Wednesday, September 22, 2021


Rolls-Royce Is Developing a Nuclear Reactor for Mining the Moon and Mars

The firm is looking into how a micro-nuclear reactor could be used to propel rockets while in space.

Sep 19, 2021
By Loukia Papadopoulos
Paul Campbell/iStock

Rolls-Royce is working on a nuclear reactor in order to power mining operations on the Moon and even Mars, The Mail on Sunday reported. The firm released a joint study into nuclear power options for space rockets with the UK Space Agency earlier this year.

The firm is looking into how a micro-nuclear reactor could be used to propel rockets while in space at huge speeds and how that technology could then be redeployed to provide energy for drilling, processing, and storage for "Moon mining" and possibly "Mars mining."

Dave Gordon, head of the company's defense division, said this work is possible thanks to Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk and their respective space companies.

He added that's Rolls-Royce is the only company on the planet that does mechanical, electrical, and nuclear and a full end-to-end lifecycle of nuclear capability. He also noted that the firm could use its experience in developing nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Navy for 60 years to apply what it learned to spacecraft since submarines and spacecraft are somewhat similar.

They are both "non-air breathing environments, long endurance, super reliable with a very dense power source."

Gordon finally emphasized that there is a huge shortage of rare earth metals on Earth that can instead be found on other planets and the moon. This is why he believes Moon mining and Mars mining will hopefully happen in his lifetime.

These new activities, argues Gordon, will have to be powered by nuclear as solar is not an option at those distances. Rolls-Royce is not the only firm to have such ambitious goals.

Three companies, including Lunar Outpost, Honeybee Robotics, and Masten Space Systems, are developing a novel system aimed at mining water ice from the moon with rockets. They hope to reach their target by 2023.

In addition, a team of researchers from the University of Arizona received a $500,000 grant from NASA to develop space-mining methods. What they are developing is a swarm of autonomous robots that could search and mine for rare earth metals on the Moon.

It has also been said that the world's first trillionaires will be the ones who make their fortune in asteroid mining. This fact has been predicted by people like famed futurist Peter Diamandis, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and financial firm Goldmann Sachs.

Rolls-Royce says working on nuclear reactor for space mining

Monday September 20, 2021

(Kitco News) - According to a report by The Mail on Sunday, Rolls-Royce is developing a nuclear power reactor that will be capable of powering mining operations on the Moon and even Mars.

Apparently, the firm is researching how a micro nuclear power reactor could be used to propel rockets while in space at huge speeds and how that technology could then be redeployed to provide energy for drilling, processing, and storage for "Moon mining" and possibly "Mars mining."

According to the study, the Moon's main resources include helium-3, a rare element used in industries such as nuclear fusion which could power onward journeys deeper in to space, using the Moon as a refueling station.

The Moon also boasts water, which could be used to sustain life and can be converted to rocket fuel, and rare earth metals used in electronics such as smartphones and the latest cars. Currently, 90 per cent of the world's rare earth metal supply comes from China, the report found.

However, methods of storage and transportation of resources mined on the Moon back to Earth remain a key debate among researchers, the authors of a report pointed out.

Dave Gordon, head of the company's defense division, said this work is possible thanks to Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk and their respective space companies. He added that Rolls-Royce is the only company globally that does mechanical, electrical, and nuclear and a full end-to-end lifecycle of nuclear capability.

Gordon admitted that to bring the project to fruition would take “hundreds of millions of pounds,” but that early stage work could be achieved for far less.

He added, “There's a huge shortage of rare earth metals. We know they exist on other planets because they all formed from the same thing. This genuinely isn't rocket science. So, mining asteroids, the Moon and Mars will happen, hopefully, in my lifetime.”
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Galactic Winds -‘Reveal Missing Matter of the Universe’

Posted on Sep 18, 2021 in Astronomy, Galaxies, Science

Galactic Winds

 

One of the major problems in understanding the formation of galaxies is that approximately 80% of the baryons that make up the normal matter of galaxies is missing, expelled over eons from galaxies into inter-galactic space by the galactic winds created by stellar explosions.

Mapped for the First Time

A new study helped to reveal where some of the universe’s missing matter is located, and to observe the formation of a nebula around a galaxy. Galaxies can receive and exchange matter with their external environment thanks to the galactic winds created by stellar explosions. Using the MUSE instrument on the Very Large Telescope at the ESO Paranal Observatory (Chile), an international research team, led by the CNRS and l’Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, mapped a galactic wind for the first time. 

