Crypto Carbon Credits Exchange 1GCX Closes $2B Record Deal

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Crypto carbon credits exchange 1GCX partnered with T3 Trading, raising $2 billion in assets under management (AUM) and setting up a $100 million liquidity pool to ease carbon credit transactions.

1GCX is a digital asset exchange offering cryptocurrency, commodity, and carbon offset trading.

T3 Trading is a proprietary trading firm that invests in cryptocurrency and carbon offsets.

With their partnership, carbon credits or carbon offsets meet crypto. It will marry digital assets and carbon credits to capitalize on the growing interest of investors in both sectors.

Promoting Liquidity on Carbon Credit Exchanges

With ~$2 billion in AUM and $100 million in liquidity dedicated to carbon credits, the T3 fund seeks to improve liquidity on the 1GCX carbon credits exchange.

The funding will help pump revenue for the growing carbon credits market. It will also ramp up 1GCX aim to establish a standard for buying and selling carbon credits.

As for the exchange’s President and COO, Michael Wilson, he stated that:

“Carbon credits have the potential to scale to a multi-trillion dollar market over the next several years, but the market opportunity is still relatively untapped as the sector continues to mature…”

He further said that with T3 Research as its third-party liquidity provider, 1GCX will drive price discovery and trade volume in the voluntary carbon market.

More importantly, the platform will help normalize the supply and demand for carbon credits on chain.

The raised fund for tokenized carbon credits made the deal possible. It’s also driven by the rising interest of institutional investors such as pension plans in the securities.

But there are a couple of risks associated with carbon credits as an asset class.

One is the volatility of this financial instrument. There are also criticisms on how good those credits are in abating global warming.

Add to this another issue on liquidity: carbon credits are illiquid products as digital assets.

This is where 1GCX comes in to offer a solution – tokenizing carbon credits for liquidity.

Marrying Carbon Credits and Cryptocurrencies

Both 1GCX and T3 Trading have tried some related trading pairs marrying equity commodities and cryptocurrencies.

Their main idea is to attract institutions into both markets, including those who are familiar with carbon assets but new to digital assets. They will do this by creating a series of liquidity pools to trim down market transactions.

Both firms believe there’s a strong case for tokenization of carbon credits to build the right marketplace. 

The partnership will also provide investors on the 1GCX platform with these new offerings:

Live spot trading of carbon offsets
Aiding in the development of automatic over-the-counter quoting

This first-of-its-kind trading platform will improve the transparency of price discovery and real-world utility (fighting climate change) of credits. These are the two difficulties that discourage institutional investors from entering the space.

1GCX tokenizing carbon credits aims to help investors deal with liquidity concerns and murky prices.

1GCX is also in its early stages of developing its own blockchain. The system features a token with elements of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms.

This staking method is often featured in private, centralized blockchains as opposed to public permissionless systems.

Recently, Ethereum has shifted from an energy-intensive Proof-of-Work system to PoS. The crypto firm claimed that PoS reduced their energy use and carbon footprint by a whopping 99.99%.

Traders using 1GCX have access to ether and other digital assets, such as bitcoin, AVAX and SOL. Its $2 billion deal with T3 Trading, which is the largest so far, has this main goal:

“Creating a digital assets-based market inspired by the green web mixed with the internet of energy.”

In their quest to reach net zero emissions, companies are in dire need for carbon credits. And their growing demand will explode more as the world must decarbonize by 2050.

By adding crypto to the mix of solutions, 1GCX’s new carbon credit trading platform seeks to boost transparency, fair pricing, and liquidity. All the while preventing scams.

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Ethereum’s Stealth Move to Wipe Out Its Carbon Footprint

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Ethereum won the spotlight with the Merge, which cut the crypto’s energy use and carbon footprint more than expected by 99.99%.

The second-largest cryptocurrency – Ethereum – recently eliminated its energy consumption overnight by shifting to a new “proof of stake” blockchain system called the Merge.

Designed to drastically cut down the network’s overall energy use, the upgrade has indeed done just that.

