Africa’s Great Green Wall, Canada’s Climate Pledge Collective’s “Project Bank Switch”, Airlines Race to Reduce CO2, and Elon Musk’s $100 Million Carbon Capture Challenge

CANADA’S CLIMATE PLEDGE COLLECTIVE’S “OPERATION BANK SWITCH”

Here’s a great story out of Canada. Climate Pledge Collective, whose mission is “to change every single person on our planet into advocates for climate solutions and by highlighting meaningful, manageable actions individuals can take right now has undertaken Project Bank Switch throughout Canada. 

It’s a great idea that may not only resonate down here in Southern Canada, but also is a manageable, actionable item for most individuals to undertake. Here’s what it’s all about. If you’re Canadian, or bank at a Canadian bank, Climate Pledge Collective provides you with a template letter. For example, say I have an account at Bank of Montreal.  

Okay I have an account at the Bank of Montreal. Haha. Okay. CPC provides a letter or a poster (however you wish to make your voice heard) tailored specifically for that bank. For instance: “BMO is destroying our planet. Bank of Montreal refused to sign the UN declaration on responsible banking which has been signed by more than 100 major banks around the world. Bank of Montreal has more than $9Billion in outstanding loans to the oil and gas industry..Any loans that fund fossil fuel expansion puts millions of lives at risk. BUT BMO DOESN’T CARE.

So on April 22, 2021, we plan to move our money unless BMO makes major changes.”

And then the letter/poster details what exactly BMO must do in order for me to keep my money in their bank going forward. Kinda cool, right?

DEEPER DIVE: Climate Pledge Collective

AIRLINES RACE TO CUT CARBON EMISSIONS 

Recently, The Climate Daily Reported on Boeing Company’s commitment to flying on 100% biofuel by 2030.  As the world’s largest aerospace company, Boeing’s transition to biofuel set a high bar within the aviation industry to build towards a more sustainable future.

Now, with mounting pressure for the aviation to curb rising carbon emissions and help combat climate change, airlines are racing to find solutions to reduce their emissions.

Reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the aviation industry is looking into an assortment of sustainable solutions to carry the industry into a more sustainable future. Batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, and sustainable fuel made from oats, biomass, or municipal solid waste are all on the table.

According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, the aviation industry contributes five percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions and commercial airplane emissions are projected to triple by 2050.

The International Air Transport Association has set a goal to reduce net carbon dioxide emissions of 50% by 2050, relative to 2005 levels. With pressure building in the industry, we are excited to see how science and engineering develops to help reach this goal.

DEEPER DIVE: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Environmental and Energy Study Institute, International Air Transport Association

AFRICA’S GREAT GREEN WALL

The Great Green Wall is is Africa’s flagship initiative to combat the increasing desertification. Led by the African Union, the initiative aims to transform the lives of millions of people by creating a mosaic of green and productive landscapes across North Africa.

Originally a tree planting initiative, the project evolved into a development programming tool. In 2007, CHSG directed the project to tackle the social, economic and environmental impacts of land degradation and desertification. The countries Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan and Chad thereafter created the Panafrican Agency of the Great Green Wall

By 2030, the Wall aims to restore 100 million hectares of currently degraded land, sequester 250 million tonnes of carbon and create 10 million jobs in rural areas. The concept helps these nations achieve 15 of 17 sustainability goals for a better world by 2030. These goals have the power to end poverty, fight inequality and stop climate change. Guided by these goals, it is now up to all of us, governments, businesses, civil society and the general public to work together to build a better future for everyone. 

Growing a green wall across the Sahel does much more than just restore degraded land. This extraordinary initiative fights poverty and hunger, builds local resilience to climate change, improves health and well-being, creates jobs,

DEEPER DIVE: GreatGreenWall.org, The Guardian

ELON MUSK OFFERS $100 MILLION AWARD FOR “BEST CARBON CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY”   

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk offered a $100 million award for the ‘best’ carbon capture technology. The CEO of electric vehicle company Tesla and founder of aerospace manufacturer SpaceX announced the award in a tweet, which received over 600,000 likes.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, carbon capture, utilization and storage is a process that captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and either reuses it or stores it, preventing the gas from re-entering the atmosphere.  While carbon capture is a critical component of many climate goals around the world, little progress has been made to develop the technology today.

The Economic Times called Musks’ offer a “significant move” as high costs of on-site carbon capture and air removal process have slowed the development large-scale carbon capture technology. Musk’s initial tweet on Jan. 21, 2021 promised “details next week,” but more information has yet to surface. The Climate Daily will be sure to keep you up-to-date on any developments.

DEEPER DIVE: Elon Musk Twitter, Reuters, Economic Times, U.S. Department of Energy