One of the major problems in understanding the formation of galaxies–islands of stars in the universe– is that approximately 80% of the baryons that make up the normal, baryonic, matter of galaxies is missing. According to models, they were expelled from galaxies into inter-galactic space by the galactic winds created by stellar explosions.

MUSE-Missing Matter

The international team generated a map of the galactic wind driving exchanges between a young galaxy in formation and a nebula (a cloud of gas and interstellar dust) shown in the image below –Left: Demarcation of the quasar and the galaxy studied here, Gal1. Center: Nebula consisting of magnesium represented with a size scale. Right: superimposition of the nebula and the Gal1 galaxy. ( © Johannes Zabl).

Guided by a Quasar “Lighthouse”

The team chose to observe galaxy Gal1 due to the proximity of a quasar, which served as a “lighthouse” for the scientists by guiding them toward the area of study. They also planned to observe a nebula around this galaxy, although the success of this observation was initially uncertain, as the nebula’s luminosity was unknown.

The perfect positioning of the galaxy and the quasar, as well as the discovery of gas exchange due to galactic winds, made it possible to draw up a unique map. This enabled the first observation of a nebula in formation that is simultaneously emitting and absorbing magnesium—some of the universe’s missing baryons—with the Gal1 galaxy.

Missing Mass is Outside of Galaxies

This type of normal matter nebula is known in the near universe, but their existence for young galaxies in formation had only been assumed. Scientists thus discovered some of the universe’s missing baryons, thereby confirming that 80–90% of normal matter is located outside of galaxies. The identification that such a large fraction of galaxies’ mass is located outside their observable, or luminous part, as opposed to within it, will help expand models for the evolution of galaxies.

Using an analogy, Nicolas Bouche, a CNRS astrophysicist working at CRAL (Center of Research in Astrophysique of Lyon}, wrote in an email to The Daily Galaxy about how confirming that 80–90% of normal matter is located outside of galaxies will help expand models for the evolution of galaxies: ”This confirmation is a bit like expecting to have lots of ice around galaxies (`islands in the universe’) and we saw the icebergs with these observations; so this tells us that there must be even more `ice`( missing matter) around galaxies. 

“The models of galaxy evolution,” Bouche continued, “ predict that all galaxies should have galactic winds like this one, and our observations put constraints on the wind properties (size, volume, and density with the absorption in the quasar). These properties are related to the type of wind models people use in their numerical simulations. The challenge for models now will be to match our observations in addition to the other constraints on galaxies.”

Source: Johannes Zabl et al, MusE GAs FLOw and Wind (MEGAFLOW) VIII. Discovery of a MgIIii emission halo probed by a quasar sightline, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2021). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stab2165

The Daily Galaxy, Avi Shporer, formerly a NASA Sagan Fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).currently with the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research via CNRS and Nicolas Bouche

Image credit top of page: galactic winds, with thanks to Evan Schneider, assistant professor in the physics and astronomy department at the University of Pittsburgh.

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 Thunder Bay

Fire Line art exhibit shows grit, determination of forest firefighters in northwestern Ontario

COVID-19, fire hazard kept exhibit from being publicly shown


Jeff Walters · CBC News · 
The nine forest firefighters, featured in the Fire Line, are seen in a collage of the hand-drawn portraits by Red Lake, Ont., artist Jennifer Globush. (Submitted by Jennifer Globush)

For the past two summers, people who live in Red Lake, Ont., have thanked local volunteer firefighters and forest firefighters for keeping their community safe.

In 2020, the community was evacuated because of a nearby fire. In 2021, the community was on an evacuation alert, with some people voluntarily leaving the community and some of the most vulnerable people being moved out.

One artist from Red Lake has a new exhibit - online - that pays tribute to a group of people that have been integral to the community over the past few years... forest firefighters. Hear from Jennifer Globush about her latest art project. 7:29 

It's the work of these forest firefighters, often working in remote areas, in all weather and temperatures, that caught the attention of local artist Jennifer Globush.

"I've developed a very intimate appreciation for the people who choose to live and work in the north. I've found northerners to have an extraordinary sense of character."

The result is Fire Line, an exhibit featuring the faces of nine forest firefighters, coming off of a shift in the Red Lake area.

"I feel like the unseen hard labour is at the root of this character," said Globush, who said she gravitates to people who work in the north at traditional labour jobs, that are often out of the public eye, yet, are crucial to the economy.

