Sustainable Switch: Has Antarctica hit a point of no return?
By Sharon Kimathi
Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital
sharon.kimathi@thomsonreuters.com
Hello,
Environmental campaigners are taking the European Commission to court to demand stricter 2030 emissions rules, while scientists in Antarctica warn that rapidly melting ice sheets can only be slowed by cutting fossil fuel use. Meanwhile, Namibia has discovered vast reserves of crude oil, underscoring the disconnect between scientific warnings to halt drilling while some countries seek to ramp up oil exports.
In a case before the Court of Justice of the European Union's General Court, non-profit groups Climate Action Network and the Global Legal Action Network argue that current national limits on greenhouse gas emissions for sectors such as transport and agriculture are unlawful.
The campaigners said the thresholds would fail to cut Europe's planet-heating emissions fast enough to meet the Paris Agreement's goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (about 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.
A European Commission spokesperson declined to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.
* EU’s green backlash
The limits, which require EU member states to cut their emissions in those sectors between 10% and 50% from 2005 levels, contribute to the EU's overall goal of reducing net emissions 55% by 2030, in relation to 1990 levels.
The court has given the case priority status, meaning it could be heard in 2025.
The EU lawsuit comes as Germany’s far-right AfD party is trying to pick up rural voters who oppose the growth of wind energy in regions such as Thuringia and Saxony.
This anti-green sentiment echoes a broader popular backlash in Germany and elsewhere in Europe against the costs of the transition to green energy amid an economic slowdown.
Scientists say the world's emissions need to roughly halve by 2030 to have a shot at limiting warming to 1.5C. Campaigners argue the wealthy, large historical polluters such as the EU should be moving faster.
* A rapidly changing continent
The campaigners’ warnings come as nearly 1,500 academics and researchers specializing in Antarctica gathered in southern Chile for the 11th Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research conference this week to share their findings on the ice-covered continent which is rapidly changing.
There were first-hand accounts from researchers about heavy rainfall, intense heat waves and sudden Foehn (strong dry winds)events that led to mass melting, giant glacier break-offs and dangerous weather conditions with global implications.
Scientists wondered whether these events meant Antarctica had reached a tipping point, or a point of accelerated and irreversible sea ice loss from the West Antarctic ice sheet.
While some say the climate changes are already locked in, scientists agreed that the worst-case scenarios can still be avoided by dramatically reducing fossil fuel emissions.
"If we keep emissions low, we can stop this eventually," Weber said. "If we keep them high, we have a runaway situation and we cannot do anything."
* ‘Like a Gulf state in the 2040s’
That brings us to the final point of whether anyone can actually stop “a runaway situation”.
Over in Namibia, Portugal-based Galp discovered that the Mopane field could hold at least 10 billion barrels of oil and there has been interest from at least 12 other oil majors.
The Namibian economy is heavily dependent on mineral exports including diamonds and rare earths. But following recent discoveries, energy could eventually overtake mining in terms of significance to the middle-income country's economy.
"Oil exports per capita out of Namibia will look like a Gulf state in the 2040s, provided they are competitive globally ... which should be a positive for debt to GDP ratios in the country," Charlie Robertson, head of macro strategy at FIM Partners, said.
* Talking Points
- Sudan famine: The United Nations World Food Programme is investigating two top officials in Sudan for alleged fraud and concealing information about delivering aid amid a severe hunger crisis, fuelled since April 2023 by a conflict that has caused ethnic violence, massive displacement and famine in parts of Darfur.
- More than 31.8 million Nigerians are acutely short of food due to security challenges and the removal of fuel subsidies, the ministry of budget and economic planning said, citing a study by several international development partners. The scale of the shortages have led to malnutrition among women and children.
- Elsewhere in West Africa, Senegal has suspended all mining activity for nearly three years on its side of the southeastern Faleme river in a bid to protect the environment and support local communities threatened by an artisanal gold mining boom.
- Japan typhoon:Millions of people were ordered to evacuate their homes as Typhoon Shanshan lashed southwest Japan with strong winds and torrential rain, knocking out power, snarling air traffic and forcing major factories to close. At least three people have been killed and scores injured in what authorities have warned could be one of the strongest storms to hit the region.
- Torrential rains triggered a landslide in the southern Italian province of Caserta, forcing evacuations, and rescuers were searching for a woman and her adult son who were missing and feared to have died.
- Worker’s rights:South Korea's parliament passed a bill that allows nurses to perform some medical procedures normally conducted by doctors amid a prolonged strike by medics. The Korean Medical Association said the move drove a wedge between hospital staff and would ultimately harm patients. Click here for the full Reuters article.
* ESG Lens
As Namibia prepares to ramp up its fossil fuel production, Norway has been increasing its pipeline gas exports to Europe.
Following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and reduced shipments of Russian gas, Norway has become Europe's largest gas supplier.
As of the end of July, Norwegian piped gas volumes totalled 70.2 billion cubic meters (bcm), compared with 64 bcm for the same period last year, said Frode Leversund, CEO of system operator Gassco - the first time Gassco provided accumulated delivery volumes for 2024.
* ESG Spotlight
Toymaker Lego said it was on track to replace the oil used in making its signature bricks with more expensive renewable and recycled plastic by 2032 after signing deals with producers to secure long-term supply.
Lego, which sells billions of plastic bricks annually, has tested more than 600 different substances to develop a new material that would completely replace its oil-based brick by 2030, but with limited success. Click here for more on the story.
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