Snippets for 21 May 2020

Welcome to our latest Snippets newsletter.

This edition of Snippets starts with C40 Mayors efforts to create a better future for their cities and then turns the focus towards business leaders and the need for them to embrace climate change and sustainability in order to maintain social license. Furthermore, the question of re-thinking what is important in the post pandemic rebuild is posed.

Next comes a section devoted to the energy industry and we start with a look at how the oil and gas industry might be able to play a part in addressing climate change by way of efficiency gains. We then move to articles focused on changing trends in the fossil fuel industry and we see that the trend was downward even before the pandemic put the boot in, and that currently only renewables are holding their own.

Finally, we round it all off with a look at how the pandemic changed grocery shopping habits and an article about the importance of good ventilation in this age of COVID19.

According to mayors representing more than 750 million people, the world cannot return to “business as usual”, as this is a track to 3+ degrees of global heating. C40 Mayors have published a “statement of principles”, which commits them to putting greater equality and climate resilience at the heart of their recovery plans. Read more.....

It is becoming clear that corporate boards must put sustainability at the top of their agenda to thrive. CEOs are waking up to the fact that the public want corporations to care about climate change and sustainability. The lead needs to come from the top, and this article identifies some steps that can be undertaken to assist with management reporting on sustainability.Read more.....

This pandemic could give business leaders a broader mandate for sustainability, and help society, not just shareholders, but by rethinking what matters. They need to focus on less consumption and more circularity. They also need to consider how one person’s behaviour affects others and address inequality, along with investing in and supporting their supply chains.Read more.....

With the global oil and gas industry’s operations accounting for 9% of all human-made greenhouse gas emissions ,and the fuels they produce another 33%, this sector needs to rapidly decarbonise and we need to switch away from using fossil fuels. This comprehensive article discusses the options for the oil and gas industry, some of which include converting to using renewable generation on site, using vapor recovery units and leak detection and repair systems at compression stations. Read more.....

Reductions in consumption of fossil fuels are already underway. The IEA’s executive director says “This is a historic shock to the entire energy world, amid today’s unparalleled health and economic crises, the plunge in demand for nearly all major fuels is staggering, especially for coal, oil and gas. Only renewables are holding up during the previously unheard-of slump in electricity use”. World energy demand in 2020 is set for a drop seven times greater than from the GFC. Read more.....

The fossil fuel that has powered Europe for several hundred years, driving its industry, fighting its wars and keeping its people warm, is on the way out and fast. A new report indicates that the use of coal for power generation in the EU fell by a record 24 per cent last year and, for the first time in history, wind and solar electricity made a larger contribution to the EU’s power grid than coal. Read more.....

Along with the move away from coal, another fossil fuel – oil is becoming very volatile with oil futures dipping into negative territory for the first time in history. Facing the sudden contraction of the market, oil companies are producing a surplus of barrels and must now pay to get rid of their inventories. Paying customers to take your product is economically unsustainable and, with renewable energy sources offering attractive growth rates to investors, the end of oil may have begun. Read more.....

Now to the third major fossil fuel - natural gas. Still widely used for electricity generation, however, the UK has an ambitious plan to replace their natural gas electricity production with a mixture of green hydrogen produced by surplus solar and wind power, and bio-methane coming from farms and waste food. This shift will ensure the British gas industry a carbon-free future in 30 years, according to the country’s gas network operators. Read more.....

During the COVID19 lock down many people have taken advantage of ordering their groceries for delivery and ordering ready to cook meals. It appears that people tend to make smaller orders and waste less in this way and given that food waste is 6% of global GHG emissions, it may be a valid way to reduce emissions.Read more.....

We should never underestimate the importance of good air circulation, and this is even more important in times of COVID19. As we return to our places of work many of us are no doubt a little uneasy about sitting in a confined space with other people. This article highlights the importance of proper ventilation, and maintenance of ventilation systems, and is certainly worth a read. Read more....

The robotic, hybrid-electric future of agriculture. For various reasons there is a predicted labour shortage in some farming areas, and this, along with the need for precision farming and advancements in automation the time is possibly right for these new technologies. Read more.....