Ian Sachs is one of the nine forest firefighters who is featured in the Fire Line exhibit, created by Red Lake, Ont., artist Jennifer Globush. (Submitted by Jennifer Globush)

"The Fire Line series was an attempt to recognize the labour and sacrifice that the men and women keeping the forest, the wildlife and its dispersed residents safe from disaster up here." 

Globush started off the project by meeting with a number of forest firefighters and taking photos of them, after a shift of working in the bush.

"There's a moment, where they are kind of able to let down their guard, and even though I don't know them personally, you can tell it's a more true representation of themselves, when they become a little relaxed. So, that was the real task in trying to capture what the person really looked like."

Then, Globush starts to draw out the faces of those she photographed, in intricate detail, in what is called a drafting style grid formation. 

"There's an intimate experience in getting to know the person's face in extremely high detail."

Globush said it takes between 50 and 100 hours to complete the portrait that she draws. 

The exhibit was then hung in a burnt over area and with photos taken of the nine faces hung in burnt trees.

While the exhibit was never publicly shown, because of pandemic restrictions, as well as a high forest fire hazard, to keep people out of the bush, Globush said the work can be seen on her Instagram page.

Globush said her next project is highlighting volunteer firefighters and first responders in the northwest, along with a larger drawing series looking at economic and environmental issues with fishing between northern Canada and Iceland.

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Opinions
It is time Israel, the West admit the two-state solution is dead

A recent survey shows that even Western and Israeli pundits know two states in Palestine are impossible.


Haidar Eid
19 Sep 2021
A Jewish settler holds an Israeli flag as Palestinians argue with Israeli soldiers during a protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, in Susya village south of Hebron on June 19, 2020 [File: Reuters/Mussa Qawasma]

In August, the influential US magazine Foreign Affairs carried out a survey on the two-state solution in Palestine among “authorities with specialized expertise together with leading generalists in the field”. It asked the question “is the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict no longer viable?” to which the 64 experts were supposed to indicate their agreement or disagreement and explain their stance with a brief comment.

Half disagreed that the two-state solution is dead, seven were neutral and 25 agreed with the premise.

Some of those who disagreed are currently or previously involved with Zionist-leaning think-tanks, such as the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Among them is former US ambassador to apartheid Israel, Martin Indyk, who before starting his diplomatic career, served as a deputy research director for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

The list also includes Dennis Ross and others who were heavily involved in the so-called “peace process”, an unending affair with the aim of securing the Israeli apartheid state and liquidating basic Palestinian rights altogether. Obviously, those who were part of the “peace process” are still clinging to the illusion that it is possible to establish a Palestinian Bantustan.

Those who defended the two-state solution acknowledged that there are “barriers” to its fulfilment; among those, the most frequently cited one was the “lack of political will” on “both sides”. There were even suggestions that the Palestinian leadership is solely to blame, as Hamas and the Palestinian Authority lack support from the Palestinian people to make the necessary sacrifices and accept Israel’s apartheid and settler-colonial policies.

Interestingly, some of those who adopted the “neutral” position preferred to take a postmodern, relativist stand on an issue that is one of freedom, equality and justice – no more, no less. Others adopted a human rights approach to the Palestinian question, refusing to take a political stance.

What being “neutral” on a clear-cut question of justice means can be anyone’s guess. Just a few decades ago, who would have dared to be “neutral” about the end of apartheid in South Africa?

In general, most of the supporters of the two-state solution in academia, foreign policy circles and beyond are Israeli, American or European who do not see anything wrong with a settler-colonial project. The few Palestinians who are in favour of this racist approach to the Palestinian question fail to acknowledge facts on the ground: the system between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea is a one-state reality, an apartheid state where one community has all the privileges of citizenship, while the other community is deprived of its fundamental human rights.

It is rather hard not to notice the racism and injustice involved in the apartheid reality in Palestine where the Palestinians who suffer are not only the ones who live in the 1967 occupied territories, as the Foreign Affairs question implies.

I, myself, took part in the survey believing that it was important to make my voice as a Palestinian heard. Here is what I had to say in the limited space provided:

“In addition to the fact that Israel has taken irreversible steps that have made this solution impossible – namely, the expansion of the Jewish-only settlements; the annexation of more West Bank lands in addition to Jerusalem; the construction of the apartheid wall that separates Palestinian from Palestinian; the blockade of the Gaza Strip; and the passing of the racist Nation-State Law by the Knesset – the two-state solution in principle does not offer the Palestinian people their basic rights under international law – equality and right of return. A Bantustan-like solution is a racist solution par excellence.”

