🌱 Heir-Raising Dilemma

Happy Tuesday. With an ageing and frustrated workforce, Europe’s farming industry faces a shaky future that could affect the region’s green transition and food security.

In today’s edition:
⚡️ US security concerns = restrictions on Chinese car imports
🚜 43% of French farmers to retire over the next decade
🌳 1 in 5 migratory animals at risk of extinction

🔋 Energy (1-Min Read)
 Biden is looking beyond tariffs to keep Chinese ‘smart cars’ out of the US

What happened:  The Biden administration is considering restricting imports of Chinese "smart cars" and related components amid growing U.S. concerns about data security

Details: Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) are already subject to a 25% tariff, limiting the number of cars Chinese automakers send to the US. China’s BYD, for example – which last month overtook Tesla as the world’s biggest seller of electric cars – does not retail its passenger vehicles in the US. The suggested new measures would apply blanket bans on EVs and their parts originating from China, preventing any future entry into the US market.

Action already: US utility company Duke Energy has already announced plans to phase out energy-storage batteries produced by Chinese battery maker CATL due to pressure from US Congress.

Why it matters: Competing political and economic interests at a state level = both a risk and opportunity for EV players. In April, Michigan’s state government determined that economic benefits outweighed political risks when approving the issuance of state funds to a US$3.5bn battery plant with ties to China. On the other hand, the governor of Virginia scuppered a similar deal on national security grounds. (Full story here).

 🚜 AgriTech (1-Min Read)
Farming Futures: Tackling the heir-raising dilemma in Europe

What happened: France’s national auditing body has highlighted how the world’s fifth-largest food exporter expects 43% of its farmers to retire over the next decade. These retiring farmers struggle to pass on or sell their farms due to industry challenges like climate change, high land valuations and stringent regulations. 

Details: Other European countries are facing similar challenges, with 58% of farmers in the EU aged 55 or above. However, the EU is trying to encourage younger people into farming via its subsidy scheme. Member states have been told to devote at least 3% of the bloc’s farming subsidy, the €60bn-a-year Common Agricultural Policy, to farmers under 40. These policies have had limited success, needing to be more innovative and targeted 

Why is this important? If the continent can’t deliver an effective generational transition, it will produce less food, become less competitive, and rely on imports with lower environmental and food safety standards. Younger farmers are also seen as more open to innovation and environmentally friendly practices, so delivering the generational transition can help provide the EU’s green targets for food and farming. (Full story here).

🐘 Nature (1-Min Read)
UN report reveals perilous journey for migratory species

What happened: The first-ever UN report to include a global survey of migratory species, State of the World’s Migratory Species, has highlighted the existential threat migratory animals face. This threat is primarily caused by human activities, with 1 in 5 migratory animals at risk of extinction. 

Details: The results make for grim reading. Of the approx. 1,200 species listed and protected under the UN Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), 44% have declining populations, while 70% of migratory reptiles and 97% of fish face extinction. Activities like hunting, fishing and habitat loss are the primary causes of this destruction, which are intensified by climate change.

Silver lining: The report also pinpoints crucial habitat areas for protection, and around half the areas identified are now subject to some level of safeguarding. A spotlight is also placed on conservation partnerships that have successfully protected individual species and could be replicated to impact more animals positively. (Full story here).

💭 Little Bytes (1-Min Read)

💬 Quote: "We need to look at the top levels of government decision making, and what is being planned so that we can make sure that we can ... address human needs while not sacrificing the nature we all need to survive." Amy Fraenkel is executive secretary of the U.N. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.

📊 Stat: The average global temperature has, for the first time, breached the critical benchmark of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels over 12 months — European earth observation agency

📺️ Watch: The UK becomes first G20 country to halve greenhouse gas emissions

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

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) released a notice of intent to help fund projects to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sectors. (Link).

• Investor pressure is growing in mining this week. Two pressure groups filed legal action against the London Metal Exchange (LME) for allowing the sale of metal produced in Indonesia that they allege is polluting rivers used by indigenous communities. Also, a group representing UK pension funds has raised concerns about Rio Tinto's water management at its Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia. (Link and Link)

• One of the most iconic teams in the world of Formula 1 is shifting up a gear when it comes to sustainability by pledging to, by 2040, bring their carbon emissions down to zero. (Link)

• Barclays has announced it will no longer provide direct funding for new oil and gas projects and will restrict lending to energy businesses that plan to expand their fossil fuel production. (Link).

• Across the US and Europe, climate change is forcing the ski industry to adapt. Lower snowfall and melting snowpack force the multibillion-dollar industry to rethink how it can keep consumers paying for expensive lift tickets, equipment and hospitality. (Link).

 🎣 Gone Phishing (1-Minute Read)

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

• U.S. Customs dog sniffs out mummified monkeys

• Mushroom growing on live frog surprises scientists

• Snoop Dogg and Master P sue Walmart 

• Egyptian cat artefact found amongst clutter in woman’s attic