We're surrounded by nincompoops

Hi friend,

Last week, I was pretty pissed that authorities were debating whether to allow companies to go deep-sea mining for metals to be used in electric vehicle batteries. Oh, the greenwashing irony.

Missed that one? Catch up here (if nothing else, to see the creatures that roam the ocean floors. Not sure we should be pissing that lot off).

This week, the International Seabed Authority decided to delay the start of deep-sea mining, saying it “needed more time to finalise mining rules”.

Well, duh.

Turns out, common sense really isn’t that common.

Allowing humans to extend their pillaging and plundering to the bottom of the ocean – an ecosystem we know very little about – is not only irresponsible, it’s downright fucking stupid.

Nations opposing the mining, including Costa Rica, Chile, and France, say no mining permits should be issued until regulations are finalised. You’d think this would be obvious. But if we have to remind a global authority about this, then we should be worried.

The Seabed Authority has already issued 31 contracts for exploratory work in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans. The permits give sponsoring nations and their contractors permission to collect small amounts of seabed rocks, which they’re supposed to use to study the environmental impact of mining.

This should already raise suspicion because it leaves the door WIDE OPEN to greenwashing.

The regulations are now expected to be finalised in 2025, although the creatively named “The Metals Company”, which wants the first mining licence, is pushing for this to happen sooner.

Still, it buys environmentalists time to rally the troops and get as many nations and organisations as possible to oppose deep-sea mining.

You can, too. I’ve found a bunch of petitions you can sign. See them in the “One small thing you can do” section.

👇

— Tarryn ✌️

P.S. Did someone forward this to you? You can subscribe here and get it straight in your inbox.

This week's climate and sustainability news worth noting

🥵 The climate records keep falling. July is set to be Earth's hottest month in recorded history – 21 of the 30 hottest individual days on record happened this month. In other news, a buoy off Florida this week recorded sea surface temperatures of just over 38C, a possible world record, and temperatures in Iran exceeded 55C this week.

🏔️ Some World Heritage Sites are facing "unprecedented challenges from climate change" and could lose their World Heritage status. A new report by the CSIRO points out that climate change was recognised as a threat to about half of all natural World Heritage Sites in 2014. By 2020, it was the number one threat recognised across all sites.

🌲 Forests could become a “substantial carbon source” by 2070. US forests could worsen global warming instead of easing it because they are being destroyed by natural disasters and are losing their ability to absorb planet-warming gases as they get older. A report from the US Agriculture Department predicts that the ability of forests to absorb carbon will start plummeting after 2025 and that forests could emit up to 100 million metric tons of carbon a year as their emissions from decaying trees exceed their carbon absorption. [I’ve written before about how we’re putting too much faith in trees to save the planet. You can read that issue here.]

🥗 A vegan diet massively reduces the damage to the environment caused by food production. The most comprehensive analysis to date showed that vegan diets resulted in 75% less emissions, water pollution, and land use than diets that included 100g of meat a day. Vegan diets also cut the destruction of wildlife by 66% and water use by 54%.

🤑 Should we carbon-tax the rich? A study by the University of Leeds has found that reducing the energy usage of the top 20% of energy users in Europe could decrease total household greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 10%. Other research proposed a 'luxury carbon tax' on emissions from luxury activities. If implemented globally, the luxury carbon tax could save around 100 giga-tonnes of carbon emissions by 2050.

🌀 Wild weather: Canada goes from one extreme (out-of-control wildfires) to another (flash flooding) after intense storms dumped record amounts of rain over Nova Scotia. In Greece, thousands of people were forced to flee wildfires on the island of Rhodes. Wildfires in Algeria kill 34.

And in business news

✅ Google published its sustainability report this week, confirming a 10% reduction in emissions across all scopes. Scope 3 (indirect) emissions continue to account for the majority (75%) of its climate footprint. In comparison, operational (Scope 1) emissions account for just 1%.

✅ Amazon also published its sustainability report. It reduced its overall carbon footprint by 0.4%. Its Scope 3 emissions related to its supply chain dropped 0.7% in 2022, but its Scope 1 emissions (related to fossil fuels and refrigerants) increased by 11%. It did, however, reduce its use of single-use plastics by 11.6%. Starting in 2024, Amazon will update its supply chain standards “to require regular reporting and emissions goal setting.” It will also provide its suppliers with products and tools that will help them reach their decarbonisation goals and help “select suppliers” transition to carbon-free electricity.

👏 A court in Belgium has blocked INEOS from developing a €3 billion plastics production hub because it has not disclosed enough information about the project’s environmental impact. The company is now “reviewing its options” for the plant, which would have been the biggest constructed in Europe in more than three decades. ClientEarth Lawyer Tatiana Lujan nailed it when she said: “It’s 2023. You cannot use oil and gas to make the components for plastic on an industrial scale and expect to sail through unchallenged.”

🌱 Dove has partnered with Rimba Collective to safeguard 123,000 acres of Southeast Asian rainforests over five years, in a bid to protect 80 endangered wildlife species and foster nature regeneration. The initiative will enhance the lives of 8,000 local residents through jobs and access to education, healthcare, and clean water, while protecting endangered wildlife species such as the Sunda pangolin and the helmeted hornbill.

🤨 According to Honeywell's Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), 86% of global organisations plan to boost their investments in sustainability initiatives within the next year. 73% say sustainability is their top priority, above digital transformation, financial performance, and market growth. Of course, this could all just be hot air. Words mean nothing without action to back them.

One small thing you can do

Sign a petition against deep sea mining.

I’ve gathered a bunch of petitions against deep-sea mining.

✍🏻 Sign one, sign ‘em all:

• Change.org: Stop deep sea mining

• Greenpeace: Help stop deep-sea mining before it starts

• Only One: Say No to Deep-Sea Mining

• Sustainable Ocean Alliance: #DefendTheDeep

• UK Government and Parliament Petitions: Stop deep-sea mining

Because lots of little actions combined can add up to something remarkable.

I'll leave you on this happy note...

Enjoyed this newsletter? Please subscribe and tell your friends about it ✌️