For such an influential American journal to raise such a question about the two-state reality in Palestine and make sure that there are some Palestinian voices among the respondents is very indicative of the power of the Palestinians to make their voices heard in the heart of empire. It is also revealing of the fact that the international discourse on Palestine is slowly but surely moving away from talk about the “peace process” and the “intransigence” of the Palestinian leadership.

This is clearly annoying American and Israeli Zionists, with one survey respondent expressing his complete dismay at Foreign Affairs’ decision to even ask such a question. The defensiveness in the tone of many of the “disagree” responses reveals that even staunch Israel supporters are realising that the two-state solution cannot resolve the Palestinian question and it is already dead thanks to Israeli apartheid policies in Palestine.

The alternative is clear: one state for all inhabitants of historic Palestine, regardless of race, ethnicity and religion; a state a la post-apartheid South Africa, one that is not based on the oppression of one community by another. A true solution to the Palestinian question cannot be reached by entertaining racist ideas about the separation of peoples. Only the restoration of Palestine’s multicultural identity, one that is inclusive, secular and democratic can lead to lasting peace between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and beyond.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.


Haidar Eid is an associate Professor at Al-Aqsa University in Gaza.

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India's protesting farmers set sights on key state election

Farmers vow to campaign against ruling party in 

next year’s state election in Uttar Pradesh


Salimah Shivji · CBC News · 
People shout slogans during a grand village council meeting as part of a farmers' protest against farm laws in Muzaffarnagar in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, on Sept. 5, 2021. (Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

The mission for the group of Indian farmers sitting in a makeshift tent at a protest camp near the Indian capital of New Delhi is crystal clear.

The farmers are huddled to reinvigorate their months-long fight against controversial new farming laws passed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government last year. 

Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party is "running scared and on the defensive," said Jasbir Kaur Natt, a member of the Tikri border action committee that plans local protests.

"We have decided that we will hurt the BJP and defeat them" at the polls in next year's state election in Uttar Pradesh, she said.

Kaur Natt is convinced of this after two events this month that have galvanized the farmers' protests following a lull in demonstrations while India was battling a devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring. 

Jasbir Kaur Natt, centre, discusses the next steps with fellow members of the Tikri action committee, which plans future protests. She calls a recent farmers’ rally a 'shot in the arm' for the protest against India’s new farming laws. (Salimah Shivji/CBC)

The first was a massive gathering that organizers called the largest since the protest movement began last November, which saw tens of thousands of farmers rally in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. 

The predominantly agricultural state is India's most populous and has a state assembly election set for early next year — a fact that hasn't escaped the farmers, who are preparing for a battle. The state is controlled by the BJP.

"We'll intensify our protest by going to every single city and town of Uttar Pradesh to convey the message that Modi's government is anti-farmer," one of the more prominent union leaders, Rakesh Tikait, told the crowd gathered at Muzaffarnagar on Sept. 5. 

Farm leaders are also calling for a countrywide strike on Sept. 27, to draw more attention to their protest against the new laws.

A farmer sits on a tractor as he attends a grand village council meeting in Muzaffarnagar on Sept. 5, 2021. Farmers are an important voting bloc in the country, with slightly less than 60 per cent of Indians dependent on the agricultural sector to earn a living. (Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

For nearly 10 months, India's farmers have been fighting three new laws passed without consultation last year. The farmers say the laws will destroy livelihoods and leave smaller farmers vulnerable to being squeezed out by large corporations. 

The Indian government insists farmers will be better off under the new legislation, which loosens rules around how they can sell their goods. The government has also pledged to improve incomes, but farmers want the laws repealed. 

The sustained protests have created a tricky situation for the Modi government. Farmers are an important voting bloc in the country, with slightly less than 60 per cent of Indians dependent on the agricultural sector to earn a living. 

Demonstrations entrenched

Numerous rounds of talks between government officials and agricultural union leaders have failed to break the impasse and the demonstrations are now entrenched, with quasi-permanent protest camps still located at three locations that ring the Delhi national capital region They first materialized in late November 2020. 

The camps are a "well-oiled system," said Dalwinder Singh, a farmer from Haryana state who has been living at one of the sites for 10 months, only leaving occasionally to tend to his crops.

