5x good news for the environment in 2022

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Good Morning,

Before taking on the new year of 2023, let's look back at some of the more optimistic environmental news events of 2022.

Global commitments to end plastic pollution

Last March, states at the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi agreed to begin negotiations on a legally binding international agreement to end plastic pollution; the nations committed to having a draft agreement by the end of 2024. According to UNEP executive director Inger Andersen, the achieved agreement is the most significant environmental multilateral deal since the Paris climate change accord.

Wind and solar power to meet climate change targets

According to a thinktank Ember report, solar and wind power can grow enough to limit global warming to 1.5C. That is if the 10-year average growth rate of 20 per cent can be maintained to 2030. Solar generation rose 23 per cent globally in 2021, while wind supply gained 14 per cent over the same period. Together, both renewable sources accounted for 10.3 per cent of total global electricity generation. "If these trends can be replicated globally and sustained, the power sector would be on track for 1.5 degree goal," the report said.

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia showed best signs of coral recovery in 36 years

Two-thirds of the Reef showed the most amount of coral recovery in decades. The finding indicates that the Great Barrier Reef is still a resilient system, even though there still remain vulnerabilities to increasingly frequent mass bleaching, according to the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil presidential election

The election of Lula da Silva spurred hope for the Amazonia and climate as the new president has promised increased supervision and restrictions on logging. Last Monday, he took the oath of office as the country's new president.

Climate change fund for vulnerable nations

At the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27, states agreed to establish a loss and damage fund to help vulnerable nations contend with climate change induced catastrophes. The fund aims to compensate losses to countries that suffer most from the impacts of climate change.

Let's jump into the first major headlines of 2023.

EU's Carbon Allowance (ETS) price development

UK's Carbon Allowance (ETS) price development

Euronews | The key climate issues in 2023: energy supply in Europe, world's water resources and decarbonising travel, among other topics.

Reuters | Think tank: Germany lags behind emissions goals despite investments in renewables. Germany's carbon dioxide emissions held steady last year, jeopardising its climate targets.

Reuters | Disastrous Christmas Day rains in Phlippines: the death toll from flooding and landslides in the southern Philippines rose to 44, with 28 others still unaccounted for.

Reuters | Israel to abandon plastic tax. Despite environmental concerns, the country's new government will abandon the tax on single-use plastic plates and utensils.

The Guardian | UK Extinction rebellion quits disruptive tactics. The movement announced it will "prioritise attendance over arrest and relationships over roadblocks”.

HS | Danske Bank report: the majority of listed Nordic companies underestimate biodiversity loss-related risks.

HS | The poor state of the Finnish carbon sinks – Report by Natural Resources Institute Finland has listed means to improve the current state. 

HS | The merits and drawbacks of the Finnish government's environmental policy in 2022. Nature conservation funding received €100 mln more, but reforming Land Use and Building Act lacked ambition.

Tekniikka & Talous | Giant offshore wind power initiative to proceed – the generation capacity of OX2 power plant planned in the Gulf of Bothnia exceeds Olkiluoto 2 capacity.

HS | City of Hyvinkää wishes to save Kytäjärvi lake from eutrophication. Concrete measures aiming to improve the water body state are likely to be taken next summer.

Reuters | World Bank seeks more funds to address climate change. The World Bank is seeking to vastly expand its lending capacity to address climate change and other global crises. It will also negotiate with shareholders ahead of April meetings on proposals that include a capital increase and new lending tools.

Reuters | Norway says fund to reduce Amazon deforestation in Brazil back in business. The country announced that the initiative for backing forest protection had been re-activated now that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was back in the office and vowing to halt deforestation. 

HS | Norwegian steel company plans an exceptionally extensive investment in Inkoo: The €4 bln Blastr Green Steel plant would employ at least 1200.

STT | The city of Vaasa plans 50 kilometers of bicycle lanes to meet the carbon neutrality target

STT | The University of Oulu receives a grant of €1.6 million to speed up emission-free steel production

Accurate nation-wide mapping of the carbon content of trees based on aerial images. Researchers at University of Copenhagen have developed a method to present a national inventory based on a mapping of the carbon stock of each individual tree. "Large uncertainties exist for the current forest assessments internationally. By mapping the carbon stock of all individual trees, accuracy is greatly improved. Further, the way different countries make their inventories is not consistent due to different contexts, goals, and available datasets. We hope that this method will establish itself as a standard, thereby enabling better comparisons between countries," says to PhD Researcher Maurice Mugabowindekwe from University of Copenhagen. (Science Daily)

Economic analysis: Carbon dioxide removal should receive additional financial support. Cleaning up greenhouse gases after they have been emitted should be incentivized by subsidies. New evidence from an economic analysis considering international markets conducted by researchers at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research suggests an important reason why subsidies should be higher than the price put on carbon emissions to incentivize their reduction. In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers analyze policies for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it underground or in products. The suggested different pricing is not due to technological challenges, but linked to an economic effect called leakage. (Science Daily)

Scientists enhance recyclability of post-consumer plastic. Using a novel catalytic approach, scientists at DOE's Argonne National Laboratory and Cornell University converted post-consumer HDPE plastic into a fully recyclable and potentially biodegradable material with the same mechanical and thermal properties of the starting single-use plastic. This new approach could reduce carbon emission and pollution associated with HDPE by using waste plastic as untapped feedstock and transforming it into a new material that can be recycled repeatedly without loss of quality. (Science Daily)

Open sustainability positions

Picture of the week: Warmest January ever forces ski slopes across Europe to close