Snippets for 4 November 2021

Welcome to our latest Snippets newsletter.

With COP 26 currently underway in Glasgow, some big commitments will need to be made, followed by some serious action by all. How can NZ play its part, and “get our house in order”? We start by looking at a couple of local developments that may help – a new law for large financial market participants around climate change risks, and how the RBNZ is focusing on climate change.

We follow with an in-depth guide to innovative, currently available, and other possible climate technologies that will help with the way forward to net zero. And curbing methane emissions will be a major requirement to reach this target by 2050. We have an article on how five industries can counter this threat.

Actions that could help reduce farming’s emissions the most are discussed in our next article. Some of these you will not have heard of before, but are often simple and effective. Growing grains differently, with new perennial varieties, will also help feed the world while fighting climate change. And the implications of climate related pressures on the Indonesian palm oil industry may ultimately lead to stranded assets, but also less deforestation and more efficient land use. Draining wetlands for forestry or farming must stop, as Blue Carbon, that absorbed by the ocean, is a hugely significant in the area of carbon sequestration, especially in coastal ecosystems.

We finish with a couple of articles - the first about DHL buying a fleet of electric cargo planes to improve their CO2 footprint with their belief in an emissions free future; and clothing giant Ralph Lauren have significantly improved the sustainability of their dyeing process for cotton, and are making the process open source.

New Zealand has become the first country to force finance companies to act on climate risks. The new law will require around 200 of the largest financial market participants in New Zealand to disclose clear, comparable, and consistent information about the risks, and opportunities, climate change presents to their business. Read more...

We also look at the Reserve Bank’s climate change report, which lays out how and why climate is core to their mandate. Central banks have been a key part of the climate change response. The bank supports an urgent, aligned, and collaborative approach domestically and internationally. The response needs to be at a scale and pace appropriate to the risks. The longer the delay the greater the potential for natural, social, and financial disruption. Read more...

Depending on what is agreed at COP26, and that is a big WHAT, there are plenty of options available for countries to reduce emissions. This McKinsey research, Innovating to Net Zero, suggests that mature climate technologies could, if deployed widely, deliver about 60 percent of the emissions abatement needed to stabilize the climate by 2050. A further 25 to 30 percent could come from technologies that are demonstrated, but not yet mature and another 10 to 15 percent from those still in R&D. Read more...

Methane emissions from human activity are the second-largest driver of global warming, accounting for roughly 30 percent of the temperature increase from preindustrial levels. Curbing emissions of methane will therefore be critical to solving the net-zero equation. Five industries could reduce global annual methane emissions by 20 percent by 2030 and 46 percent by 2050. The five industries, which together account for 98 percent of humanity’s methane emissions, are agriculture, oil and gas, coal mining, solid-waste management, and wastewater management. Read more...

There are four big ways the agriculture industry can cut back its emissions, according to this article. Introducing new ways of farming such as agroforestry & silvopasture, switching to plant-based diets, reducing food waste, and protecting peatlands, are all ways that the industry, and consumers, can see massive reductions in emissions. Many of these new techniques are not only better for the environment but are also more economical for farmers. This new look for farming may be the norm in the not so distant future. Read more...

It’s not only new techniques that can benefit the climate, but new crops can play a part too. Kernza, a perennial grain, could transform how we farm. Kernza grows into a plant that provides grain year after year from a single seed, unlike most commercial crops. They have deeper roots to sequester more carbon and help prevent soil erosion, and they can be planted alongside other crops to reduce the need for fertilizer. This crop could be crucial to transforming the agriculture industry for the better. Read more...

We’re already seeing changes in the agricultural landscape; this article suggests a massive portion of Indonesian palm oil concessions could risk becoming stranded assets by 2040. In order to comply with Paris Agreement targets, palm oil concessions could become worthless as the country tries to reign in deforestation. Companies will have to look at alternatives that increase yield, without deforesting more land, if they want their palm oil ventures to be economically viable. Read more...

Mangroves and wetlands are often drained to make space for agriculture, such as palm oil, and that needs to stop. Blue carbon – carbon dioxide absorbed by Earth’s oceans - is vital to combating climate change. Coastal eco systems such as swamps, marshes, and peatlands, are excellent carbon stores, storing more carbon per area than land-based forests, and much faster. But in many places, these ecosystems have not been well looked after. Protecting these valuable ecosystems through conservation efforts will provide major benefits to meeting carbon targets. Read more...

DHL Express, a leading express service provider, announced that it has agreed to purchase 12 Alice electric cargo planes from Eviation, to create the first electric air freight network in the world. It can be flown by a single pilot and has a cargo capacity of 1,200 kilograms with a maximum range of 815 kilometres. The charging time per flight hour is around 30 minutes and it can be recharged while it is begin loaded and unloaded, which contributes to fast turnaround times. Read more...

Every year, trillions of litres of water are used for fabric dyeing alone, generating around 20% of the world’s wastewater. Ralph Lauren has brought together four leading innovators, including Dow, to develop the Colour on Demand system to colour cotton. The process significantly reduces the quantity of water (by 50%), chemicals (by 90%) including dye (by 50%), and energy (by 40%) needed, without sacrificing colour or quality. Read more...