He sees it as his duty to stay at the site to promote the farmers' wider goal: to keep attention on the issue and pressure on the Indian government.

WATCH | India's farmers say they won't back down until new farming laws are repealed: 


India farmer’s have ramped up their protests after nearly a year, saying they won’t back down until new farming laws are repealed. They’re hoping to influence elections early next year in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. 2:16

Singh was also at the second protest that has injected new energy into the farmers' movement this month: a sit-in that lasted several days outside a government office in Karnal, in Haryana state. 

The city was the site of a protest in August that turned violent, with police officers charging at protesters with their batons. Ten people were injured, but anger against the authorities intensified when a video went viral in which a government official is heard telling police officers to "smash the heads" of protesting farmers.   

"The fight for Karnal was very important," Singh told CBC News. "We had to prove a point." 

The farmers got what they wanted: an inquiry will look into what happened and the bureaucrat seen in the video has been placed on leave until the investigation's report is released.  

"We got justice," Singh said. "It's obviously given us a big boost." 

'A major factor'

For agricultural policy analyst Indra Shekhar Singh, what happened in Karnal is a "litmus test" of the potential the farmers have to disrupt local politics because of how quickly the state government gave in to the farmers' demands. 

With five months to go until the state election in Uttar Pradesh, he believes the farmers have both the time and the will to sway voters.

Farmers listen to union leaders speaking at the Tikri camp, near the border with India’s capital New Delhi, on Sept. 12, 2021. They’ve been camping in protest against the country’s controversial new farming laws since late November 2020. (Salimah Shivji/CBC)

"For the first time, farmers will be a major factor and a major pressure group in the elections in Uttar Pradesh," said Shekhar Singh, a commentator formerly with the National Seed Association of India. 

"There is a very high probability that the BJP will face a strong resistance." 

The resistance is building at the Tikri protest camp, where Kaur Natt couldn't keep the smile off her face as she looked back on the last few weeks. 

'A shot in the arm'

"The Muzaffarnagar [rally] was a shot in the arm," she said. 

"It is going to be 10 months since we have been sitting here," she said, while adding quickly that the farmers have the time and patience to keep at it. "One thing is clear: we will not budge until these laws are repealed." 

‘This is my life now,” says 90-year-old Mahender Sangar, who has been living at the Tikri protest site for five months in a small tent with nine others. (Salimah Shivji/CBC)

That same determination is what keeps 90-year old Mahender Sangar going. He now spends his days living in a tent with nine other people. 

"This is my life now," he told CBC. "You can't afford to insult the farmers the way this government has, so I've decided to make this my home until we win this fight."


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CORPORATE GOOD INTENTIONS ARE ALL TALK

More companies pledge ‘net-zero’ emissions to fight climate change, but what does that really mean?



The world’s pledges so far aren’t enough to stop climate change, U.N. data show. Metamorworks via Getty Images


September 20, 2021 2.00pm EDT

You’ll probably hear the term “net-zero emissions” a lot over the coming weeks as government leaders and CEOs, under pressure, talk about how they’ll reduce their countries’ or businesses’ impact on climate change. Amazon, for example, just announced that more than 200 companies have now joined its Climate Pledge, committing to reach net-zero emissions by 2040.

But what does net-zero emissions actually mean?

“Zero emissions” – without the “net” caveat – means emitting no greenhouse gases.

“Net-zero emissions” has more wiggle room. It’s like balancing a checkbook. The country or company cuts most of its emissions through efficiency and clean energy, then offsets the rest by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or eliminating emissions elsewhere.

Written by academics, edited by journalists, backed by evidence.Get newsletter

For example, trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air, so they’re often considered “negative emissions.” The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan can claim net-zero emissions because almost all of its electricity comes from hydropower, and its forests sequester about three times more carbon than its vehicles, factories and other human activities emit.

Companies have another way to claim net-zero emissions – they can take advantage of carbon reductions elsewhere by buying carbon credits. For example, a U.S. company might pay to protect forests in South America and then subtract those trees’ negative emissions from its own emissions to say that its operations are “net-zero.” Other carbon credits support sustainable development projects, such as installing wind or solar power in poorer countries.

But counting on carbon credits also draws criticism, because it allows those companies to keep generating greenhouse gases. Other concerns are that some projects would happen anyway, the emissions reductions might not be permanent or even verifiable, or they might get double-counted by more than one entity. Some projects, like tree planting, can take years to pay off in emissions reductions while the companies buying forest offsets continue emitting greenhouse gases.


