Challenge Tag

From the destructive power of storms and floods to the threats posed by heat waves and droughts, the world is facing more and more extreme weather events caused by climate change.

For decades, global reaction has been slow, science ignored and evidence cast aside as an inconvenient truth. But now the need for change is front and center, from reducing and mitigating the emissions we already produce, to adapting and increasing our resilience in the face of unpredictable weather.

At the heart of reducing carbon emissions is the net zero goal, until recently a vague and nebulous goal, which looked good on marketing materials, but few really understood what it meant and implied. That changed, says Rachel Skinner, executive director of engineering professional services consultancy WSP, when the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) released its own standard. “For the first time, organizations around the world have all been able to say exactly what we mean by net zero,” she says.

The standard sets out how companies can align their short- and long-term climate action with limiting global warming to 1.5°C, she continues. “It makes it clear that the first job is to reduce your emissions as much as you can, before using offsetting as a last resort.”

But if there is optimism, there is also realism. Last month, in its annual progress report to Parliament, the UK’s Committee on Climate Change (CCC) sharply criticized the government’s efforts to adopt policies that would take the UK to net zero by 2050. The CCC chairman John Gummer, Baron Deben, said: “Gaps need to be plugged in his strategy urgently. The window for real progress is short. We are attentive to the promised action.

The government’s policies on insulation and the failure to implement promised plans to address the fact that UK homes are among the most common and least energy efficient in Europe have been particularly criticised.

“A huge level of change is needed over the next decade if we have any chance of reaching net zero by 2050,” adds Skinner, whose own organization has pledged to halve the carbon footprint. of its designs and advice by 2030.

The need to keep building

But if the goal is to reach a net zero planet by 2050, new infrastructure projects will continue to be developed. About three-quarters of the global infrastructure needed by 2050 still needs to be built, but the construction industry accounts for 38% of global CO_{of them} emissions.

But mothballing the construction sector is not an option. The world needs flood defenses and new hubs for wind power and hydrogen, while a key argument to emerge from COP26 in Glasgow was that the push for sustainability must be fair.

People in developing countries need a roof over their heads, as well as clean water and sewage systems, says Dr. Andrew Minson, director of concrete and sustainable construction at Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA). “To get to net zero, it’s not enough to say we have to do without it and leave these developing countries stranded.”

The cement industry is one of the most energy-intensive and hardest to reduce, Minson concedes, but it has a roadmap to net zero by 2050. Much of it relies on the use of waste to replace the cement needed to manufacture new low-carbon products. concrete. Recently, an industry initiative called ConcreteZero was launched to help the industry achieve net zero, with WSP being one of 17 founding members.

Designers, Minson says, can use tools like the GCCA roadmap “in very creative ways and achieve sustainable projects,” such as porous concrete pavements to help reduce flooding. Overall, he adds, the roadmap shows the sector’s potential to reduce carbon in the built environment by 40% by 2030, saving five billion tonnes of carbon.

“We’re not waiting for a eureka moment,” Minson says. “It’s not a technological obstacle, it’s actually a political obstacle.” Governments are responsible for around 60% of public procurement for infrastructure projects, he says, but they don’t specify breakthrough technologies such as low-carbon concrete. “And it’s actually not at all for a technical reason, it’s actually because of habit.”

The dual role of infrastructure

According to James Heath, Chief Executive of the UK’s National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), infrastructure has a role to play at two levels. “First, projects can contribute to strengthening society’s protection and adaptation against climate change, taking the form of measures such as sustainable flood resilience measures. Second, the infrastructure itself must be more resilient to the risks associated with its design and operation. »

The National Infrastructure Commission’s design principles have been adopted by the government for all major projects, he says. “They place climate as the very first principle; Not only must projects be built and operated in a way that reduces emissions, but their design must enable the people and businesses that use them to also reduce their broader climate impacts. For example, he adds, the plan for Tideway, a new 25km super sewer under the Thames, includes active travel spaces and parks, as well as the tunnel itself.

Railways are one of the sectors that must adapt to climate change now, while seeking to become more resilient in the future. In the UK, Network Rail recently produced its third adaptation report which, according to the group’s director of safety and engineering, Martin Frobisher, shows “how the railway reacts when the weather takes its toll ( and) also how we minimize our emissions in order to do less.” harm.”

Earthworks pose one of the biggest headaches, he says. Built largely in Victorian times and without design code, they are much steeper than they should be, making them particularly susceptible to landslides caused by heavy rain.

Rebuilding thousands upon thousands of railway embankments is unfeasible, he continues, so instead Network Rail: “focuses on modern telemetry, instrumentation and better weather forecasting so we can safely run the railways during extreme weather conditions”.

Better drainage is also expected to play a crucial role, with large open channels, which can carry huge volumes of water, replacing restrictive underground pipes which often cannot cope with the type of deluge we are currently experiencing due to the climate. change. Channels are also a cost-effective solution and are made using simple concrete-impregnated fabric covers rather than expensive formwork, says Frobisher. These are laid in channels then sprayed with water and left to harden.

