monday by the nonprofit First Street Foundation. The new report is unique for examining current and future heat risks down to the property level across the US, and joins similar risk analyses First Street has completed for flooding and wildfires.
The report, which is based on First Street's peer-reviewed heat model, shows that the number of Americans currently exposed to "extreme heat," defined as having a maximum heat index of greater than 125°F, is just 8 million. However, due to the anticipated warming during the next three decades, that number is expected to balloon to 107 million people, an increase of 13 times over 30 years.
Link to Source: https://www.axios.com/2022/08/15/extreme-heat-belt-global-warming
4. Deep-Sea Mining Talks End With No Agreement on Environmental Rules-
Mining could begin in less than a year after talks fail to produce regulatory framework despite growing calls to halt harm to oceans.
The negotiations on opening the world’s first deep-sea mines ended in Kingston, Jamaica, last week with no agreement, meaning that less than a year remains before a legal clause kicks in that could see seabed mining commence without any environmental or economic regulations in place.
Three weeks of discussions on the “two-year rule” at the council headquarters of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) – the UN body that oversees mining in international waters – ended in stalemate on 4 August.
Link to Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/10/deep-sea-mining-talks-end-with-no-agreement-on-environmental-rules
5. The Secret of the Energy Transition: Why Solar Will Reshape Global Politics (and be Bad for Putin)-
The secret of the energy transition in three graphs: why solar is unlike any other energy technology.
Duke University released a report on the secret of the energy transition and why solar will reshape global politics. The article breaks down the unique features of solar as a source of energy technology in three pillars. Specifically, solar is ubiquitous, a technology instead of a fuel and is completely modular.
Beyond the science of solar as an energy source, Duke also explains how the development of this technology may impact the visions of Russian president, Putin.
Link to Source: https://energyaccess.duke.edu/the-secret-of-the-energy-transition-why-solar-will-reshape-global-politics-and-be-bad-for-putin/
One more thing: check out this interactive graph from Our World in Data that analyzes the GHG emissions per kilogram of popular food products. From livestock to farmed crops, it helps to visualize which household items in your fridge are causing the most carbon.
Find the graph here: https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/food-footprints
Do share your comments or the content you think our community should not miss!