Initial estimates of energy consumption reduction is about 99.95%. But the Merge was able to go beyond that with 99.99% less energy use than estimated.

The software upgrade also cut Ether’s carbon footprint by the same figure.

Ethereum Energy Use Before Merge

The so-called “Merge” was executed as the energy intensity of cryptocurrency protocols such as Bitcoin and Ethereum is a hot issue in the U.S.

In fact, the White House published a report detailing the energy impacts of crypto mining operations.

Crypto miners, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, use an energy-intensive consensus mechanism called “proof of work” (PoW).

Proof of Work is estimated to account for about 0.9% to 1.7% of all U.S. electricity use in 2021.

Earlier, the PoW mechanism required miners to work with high-powered computers to solve complex puzzles to earn tokens or Ether.

Ethereum used to run on the same unsustainable PoW mechanism as Bitcoin. This consensus system is so inefficient as shown below.

Ethereum Footprint Before Merge

Prior to the Merge, a single Ethereum transaction consumed about 264 kWh of energy according to Digiconomist data.

That’s equal to the consumption of an average U.S. household over 9 days.

What’s worse is its carbon footprint; the same single Ethereum transaction emits 125 kgCO2.

This emission is the same as watching YouTube for 20,900 hours! That’s equal to over 2 years of watching.

At the same time, the total annual Ethereum footprint is almost 54 Mt CO2. That’s equal to the emissions of the entire country of Singapore.

In fact, if Bitcoin and Ethereum were one country, estimates put their combined power use at 12th in the world with over 300 TWh per year.

These footprints were slashed after Ethereum shifted to the “Proof of Stake”(PoS) crypto model of mining.

Ethereum Footprint After the Merge

PoS doesn’t need computers and offers a greener, more energy-efficient way for crypto users to deposit their Ether. They call this process “staking”.

With PoS after the merge, there’s no longer a network of energy-intensive mining devices that compete with each other to make the next block for the underlying blockchain. Rather, wealth plays a major role in the block creation process with PoS.

Instead of using expensive GPUs and high specs, users need only a basic laptop and a stable internet connection.

The result is a massive reduction in power use by Ethereum.

To compare Ethereum’s PoS with PoW and Bitcoin’s power use, here’s a good illustration from the crypto firm itself.

Source: Ethereum blog

When it comes to emissions, the crypto’s footprint for a single transaction also dropped to only 0.01 kg CO2. That corresponds to only 2 hours of watching YouTube.

For its annual total carbon footprint, it went down from 54 Mt CO2 to only 0.01 Mt CO2.

Ethereum Footprint After Merge

For some industry experts like the ConsenSys, it remarked that the Ethereum’s Merge is the “biggest decarbonization in the history of tech”.

If the company seeks to get carbon credits from such a massive reduction in its emissions, that would be a huge amount. One carbon credit is equal to one ton of carbon avoided from getting emitted.

Also, carbon-backed crypto tokens have been gaining more traction recently.

And though other blockchain networks like Bitcoin, Ravencoin, and Ergo have seen growing hash rates after the Merge, their massive energy use is not tied to Ethereum anymore.

As such, Ethereum manages to shed the environmental issues that continue to shake the world of cryptocurrency.

One board member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance said about the new PoS mechanism:

“This upgrade is very significant and I believe it will allow enterprises to consider public Ethereum blockchain approaches where they did not prior.”

Looking ahead, many predicted a continued push to green crypto mining operations in the U.S. as the world races to net zero emissions.

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DeepMarkit Recaps Successful Climate Week 2022 in New York City

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DeepMarkit Corp. provided a recap of its successful attendance of Climate Week in New York City from September 20-23, 2022. The company co-hosted Flowcarbon and dClimate’s Climate Week Blockchain Summit.

The Climate Week 2022 is the biggest climate event in the world that took place from September 19-25 across NYC. Its partners and sponsors included the Climate Group, Estee Lauder Companies, Johnson and Johnson, Google and FedEx, and more.

