Pew: 7-in-10 Americans Favor Steps to Become Carbon Neutral by 2050

Cannabis enthusiasts have the 4/20 holiday, but in two days some 7.9 billion people have cause to celebrate.

Earth Day is Saturday, and while today’s eyes are on the cannabis holiday, the media is already starting to turn coverage to the upcoming environmental holiday.

A Google news search of “Earth Day” yields somewhere near 316,000 results, many reporting on events being organized around the annual April 22 event that began in 1970 to demonstrate support for environmental protection.

Beyond the events being reported on, a report tied to Earth Day from Pew Research Center charting Americans’ views on climate change is getting some traction.

The poll shows nearly seven-in-10 Americans favor the U.S. taking steps to become carbon neutral by 2050, a goal outlined by President Biden at the outset of his administration. Roughly the same ratio say the U.S. should prioritize developing renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, over expanding the production of oil, coal and natural gas.

Despite that, the Pew poll shows many Americans fear relying exclusively on renewable energy sources. Roughly three-in-10 say the U.S. should completely phase out oil, coal and natural gas.

Two-thirds of those polled say large businesses and corporations are doing too little to reduce the effects of climate change.

Most tellingly, 54% describe climate change as a major threat to the country’s well-being.

Moody’s

A new Moody’s Investors Service report shows automakers will turn to innovating financing, including labeled sustainable debt issuance, to fund decarbonization strategies and electrify vehicle fleets.

According to Moody’s, more stringent emissions regulations and changes in market preferences will drive the trend.

Other highlights of the report include:

• Since 2014, 17 automakers have issued $39 billion in green bonds and $6 billion in sustainability bonds.
• Moody’s expects battery electric vehicles to account for 45% to 52% of all global light vehicle unit sales by 2035. An increase in EV production will require additional investments to expand charging infrastructure, develop lower-cost batteries and scale up production capacity.
• Most automakers are not currently publicly announcing or implementing emissions reduction targets aligned with the Paris Agreement. The average temperature alignment of automakers rated by Moody’s Investors Service is 2.2°C, with 59% of automakers above the 2.0°C mark.
• Beyond decarbonization, expect continued sustainability bond issuances in which automakers combine social and environmental objectives into their frameworks to support a “just transition,” advance supplier security and diversity, and address natural capital risks.

Hannover Re

Hannover Re this week became the third major company to leave a global climate alliance focused on reducing emissions that has faced growing political pressure in the U.S.

Hannover said in an emailed statement that it was leaving the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance “after careful consideration,” without giving details, according to a Reuters article on Insurance Journal.

The statement said Hannover Re is still committed to its sustainability strategy, its support for the Paris Agreement and that the reinsurer aims to achieve full climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest.

This follows the exit of founding members Munich Re at the end of March and Zurich Insurance earlier in April. Zurich said it was leaving to focus on helping customers transition to a low-carbon economy, while Munich Re said it was leaving over antitrust concerns.

“The charge that companies in such climate alliances could be guilty of breaking antitrust laws has been increasingly leveled by Republican politicians in some U.S. states as part of a pushback against sustainability efforts,” the Reuters article states.

TikTok

The video app TikTok will begin removing videos that deny the existence of climate change just ahead of Earth Day on Saturday.

TikTok said it was updating its misinformation policy to remove any content that “undermines well-established scientific consensus” about climate change, Sky News is reporting.

The Chinese company also plans to roll out a feature that directs people searching for climate content towards authoritative information that is sourced in partnership with the UN, similar to a YouTube practice that promotes links to the UN’s web pages on climate change, the report states.

“Despite repeated attempts to improve its reputation among sceptics, the company is still facing the prospect of an outright ban in the US, where politicians argue it is used to push misinformation and pro-China propaganda,” the article states. “And in the UK, the company was recently fined almost £13m for misusing children’s data.”

Past columns:

• Activist Group Calling for Immediate Halt to Insuring Fossil Fuels
• Poll: Almost Half the Nation Thinks Climate Change is Here and Now
• California Climate Bills Requiring Broad Disclosures Have National Implications
• U.S. EPA Seeking to Focus on Climate Mitigation
• Activists Say They’ll Continue to Call out Liberty Mutual for Fossil Fuels

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