From Orange Fires to Blue Carbon

February 4, 2023

From Orange Fires to Blue Carbon

An IoT firm unveils the hidden economic and environmental costs of wildfires - over $148B and 30% of emissions.

An oil and gas supermajor unlocks the key trends and insights surrounding the global energy transition out to 2050.

America’s supercharged Un-carrier reveals its 2040 net zero target for the first time while two key players join forces to boost blue carbon credits. 

First up...

Don’t Play with Fire

Within just one decade, eight of the worst wildfires on record have occurred and they’ve become even fiercer, burning about 2x more tree cover today as they did two decades ago. 

Yet, the full impact of wildfires remains underestimated and their real costs kept hidden, which the IoT firm Dryad unveils in its new report "What lies beneath – the hidden truth about wildfire”. 

The company estimated that wildfires cost the U.S. $148 billion and more. They're also a potential source of 30% of emissions by 2100.

These and other unrecorded impacts on health and biodiversity are revealed in the report. Early fire detection is the key to preventing those impacts, Dryad says.

What Lies Ahead for Energy

Transitioning the world to clean energy is no easy task and many projections are made to predict what it may look like. BP issued its own 2023 Energy Outlook which unlocks the major trends and insights on the global energy transition for the next 3 decades. 

The Outlook’s estimates under 3 key scenarios – Net Zero, Accelerated, and New Momentum – are meant to explore possible outcomes for the energy system.

It may not be a detailed analysis of the future of energy, but the 2023 Outlook still reveals the key trends that can dominate future energy demand, including:

• A declining role for hydrocarbons
• Rapid expansion in renewables 
• Increasing electrification
• The growing use of low-carbon hydrogen

 

5G in 2040

T-Mobile joins the Amazon-founded pact of 400+ companies, The Climate Pledge, wanting to reach 2040 net zero emissions. T-Mobile's net zero pledge is the first among U.S. wireless 5G network providers with SBTi approval.

Part of that commitment is two key climate targets: cutting absolute Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions 55% by 2030 and reducing them further to 90% by 2040.  

With regulations getting stricter and stakeholders more demanding, firms with strong net zero pledges tend to attract more investors’ interests. 

Turning Blue 

The World Economic Forum (WEF) and Indonesia have sealed a deal that will ramp up the nation’s blue carbon efforts and tackle the rising demand for blue carbon credits. 

Indonesia, the world’s biggest archipelago nation, is a leader in blue carbon and the sustainable ocean economy. It is home to the largest blue carbon resources in the world – 20% of the world’s remaining mangroves.

Indonesia will be the first national government to have this partnership with the WEF, leveraging blue carbon credits to promote ocean restoration and conservation efforts.

Carbon Fact of the Week

Blue carbon refers to the sequestration of carbon by the world’s ocean and coastal ecosystems. 

Mangroves and salt marshes remove carbon from the atmosphere at a rate 10x greater than tropical forests. They also store 3x to 5x more carbon per acre than tropical forests.

Studies found that about 7% of the world’s seagrasses are being lost each year because of development, polluted runoff, climate change, and other factors.

Seagrass meadows account for just 0.1% of the world’s seafloor but store 11% of the organic carbon buried in the ocean.

Source: https://carboncredits.com/