120 countries announced new climate goals

World leaders have unveiled new targets to cut planet-heating pollution at the United Nations, despite Donald Trump's attacks on climate science. A total of 120 countries and the European Union announced new goals to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, including China, which pledged to cut emissions by 7-10% from its peak level by 2035. The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, urged countries to enact "much further, much faster" cuts to avoid breaching agreed temperature limits.

Guterres warned that the international goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C is at risk of "collapsing" and that the upcoming UN climate talks in Brazil must produce a "credible global response plan" to get back on track. He emphasized that "the science demands action, the law commands it, the economics compel it and people are calling for it." The planet is currently set to exceed the 1.5C warming limit, with temperatures set to rise by as much as 3C, triggering catastrophic consequences for many countries.

Despite Trump's dismissal of climate science, other world leaders are pushing forward with their climate agendas. China, the world's leading emitter, is also becoming a clean energy superpower, with plans to install more than six times as much wind and solar capacity in 2035 compared to 2020 levels. Climate advocates are urging countries to accelerate the transition to renewable energy, with $2tn invested globally in renewables last year, double the amount invested in oil, gas, and coal. The upcoming UN climate talks in Brazil will be crucial in determining the next steps in the global climate effort.

Sources: The Guardian, Reuters, Novethic

Bill Gates targets low-income nations to expand access to weight-loss drugs

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is launching an initiative to tackle global inequality in obesity treatment. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 1 billion people suffer from obesity, with 70% living in low- and middle-income countries. In Africa, access to modern obesity treatments is limited, and adult obesity rates range from 13.6% to 31% in the region's ten highest-burden countries.

Bill Gates aims to make effective obesity drugs "super, super cheap" so they can be accessible to everyone worldwide. The foundation may help fund clinical trials to study how weight-loss medications affect diverse populations and generate data to expand access globally. The Gates Foundation is drawing from its experience in making HIV prevention drugs more affordable, having partnered with an Indian drug maker to produce a low-cost version of a HIV prevention shot.

The initiative could gain momentum as patent protection for semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, expires in countries like China and India, allowing generic manufacturers to produce cheaper alternatives. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) plans to use its pooled procurement system to negotiate lower drug prices, and health experts believe making obesity drugs available in developing regions could help curb diseases like diabetes and heart disease, while reducing healthcare costs.

Sources: Reuters, Business Insider

Turning biodiversity into a strategic asset class

The latest WEF/McKinsey report underscores that nature is rapidly emerging as a strategic investment frontier, but finance markets still undervalue it.  Unlike climate, biodiversity outcomes are “underpriced, undervalued and underfinanced”. The analysis consolidates 37 distinct finance solutions for nature (instruments, funds, facilities, policy tools), highlighting 10 priority instruments that can deliver positive ecosystem outcomes at scale with investable returns.

In 2024, global issuance of labelled sustainability bonds reached about $1.1 trillion, but only roughly 5% of that were sustainability-linked bonds tied to ecological targets. The global impact investing market reached $1.6 trillion in AUM in 2024, with nature and biodiversity-focused funds accounting for less than 10% of total AUM (albeit growing faster than other categories). Nature-positive global economy could be worth an additional $10.1 trillion per year in value across sectors by 2030, with at least 60 clear opportunities across every sector of economy.

The report encourages financial institutions to consider nature-related risks within their analytical frameworks, drawing on approaches already applied to climate risks—such as integrating deforestation risk into credit assessments. It also highlights the potential of sustainable financial instruments, including debt and equity, to support positive environmental outcomes at scale and with investable returns. Lastly, it emphasizes the value of collaboration between financial institutions, governments, multilateral development banks, and NGOs to promote standardized metrics and improve the availability of comparable data.

Source: WEF

United Kingdom government aims to create 400,000 jobs through national green energy plan

The UK government has announced a plan to train people for 400,000 green jobs in the next five years, with a focus on skilled trades like plumbers, electricians, and welders. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the plan will ensure companies receiving public grants and contracts create good jobs in the clean energy sector. The plan will also promote trade union recognition and collective bargaining in the sector.

Thirty-one skilled trades will be prioritized for recruitment and training, with plumbers, heating and ventilation installers, and carpenters in high demand. The plan aims to provide good jobs with strong collective bargaining rights, with average salaries of over £50,000 in wind, nuclear, and electricity networks. The government will also establish five new technical excellence colleges and provide £2.5m for skills pilots in various regions.

Unions have welcomed the plan, with Unite's general secretary saying it's an "initial step" in an ambitious strategy for tangible jobs. The GMB's national officer said the government is listening to their campaign for a jobs-first transition. The plan includes tailored schemes for veterans, ex-offenders, school leavers, and the unemployed, as well as upskilling existing oil and gas workers with up to £20m in funding.

Source: The Guardian

The landmark settlement that could get plastic pellet pollution out of America’s rivers

A landmark settlement has been reached between Three Rivers Waterkeeper, PennEnvironment, and Styropek, a plastics facility, over the release of plastic pellets, known as "nurdles," into the Ohio River watershed. The settlement requires Styropek to pay $2.6 million to remediate its plastic pollution and fund clean water projects. However, the key aspect of the agreement is the requirement for Styropek to install technology to detect and monitor the release of nurdles from its facility.

