Discover Top Posts Tagged with #environmental costs

UN GEO report says ending this harm key to global transformation required ‘before collapse becomes inevitable’

The unsustainable production of food and fossil fuels causes $5bn (£3.8bn) of environmental damage per hour, according to a major UN report. Ending this harm was a key part of the global transformation of governance, economics and finance required “before collapse becomes inevitable”, the experts said. The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) report, which is produced by 200 researchers for the UN Environment Programme, said the climate crisis, destruction of nature and pollution could no longer be seen as simply environmental crises.“ They are all undermining our economy, food security, water security, human health and they are also [national] security issues, leading to conflict in many parts of the world,” said Prof Robert Watson, the co-chair of the assessment. All environmental crises are worsening as the global population grows, requiring more food and energy, most of which is produced in ways that pollute the planet and destroy the natural world, the experts said. A sustainable world was possible, they said, but required political courage. “This is an urgent call to transform our human systems now before collapse becomes inevitable,” said Prof Edgar Gutiérrez-Espeleta, another co-chair and the former environment minister in Costa Rica.

#world #agriculture #fossil fuel production #environmental costs #$5bn per day #climate crisis #trump #corporate vested interests #capitalism #un report

The Hidden Environmental Costs of Food. (New York Times)

Excerpt from this New York Times story:

As pricey as a run to the grocery store has become, our grocery bills would be considerably more expensive if environmental costs were included, researchers say. The loss of species as cropland takes over habitat. Groundwater depletion. Greenhouse gases from manure and farm equipment.

For years, economists have been developing a system of “true cost accounting” based on a growing body of evidence about the environmental damage caused by different types of agriculture. Now, emerging research aims to translate this damage to the planet into dollar figures.

By displaying these so-called true prices, sometimes next to retail prices, researchers hope to nudge consumers, businesses, farmers and regulators to factor in the environmental toll of food.

The proponents of true cost accounting don’t propose raising food prices across the board, but they say that increased awareness of the hidden environmental cost of food could change behavior.

We asked True Price, a Dutch nonprofit group that has pioneered true cost accounting alongside the United Nations and the Rockefeller Foundation, to provide a window into some of their research. They came up with a data set that compares the estimated environmental costs of common foods produced in the United States, divided into three categories: Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and ecosystem effects from land use, including loss of biodiversity.

“These costs are going to be paid,” said Claire van den Broek, managing director at True Price. “They’re paid in the healthcare system, in climate adaptation mechanisms, and those will come back in taxes. It’s not like these costs are fictional.”

#environmental costs #food cost #true cost accounting

While rushing to replace Russian gas, EU policymakers next week should ensure they keep biomethane in its sustainable niche, not use it as a

EU proposals to expand 'green gas' or 'biomethane', which the European Parliament will vote on in its revision of the Renewable Energy Directive next week (13 September), could expand the industry indiscriminately and have damaging effects.

Biomethane could supplant better alternatives, including dietary change, food waste prevention, afforestation, plant-based protein production and renewable electricity.

The production of biomethane begins when organic materials ('feedstocks') such as bioenergy crops, food waste and manure are broken down by microorganisms through anaerobic digestion.

This produces biogas and nutrient-rich digestate fertiliser. Biogas can be further refined into biomethane, which can then be injected into the gas grid for heating or used as biofuel for transport.

There are many problems with biomethane.

For instance, the fossil gas industry frequently champions biomethane and hydrogen as a substitute for electrification, so gas infrastructure can keep supplying fossil gas in the meantime. But wind and solar produce significantly lower emissions and are cheaper.

Moreover, promising research shows that electrification of even heavy goods vehicles and tractors is possible.

The digestate fertiliser produced from anaerobic digestion has high nitrogen content, so risks polluting water and degrading soil health. We should ensure that anaerobic digestion plants build in a post-composting step, as required in Italy.

Using bioenergy crops, like maize or grass to feed digestors is a poor use of land in terms of energy generation, emissions mitigation and food security. Solar PV currently generates 12–18 times more energy per hectare than maize or grass grown for anaerobic digestion.

Planting trees saves 11.5 times more emissions per hectare than growing grass as a bioenergy crop.

Additionally, land could be better used to grow food for human consumption, particularly as the war in Ukraine threatens food security. Moreover, maize is terrible for soil — in the UK, 75 percent of sites growing maize show high or severe levels of soil erosion.