GDP
36
34
30
CO2 emissions
29
44
27
Population
12
28
60
Data as of the first quarter of 2021. Includes pledges in law, proposed legislation or official policy documents.


Why does net-zero emissions matter?

Greenhouse gases trap heat near Earth’s surface. When their concentrations get too high, they fuel global warming.

In 2015, countries around the world agreed to limit global warming to well under 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) compared with preindustrial times, with a goal of 1.5 C (2.7 F). To keep warming under 1.5 C with the least disruption, the United Nations says the world needs to be on a path to reach net-zero emissions by about 2050. To put those temperatures into perspective, global warming today is just over 1 C (1.8 F) above preindustrial levels, and rising seas and extreme weather are already a problem.

Several countries, including the United States, have pledged to meet the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. But when the U.N. analyzed each country’s commitments under the Paris Agreement in mid-September, it found they still fall short by so much that even if every pledge is met, temperatures will rise about 2.7 C (4.86 F) this century.



Keeping global warming to 1.5 C will require negative greenhouse gas emissions. 


How a company gets to net-zero emissions

To see how a company might get to net-zero emissions, let’s imagine a hypothetical company, ChipCo, that makes, packages and distributes potato chips. ChipCo purchases electricity from a local utility to run machinery at its factory. It also has boilers to generate steam to heat the building and for some production processes. And it uses delivery trucks to transport its products to customers. Each step generates greenhouse gas emissions.

To achieve net-zero emissions, ChipCo’s first step is to ramp up energy efficiency. Improvements in insulation and equipment can reduce the amount of energy needed or wasted. A simple example is switching out incandescent light bulbs that use 60 watts of energy with LED bulbs that give off the same brightness, yet consume only 8 watts.

The second step is to switch from fossil fuels – the leading source of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions – to renewable energy, such as solar or wind power, that doesn’t produce greenhouse gas emissions. Once the company’s electricity is renewable, using electric delivery vehicles further cuts emissions.

Homes and office buildings can also be built to net-zero, or carbon-neutral, standards. In that case, the focus is on making them extremely energy-efficient and relying on heating and electricity from clean energy sources.


ChipCo’s third step is finding negative emissions. It might be too expensive or not yet technologically possible for it to replace its steam boiler with a carbon-neutral product. Instead, ChipCo might purchase carbon credits that would remove the same amount of carbon from the atmosphere that would be generated by the boiler.

Companies are increasingly under pressure from governments, activists and their customers, as well as some powerful investors, to cut their emissions.

To tell if a company is taking its responsibilities seriously, look for its action plan and performance so far. A company that announces a net-zero target of 2030 can’t wait until 2029 to take action. There needs to be a consistent trajectory of improvements in energy efficiency and clean energy, not just promises and carbon offsets.

Over 200 companies pledge net-zero emissions by 2040 as pressure on private sector mounts

The announcement comes in the wake of a dire warning from a UN climate panel.

ByCatherine Thorbecke
20 September 2021, 

Paul Morigi/Getty Images
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announces the co-founding of The Climate Pledge at the National Press.

Proctor & Gamble latest to join Amazon’s climate pledge

The Climate Pledge now totals 201 companies, who employ more than 7 million people worldwide.

Nearly 90 new companies -- including multinational corporate giant Procter & Gamble, tech behemoth HP and cloud-computing titan Salesforce -- have signed onto the Climate Pledge, an Amazon-backed initiative that asks firms to commit to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

Organizers of the Climate Pledge announced Monday a total of 86 new signatories, bringing the total number of companies involved to 201. The new commitments come as the United Nations General Assembly kicks off in New York City, with climate change talks expected to take center stage among the high-profile meeting of world leaders.

MORE: 'Unequivocal' that human influence has warmed the planet, UN climate panel finds

It also comes in the wake of a recent report from a U.N. panel -- that U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called a "code red for humanity" -- warning of dire environmental consequences if immediate action is not taken to cut back greenhouse gas emissions


LightRocket via Getty Images
Members of Extinction Rebellion stage protest against companies supporting oil, gas and 
minera...

ASOS, Nespresso and Selfridges are among some of the other household names who joined the pledge Monday. Altogether, pledge signatories employ more than 7 million employees across 26 industries in 21 countries.