The technology will be able to detect individual nurdles, and the company will incur fines for each inspection where one is detected. This monitoring system is based on a similar settlement with Formosa Plastics, which required the installation of novel technology to detect microplastics and plastic powder. The monitoring system has been successful, with every inspection turning up plastic pollution, resulting in millions of dollars in fines.

The settlement sets a precedent for the plastics industry, with environmental groups hoping to make continuous monitoring a standard requirement under the Clean Water Act. The public can also advocate for monitoring requirements when facilities renew their water pollution permits. This could lead to a significant reduction in plastic pollution in America's rivers, with the goal of achieving "no plastic discharges" from plastics facilities.

Source: Reasons to be cheerful

Barclays signs its first carbon removal deal to capture CO2 in crushed rocks and soil

-          Company: Barclays PLC

-          Sector: Banks

-          Clover rating: 2/5

Enhanced rock weathering (ERW)-focused carbon removal project developer UNDO announced that it has signed a new agreement with UK-based bank Barclays, to permanently remove more than 6,500 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere using an accelerated process using rocks and soil. The new deal marks Barclays’ first-ever carbon removal agreement, coming after the bank recently revealed that it has reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 95% as of the end of 2024. Barclays has set a goal to be a net zero bank by 2050, with the bank noting that its strategy is primarily focused on decarbonizing the most emissions-intensive areas of its operations.

Founded in 2022, London-based UNDO develops carbon removal projects based on enhanced rock weathering. The company’s technology accelerates the natural geological process of weathering by spreading crushed silicate rock onto agricultural land, where plants and microbes in the soil speed up the weathering process, removing CO2, while simultaneously enriching soil with essential nutrients. Under the new agreement, UNDO will spread finely crushed silicate rock across 10,000 acres of farmland as part of its project in Ontario, Canada, with the rock capturing and storing CO2 in rainwater and soil as it naturally weathers, which is ultimately transported to the oceans where it is stored for hundreds of thousands of years.

Source: ESG Today

Amazon wants to use robots to avoid adding over 500,000 new jobs

-          Company: Amazon, Inc

-          Sector: Information Technology

-          Clover rating: 1/5

Amazon is planning to implement more robotic automation in its operations to avoid the need to add over 500,000 new jobs over the next eight years. The move reflects the company’s strategy to manage growing labor demands through technology rather than increasing its human workforce.

As Amazon continues to expand its global footprint, the company faces increasing pressure to balance efficiency with labor costs. By using robots and automation, Amazon aims to streamline its operations, reduce dependency on human workers, and mitigate the need for hiring hundreds of thousands of new employees. This strategy underscores the growing trend of automation across industries to manage labor shortages and rising costs.

This shift towards robotics in Amazon’s warehouses could have broad implications for the future of work. As automation becomes more prevalent, it may reshape the labor market, displacing certain job categories while creating demand for new tech-related roles. The move also highlights the ongoing tension between technological progress and employment opportunities, which could exacerbate concerns over income inequality and job security

Source: Illuminem

Trump’s crackdown on EVs hits home in the Battery Belt

-          Company: Ford Motors

-          Sector: Automobiles

-          Clover rating: 4/5

Ford's electric-truck plant in Stanton, Tennessee, has been delayed, with production now scheduled to start in 2027, several years behind the original 2025 schedule. The company's CEO, Jim Farley, predicts that electric vehicle (EV) sales could drop by 50% without tax credits. This has created uncertainty for the small rural community of Stanton, which has tied its economic future to the project.

The Ford plant is part of the Battery Belt, a region spanning from Georgia to Indiana, which has seen significant investment in battery factories and EV manufacturing. However, with waning interest in EVs among Americans, automakers are delaying or cancelling factory projects. Ford's spokesperson emphasized the company's commitment to the community, including grants to public safety groups as part of a $9 million commitment.

Despite the delays, Ford is moving forward with its plans, albeit at a slower pace. The company will "be nimble and flexible in adjusting the timing of our product launches to meet market demands and customer demand, while aiming for improved profitability." Residents of Stanton are hopeful that Ford will repurpose its 3,600-acre plant site if demand for EVs doesn't rise, and that the company will still bring economic opportunities to the area.

Source: Reuters

World’s oceans fail key health check as acidity crosses critical threshold for marine life

The world's oceans have failed a key planetary health check due to the burning of fossil fuels, a report by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research has shown. Ocean acidity has crossed a critical threshold for marine life, making it the seventh of nine planetary boundaries to be transgressed. This is primarily due to the human-caused climate crisis, which is causing a 30-40% increase in acidity and pushing marine ecosystems beyond safe limits.

The report notes that oceans play an essential role as a climate stabilizer, covering 71% of the Earth's surface. However, their vital functions are threatened by the increasing acidity, which affects marine organisms' ability to grow coral, shells, or skeletons. Cold-water corals, tropical coral reefs, and Arctic marine life are especially at risk. This has significant implications for human food security and coastal economies, as well as the ocean's role in absorbing heat and drawing down carbon dioxide.

Scientists are concerned about the consequences of ocean acidity crossing the critical threshold, including the potential weakening of the ocean's role in sequestering carbon. The report highlights the need for a renewed global effort to curb fossil fuels, deforestation, and other human-driven pressures that are tilting the Earth out of a habitable equilibrium. The authors emphasize that the addition of the ocean-centered category to the list of breached boundaries is an alarming development due to its scale and importance, and call for immediate action to address the crisis.

Sources: The Guardian, Novethic