A couple things happened last week.
With the podcast being released this morning, I thought I'd just provide a round-up for the main stories in the world of ESG and sustainability from this past week.
The EU bans CO2 emitting vehicles from 2035 onwards
This past week, on Tuesday, the European Parliament voted into a law an effective ban on on new sales of cars with internal combustion engines from 2035. The law requires that by 2035 carmakers must achieve a 100% cut in CO2 emissions from new cars sold.
The EU aims to reduce CO2 emissions from new cars by 55% by 2030 compared to 2021 levels, and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2035.
For manufacturers outside of the EU who export to the EU, the new emissions standards could present a challenge if their vehicles do not meet the new requirements. To continue selling their vehicles in the EU, these manufacturers may need to invest in developing new, more sustainable technologies or risk losing market share in the region.
It is also worth noting that the EU is not the only market pushing for cleaner transportation. Other regions and countries, such as California and China, have also set goals to phase out internal combustion engines and transition to electric and other low-emission vehicles. As a result, manufacturers may need to invest in developing new technologies to comply with multiple regulations in different markets.
Buckle-up, we have another Framework: TPT:
The Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) was launched by the UK government in April 2022, at COP26, to develop the gold standard for private sector climate transition plans. The TPT published its Disclosure Framework and implementation guidance for comment in November 2022, to help companies prepare their own transition plans. This comes at a good time, considering that the Climate Disclosure Project has just released a report stating that only 0.4% of companies have published credible climate transition plans.
A climate transition plan is a time-bound action plan that outlines how a company will achieve its strategy to align assets, operations, and entire business model with the latest and most ambitious climate science recommendations. They are vital for companies to remain on track and demonstrate to capital markets and consumers how they will reach net-zero. - CDP
In other news, you may have received the first episode of the Woke Money Podcast this morning and I hope you find the conversation with Wandile Sihlobo on Sustainable Agriculture useful.