#biofuels #environmental costs #environment #food waste #manure #food crops for energy #soil erosion

Environmental Costs of Electric Powered Vehicles

Anthony Sargeant would like to know: Has anybody calculated the environmental cost of mining the metals and manufacturing the massive (and limited lifetime) heavy batteries that power electric vehicles? Then add in the fact that transporting the batteries imposes an energy cost and the electricity has to be generated somewhere, somehow. Then there are large energy losses along the length of any…

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#Anthony J Sargeant #batteries #diesel cars #electric cars #environmental costs #Tony Sargeant

A paradigm shift in total cost of ownership: from procurement to product innovation

Companies are increasingly working with their entire value chains to lessen environmental impacts across the product life cycle. According to recent CDP data, 77 percent of Global 500 companies responding to CDP said they engaged with their suppliers on climate change strategies in 2016, up from 67 percent in 2013. Their responses also indicated that 58 percent of the Global 500 engage with consumers on climate change topics, as their consumers are demanding environmentally sustainable products and services.7

The following examples, taken from company disclosures to CDP in 2015, show how sustainability has become a necessity for businesses to satisfy increasing customer interest.

General Motors has invested $7.4B to research and develop future generations of electrified vehicles, “to develop and bring to market affordable products that incorporate technologies to displace petroleum with biofuels and electricity, improve fuel efficiency, reduce emissions, improve vehicle safety, and provide additional value and benefits to our customers.

Praxair, the industrial gas maker, has invested heavily to meet customer demand for products with a lower carbon footprint. In 2015, its new eco portfolio—applications that offer customers environmental benefit—accounted for 32 percent of sales, or more than $3 billion in revenue.

Alcoa discusses how “our customers are increasingly asking for innovations and products to enhance their energy efficiency and reduce the CO2 emissions associated with the usage of their products.… As a result of increased customer demand for energy efficiency, our Engineered Products & Solutions business group signed a number of valuable contracts throughout 2014, including a $1.1 billion 10-year supply agreement with Pratt & Whitney for enhanced, energy efficient jet engine components.”

Walmart’s suppliers report savings of $199 million through emissions reduction projects.

Unilever has made cumulative cost avoidance and savings of over €400m through eco-efficiency measures in our factories since 2008.

10% of electricity globally goes toward powering the entire IT ecosystem— including data centers and communications networks. Moonshot line of servers is part of a growing class of servers called Extreme Low Energy (ELE) servers or micro-servers. These server modules can support new Web-scale workloads, but use much less electricity and take up less space. Together, these innovations lower TCO by 15 to 75 percent.

In addition to multinationals, the U.S. government is integrating sustainability considerations into its value chain to run a more efficient budget. By applying the DoD draft guidance, Lockheed developed an in-orbit space servicing solution that extended the life of existing satellites by several years, saving $2.4 billion over 10 years. Over $2 billion are direct cost savings to the DoD, mainly the result of re-examining the materials used in satellites and rockets. By reducing the manufacture and the number of launches of satellites, a Lockheed Martin solution can greatly reduce the costs of operation and deployment as well as the societal/environmental impacts, while maintaining the resiliency of its constellation of satellites. On a per-satellite basis, the proposed space servicing solution has a return on investment of 274 percent.

In March 2015, the White House issued Executive Order 13693 to cut the U.S. government’s GHG emissions by 40 percent over the next decade from 2008 levels. This could save taxpayers up to $18 billion in energy costs as the government raises the share of electricity it consumes from renewable sources to 30 percent.

As more businesses and government departments choose to look at their value chains to better assess environmental risks and costs, we are witnessing the emergence of a smarter approach to business—one in which companies have a clearer understanding of how environmental factors translate into financial returns.

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#supply chains #procurement #carbon emission #environmental risks #environmental costs #greenhouse gas emission #product innovation #supply chain sustainability #value chain

Talking about military dump sites located in the ocean!!!!!! Humans are so shitty it's unbelievable!!!!!

#environmentalism #environmental costs #enviro #marine pollution #go green or go away

What Is The Real Price of Steak?

New research at the Weizmann Institute of Science reveals the comparative environmental costs of livestock-based foods. We are told that eating beef is bad for the environment, but do we know its real cost? Are the other animal or animal-derived foods better or worse? New research at the...

Read more What Is The Real Price of Steak?

#Environmental Costs #Livestock #Steak

Traditional plastic is not biodegradable, but the technology exists to change that. Check out this article to find out more about the advantages of biodegradable plastic and how it can help the environment.

#Environment #biodegradable plastic #sustainable packaging #environmental costs