In this week’s sustainability/ESG bulletin, Ireland gets a ‘C’ on climate performance, leading financial market participants call for stronger alignment of regulatory and standard setting efforts around sustainability disclosure, a ban on fossil fuel advertisements takes effect in France, and Northern Ireland welcomes funding for electric vehicle charging points.
Ireland’s Climate Conversation 2022 – have your say
People from across Ireland have until 9 September to contribute their views to the Irish Government’s Climate Conversation 2022. This is a survey on how Ireland can secure a sustainable future and become a climate resilient society. Inputs will feed into ongoing work on Climate Action Plan 2023.
The conversation comes as the Government receives a ‘C grade’ on its own climate performance, down from a C+ last year. This was the result of an annual independent expert assessment of the Government’s delivery of the nearly 300 environmental or climate-related commitments in the 2020 Programme for Government. This assessment was carried out by Dr. Cara Augustenborg (Chair), Assistant Professor, Environmental Policy Programme, University College Dublin; Dr. Paul Deane, Senior Research Fellow, MaREI, University College Cork and Dr. Diarmuid Torney, Associate Professor of the School of Law and Government, Dublin City University, and member of the Chartered Accountants Ireland Expert Working Group on Sustainability. The assessment gave the Government marks out of 10 in each of the following nine areas: Climate, Nature & Biodiversity, Water & Marine, Waste and Circular Economy, Air Quality, Transport, Buildings, Energy, and Agriculture & Forestry, and can be found here.
Leading financial market participants call for stronger alignment around sustainability disclosure
Sixty-five companies, investors and professional accounting firms from across the world have signed a statement calling for closer alignment of major standard-setting efforts in the development of a global baseline for reporting sustainability-related information.
The endorsed statement was developed jointly by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). Leading financial market participants are asking financial market regulators to align key concepts, terminologies, and metrics on which disclosure requirements are built so as to avoid regulatory and standard setting fragmentation and undue burden on investors seeking to make investment decisions that truly contribute to sustainable outcomes.
Northern Ireland officially welcomes funding for electric vehicle charging points
The Department for Infrastructure has officially welcomed the offer of funding of £1,348,370 from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) for electric vehicle (EV) charge-points in residential areas across Northern Ireland. The funding will allow local councils across Northern Ireland to install 124 on-street EV charge points for local residents wishing to charge their plug-in electric vehicles close to their home, with the aim of facilitating a consumer shift towards electric vehicles. Over 70 percent of all journeys in Northern Ireland are currently being made by car, which impacts on the Government’s commitment to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Reliable EV infrastructure alongside improvements to public transport and active travel infrastructure is considered to be key to getting the public to switch to zero carbon forms of transport.
Bans on fossil fuels advertisements
The French Government has enacted a ban on advertisements for fossil fuels, becoming the first European country to do so. Announced on 22 August, the new climate legislation prohibits advertising for all energy products related to fossil fuels such as petrol products, energy from the combustion of coal mining and hydrogen-containing carbons. Natural gas ads will be prohibited from the beginning of 2023. Some advertising will be permissible for fuels that have some renewable energy content or adhere to certain criteria, and sponsorships are also not included in the ban, exceptions that some campaigners consider to be undermining the potential effectiveness of the legislation.
Extreme weather events cost €80 billion in Germany since 2018
A study published recently estimates that the tangible losses resulting from extreme weather events in Germany, including the exceptionally hot and dry summers of 2018 and 2019 and floods in 2021, have amounted to at least €80 billion since 2018. The project, titled “Costs due to climate change impacts in Germany”, was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action (BMWK) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV).
Public consultation on EU roadmap development for nature-based solutions
A public consultation is open until 18 September on how research and innovation can help achieve EU goals for the development and deployment of nature-based solutions. The development of the ‘EU R&I roadmap for Nature-based solutions’ is being facilitated by NetworkNature – a project funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme. The roadmap aims to bring forward key levers for research and innovation and further bridge knowledge needs and implementation gaps in the context of climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
Podcast
Listen to Dr Tara Shine, CEO of Change by Degrees and author of How to Save your Planet, One Object at a Time discuss her life and on RTÉ’s The Business.
Articles
- Climate litigation threatens to push up companies’ insurance costs (FT)
- The cost of food waste to our wallets and pockets (Irish Times)
- Tips on reducing your ‘digital pollution’ (Business in the Community Ireland)
- Suffering from eco-anxiety? Try forest bathing ( RTÉ)
Upcoming events
- FRC webinar, Navigating the complex landscape of ESG and Sustainability reporting, 7 Sept (Link)
- (NI) 2022 Responsible Business Awards in Northern Ireland, (Link), 8 Sept
- Ireland’s Climate Conversation 2022, Have your say, Deadline 9 Sept
- Dublin Climate Action Week (Link), 12-17 Sept
- Chartered Accountants Ireland’s Virtual CPD conference – ESG Sessions (Link), 15 Sept
- Global Week to #ACT4SDGS (Link), 16-25 Sept
- Call for Expert Evidence - Climate Action Plan 2023, Deadline: 20 Sept
- IFAC/A4S, Exploring the critical role of CFOs and finance teams in the climate transition (Link), 21 Sept 9:00
- World Biodiversity Summit (Link), 21 September
- (DEARA NI) Webinar on tackling problem waste streams, 23 Sept 2022, 10.00-12.00
- Biodiversity Essentials programme, (Link) (funded), 28 Sept 9.30-11.00 | 19 Oct 2.30-5.00
- European Business & Nature Summit (Link), 18-19 Oct
- Sustainable Finance Ireland, Ireland Climate Finance Week, 17-21 Oct
- Ecosystems Knowledge Network, Natural Capital Finance & Investment Conference, 19 Oct (London) 20 Oct (Edinburgh)
You can find information, guidance and supports to help members understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our online Sustainability Centre.