🌱 Forest Fracas

Happy Tuesday. The EU grapples with global trade and sustainability as it changes plans to enforce stringent rules to curb deforestation.

In today’s edition:
⚡️ US regulator enacts first-ever emissions disclosure rule
🚜 The war in Ukraine could lead to croplands expanding by 8mn hectares
🌳 EU to delay the strict policing of imports from deforestation-prone areas

🔋 Energy (1-Min Read)
 Scope 1 and 2 that’ll have to do, says the SEC

What happened: The US securities regulator has enacted a rule that, for the first time, will require larger companies to disclose emissions from their direct operations (Scope 1) and the energy that powers them (Scope 2). 

More details: They must also offer an analysis of physical risks to their business from climate change, like extreme weather, and "transition risks", like climate policies and changing consumer preferences. Compliance for some companies will kick off in 2025.

Yes, but: The final version dropped plans to force reporting of emissions from firms' supply chains and end-uses of their products. Pushback on these “Scope 3” disclosures makes the standards weaker than the EU’s equivalent standards. This was in response to concerns over inflated compliance costs and limitations in current Scope 3 data-gathering practices.

Why it matters: The heavily lobbied rule will give investors and the public a much closer look at companies' contributions to, and impact on, climate change.

What's next: Today's move ended one phase of a ferocious battle over disclosure, but now it shifts to the courtroom. It's sure to end up in court, with attorneys general from red states threatening as much after the draft landed in 2022. (Full story here).

 🚜 AgriTech (1-Min Read)
War's Harvest: the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is reshaping global croplands and ecosystems

What happened: According to new research, the Russian invasion of Ukraine could lead to croplands expanding over 8 million hectares worldwide, with potential negative effects on the environment.

Details: Shrinking food exports from Russia and Ukraine raises crop prices, prompting farmers from other countries to boost production, potentially damaging ecosystems. The bulk of the profit-driven cropland expansion will impact cereal and oilseed-producing regions, including the North American prairie, the Danubian Plain, and biodiversity hotspots such as Brazil’s Cerrado and Indonesian island Java. 

Impact: Land conversion due to the war could lead to the regional extinction of over 31,000 non-endemic species, as once the land is converted, it will take approx. 350 years to recover. 

The bigger picture: With the modern food system relying on global supply chains, this study reveals the adverse impacts of the Russian-Ukrainian war on ecosystems worldwide. If the conflict deteriorates further, with no exports from Russia or Ukraine, cropland expansion and biodiversity loss would increase by 2.9x and 4.5x, respectively. (Full story is here).

🐘 Nature (1-Min Read)
 EU's Forest Fracas

What happened: The EU is planning to delay the strict policing of imports from deforestation-prone areas after complaints from Asian, African and Latin American governments, who say the rules are burdensome, unfair, and are scaring investors. 

Details: Brussels will postpone the implementation of the classification of countries into low, standard, or high risk of deforestation. The rules were part of the EU’s Green Deal, which aims to reduce EU consumers’ role in deforestation by barring imports like coffee and cocoa from areas linked to deforestation. 

Kickback: The regulation prompted kickback from several developing nations, accusing the EU of imposing unfair green standards and disregarding local efforts to fight deforestation. Instead, each country will be designated as a standard risk to give them more time to adapt.

Why is this important? This delay sheds light on the complexities of regulating global trade to promote sustainability while also considering the economic interests of various nations. It highlights the challenges of balancing environmental protection and economic development. (Full story here).

💭 Little Bytes (1-Min Read)

💬 Quote: “To look at it purely as a risk-risk within climate, what happens if we do not decarbonise versus what happens if we deploy [climate engineering] . . . is a false narrative for the whole of the global environment.” Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment programme

📊 Stat: More than a billion people are living with obesity around the world — The Lancet

📺️ Watch: How Botanic Gardens can keep cities cool during heatwaves

🛗 Snippets for your lift conversations (1-Min Read)

• Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest fell 30% in February from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday.

• Burger King Germany has reduced the price of all plant-based meals by 10 cents, making them cheaper than the chain’s meat-based options.

• Alberta's ban on some renewable projects could hurt C$11.1 billion ($8.24 billion) in investments and stall up to 6.3 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind power capacity.

• Europe’s biggest pension fund is imposing stricter environmental, social and governance requirements on its portfolio, as it steers more capital toward companies it assesses to be greener and fairer.

• The European Union scored a victory at the World Trade Organization as an adjudicating panel rejected a Malaysian complaint against an EU decision that biodiesel made from palm oil should cease to count as a renewable biofuel.

• The U.K. government has approved $1.27 billion for the next contracts for difference (CfD) auction round, the biggest-ever funding boost for its flagship renewables support scheme.

 🎣 Gone Phishing (1-Minute Read)

Three of these stories are true, one we've made up. Guess which:

• Pigcasso, the Famous Painting Pig, Dies at 8 Years Old

• A rare 14-karat gold Lego piece sells for $18k

• Amazon buys a 100% nuclear-powered data centre

• Tesla unveils solar-powered electric aeroplane prototype