The track itself is the most heat sensitive, but learning from countries such as Saudi Arabia, all new tracks in the UK are now stretched and installed under tension. When it heats up, the tension is released, preventing the track from deforming.

Mitigation is also part of the future-proofing of the rail network, adds Frobisher, and decarbonising the network is also a priority, with electricity replacing diesel and solar panels now standard at most new stations.

Unity within the industry and creative solutions to mitigate climate costs can help the infrastructure sector achieve both its net zero and resilience goals.

“Society needs to be much more honest with itself,” Skinner says. “We need to move past all those paper-thin promises and affirmations that can’t be delivered but make us all feel good and keep creating real change.”

The impetus for change is real. It now counts on the collaboration of all levels of government, businesses and communities to make this change happen.

Earth Day is commemorated annually on April 22 with the aim of focusing on the environment and how we can be more sustainable. Each year, more than a billion people get involved in activities ranging from planting trees to reducing their energy consumption or volunteering for green projects.

Founded in 1970, Earth Day was started by Gaylord Nelson, a US Senator from Wisconsin after seeing the impact of the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. He believed that if he could raise the issue of environment and sustainability with the general public, it would also move the political agenda forward. It worked, with Earth Day now an annual event in 190 countries.

This year, Earth Day is all about investing in the planet. As the world must reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C and avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the movement calls politicians, citizens and businesses to act. .

Companies focus on reducing emissions

UK businesses are responding to the call to move to net zero emissions. Data released by the UK government ahead of the COP26 climate summit in November last year claimed that more than half of the UK’s largest companies have pledged to eliminate their contribution to carbon emissions by 2050, representing a total market capital of over £1.2 billion and combined annual turnover of £700 billion.

Business and Industry Minister Lee Rowley said: “Businesses, large and small, across all sectors of the global economy, have a crucial role to play in both reducing their environmental impact and in the development of green technologies that will put us on the path to net zero. .

“With over 2,500 UK businesses joining the ‘race to zero’, including the majority of our biggest companies, the UK is leading the way in showing how going green doesn’t just make sense for the planet – it also makes business sense.”

Emma Walmsley, CEO of GSK, said: “The science is clear: nature loss and climate change are already harming human health. So we must act now to protect and restore the health of the planet if we are to protect and improve people’s health. That’s why GSK is committed to achieving net zero climate impact and net positive nature impact by 2030.

“For GSK, our sustainability commitments are an integral part of our strategy, making our business more resilient, protecting our operations and helping us to impact global health while delivering returns to our shareholders. .”

The Challenge of Reaching Net Zero

Achieving net-zero emissions across the entire supply chain (including scope 3 emissions) is proving more challenging. BT is targeting 2040 across its supply chain and customer emissions, as is Ocado, while Sainsbury’s believes it will be 2050 before it is zero in its value chain.

Despite the promises, research from the Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor suggests companies are “behind” their plans. After analyzing the pledges made by 25 major companies, he suggests that the companies are only on track to reduce their emissions by 40%.

“We sought to uncover as many replicable best practices as possible, but were frankly surprised and disappointed with the overall integrity of the companies’ claims,” ​​says Thomas Day of the New Climate Institute and lead author of the study.

“As the pressure on companies to act on climate change increases, their ambitious claims too often lack real substance, which can mislead both consumers and the regulators who are key to guiding their direction. strategic. Even companies that are doing relatively well exaggerate their actions.

CDP also found that while 71% of suppliers report scope on emissions, only 55% report scope two and 20% report scope three. This is despite the fact that a company’s supply chain greenhouse gas emissions are, on average, 11.4 times higher than operational emissions.

What companies need to achieve their climate goals

To achieve climate goals, companies say they need more clarity from governments and policymakers. Nearly half (49%) of CEOs globally say they don’t know how they need to operate to meet the 1.5°C warming target, with that number rising to 70% in Oceania. Only 18% say they are clear on this point overall, compared to 34% in Asia.

On this Earth Day, there will be a lot of talk about the little things people can do to make a difference. This could be planting a tree, carrying a reusable water bottle or coffee mug, or walking to work.

But consumers expect more from companies. Where previously it would have been acceptable to pay lip service to sustainability, consumers are now looking for companies willing to follow suit, with 24% of UK adults believing brands should take a stand on climate change.

And it is becoming increasingly clear that human-induced climate change is, in the words of the IPCC, causing “dangerous and widespread disruptions to nature and affecting the lives of billions of people around the world”. .

The world can hope to stave off the worst impacts of climate change, but we face a “now or never” moment, with emissions set to peak within a decade and nearly halving.

Jim Skea, professor at Imperial College London and co-chair of the task force behind the IPCC report, says: “It’s now or never if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Without immediate and significant reductions in emissions across all sectors, this will be impossible. »