"I believe that now, more than ever, companies like Amazon have an obligation to lead the fight for our planet," Andy Jassy, Amazon's CEO, said in a statement Monday.

"But, solving this challenge cannot be accomplished by one company; it requires all of us to act together, and it’s one of the reasons we’re so excited to announce that more than 200 businesses have joined us in signing The Climate Pledge -- a commitment to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement 10 years early," Jassy added.


David S. Taylor, Procter & Gamble's CEO and president, echoed Jassy's sentiments in a separate statement, saying that addressing climate change effectively, "requires collaboration across industries and credible science-based actions."

"P&G has made significant progress over the past decade and we know we must do more," Taylor added. "The task ahead is urgent, difficult, and much bigger than any single company can solve alone. P&G is proud to join The Climate Pledge as we work together to preserve our shared home for generations to come."


Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE
Proctor & Gamble Co. headquarters stands in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, Aug. 19, 2014.

If all of the firms followed through on their promise, they would collectively mitigate some 1.98 billion metric tons of carbon emissions by 2040, according to an estimate from initiative organizers, or 5.4% of the current global annual emissions.

The firms have committed to measuring and reporting their greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis, implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement's goalposts, and neutralize any remaining emissions with additional and quantifiable offsets.
MORE: Citing human rights risks, UN calls for ban on certain AI tech until safeguards are set up

A report issued last month by a U.N. panel that warned that the impacts of human-caused climate change are severe and widespread -- and that while there is still a chance to limit that warming, some impacts will continue to be felt for centuries.

The report from the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called for "immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions" in order to limit future warming to 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels, as is the goal of the Paris Agreement by 2050. The report also warned that unless greenhouse gas emissions are drastically reduced, the world will exceed 1.5 degrees of warming in the next 20 years.

When calling the report a "code red," U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres added that, "The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse‑gas emissions from fossil-fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk."
..
Jeff Bezos, Amazon's then-CEO, announced the Climate Pledge and the company's plan to commit to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 -- a decade ahead of the international Paris Agreement -- in 2019. At the time, Bezos said that if Amazon "can meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early, then any company can."

MORE: Young people experiencing 'widespread' psychological distress over government handling of looming climate crisis, researchers say

Christiana Figueres, the U.N.’s former climate chief and now founding partner of Global Optimism -- the advocacy group spearheading the Climate Pledge with Amazon -- said in a statement Monday that the IPCC report is the starkest warning yet that "the window of time to act decisively is narrowing."

"This wake-up call from science must be faced with courage and conviction," she added. "In this light, it’s encouraging that 86 more companies -- some of the largest household names in the world -- are now joining The Climate Pledge, committing to accelerate their actions to tackle climate change in a timely fashion, and playing their part in building a low-carbon economy."

The private sector has faced immense pressure from consumers and even shareholders in recent years to address climate change. "Industry" accounted for a whopping 23% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, behind only transportation (29%) and electricity production (25%) -- data some advocates say highlights the need for large-scale industry changes vs. putting the onus to tackle climate change solely on individuals.


HP, Procter & Gamble join companies pledge to cut emissions

Mon., September 20, 2021, 


BERLIN (AP) — Computer-maker HP, consumer goods business Procter & Gamble and coffee capsule company Nespresso have joined a corporate pledge to sharply cut their greenhouse gas emissions over nearly two decades.

The Climate Pledge, a grouping of companies and organizations spearheaded by Amazon, said Monday that it has signed up 86 new members for its voluntary measures. In total, the group now has 201 members with global annual revenues of more than $1.8 trillion, it said.

Other new members include telecoms company BT, truck-maker Scania and the Selfridges department store chain.

Together, the companies aim to cut almost 2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2040 — more than 5% of the current global total.

While the group's members are encouraged to eliminate as many emissions as possible, those that can't be avoided need to be completely offset in the next two decades. That means paying for measures to ensure as many emissions are absorbed by then as the companies continue to emit.

Scientists say the world needs to achieve ‘net zero’ emissions by 2050 if it wants to meet the Paris climate accord's goal of keeping temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial times.

Kat Kramer, head of climate policy at the anti-poverty campaign group Christian Aid, welcomed the decision by big players in the private sector to aim for net zero emissions.

But she urged the focus to be on cutting as many emissions as possible in the coming decade, rather than focus on unproven technology to remove the carbon once it's in the atmosphere.
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