The CW Blockchain Summit was a one-day event featuring exclusive leadership sessions and keynote speakers from blockchain and carbon offset industries.

Also, DeepMarkit attended the North America Climate Summit organized by the International Emissions Trading Association and International Carbon Action Partnership.

During Climate Week 2022, DeepMarkit established itself as a market leader in
carbon offset-based NFTs by:

Sourcing more carbon offsets;
Offering insights into the world of on-chain offsets and how they are expected to impact the industry in the future;
Continuing to build relationships with some of the industry’s leading project developers and marketplaces;
Attending industry leading round-table discussions on the future of the offset market;
Strategizing with other technology organizations to enhance the DeepMarkit NFT experience; and
Increasing understanding of how to uniquely position DeepMarkit’s market offering.

Read full news release here.

The post DeepMarkit Recaps Successful Climate Week 2022 in New York City appeared first on Carbon Credits.

Iron and Steel Industry Will Buy $250B Carbon Credits for Net Zero

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Bringing the iron and steel industry to net zero by 2050 requires $1.4 trillion of investment, $250 billion of which is for carbon credits, according to Wood Mackenzie.

Currently, iron and steel production together release a total of 3.4 billion tonnes of carbon each year. This represents 7% of total global emissions.

To meet the global demand for steel by 2050, the industry must produce 2.2 billion tonnes of steel.

The industry emits a lot of carbon and is one of the most difficult one to decarbonize.

Wood Mackenzie analyzed in its latest report, “Pedal to the Metal: Iron and steel’s $1.4 trillion shot at decarbonisation”, the what, when, and how of reaching net zero pathway.

Remarking on the report, lead author Malan Wu said that:

“Decarbonising the steel industry is a big task. To meet Wood Mackenzie’s 1.5°C accelerated energy transition scenario by 2050, steel emissions must reduce by 90% from current levels. There is an urgent need to act now to decarbonise the iron and steel sectors. Business as usual is no longer sustainable.”

Footing the Bill to Reach Net Zero

The 1.5°C pathway requires 2050 steel emissions to decline by over 90% from current levels. But the analysis assumes only a 33% decline in steel emissions from current levels.

The report shows the urgency to act now to bring the industry to net zero emissions. It also presents an investment opportunity for the operators as the sector decarbonizes.

The largest factor for the industry to be successful in its climate goal is to switch to Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs).

But that’s only one part of the $1.4 trillion investment opportunity for industry players.

Other measures needed include:

Exploring new high-grade iron ore mines
Greening current steelmaking routes,
Adopting new technologies (EAF, DRI, etc.)
Developing a hydrogen ecosystem for steel, and
Buying carbon credits

Mining companies will have to cut their operational emissions and invest in new green steel technologies. These include high-grade mines and DR pellet capacities.

Decarbonizing the industry also calls for shifting to clean energy use. This is equal to about 2,000 GW of renewable energy generation capacity (that’s ⅔ of current global capacity).

Now add developing the hydrogen technology to this…

The net zero goal needs about 50 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year.

Here’s the breakdown of the trillion investment.

Carbon Credits (Offsets) are a Must for Iron and Steel

As upgrades and green technologies are still not enough, the iron and steel industry needs to buy up to $250 billion in carbon offsets, also called carbon credits. They’re necessary to tackle emissions that can’t yet be reduced.

Carbon credits represent certain amounts of carbon reduced or removed from the air, either through nature or technology.

In the case of iron and steel, CCUS (Carbon Capture, Use, and Storage) is a technological option to curb emissions.

The present supply of CCUS is limited and is in its nascent stage. The current global CCUS pipeline is 14x the amount currently being captured of 63 million tonnes per year (Mtpa).

But emission reduction efforts from other industries are also calling for this measure.

The industry must capture and store 470 Mt of carbon to reach its emission target in 2050. And that calls for a $200 – $250 billion investment in CCUS.

Forged Blueprint: What Miners and Steelmakers Can Do

SO, what should iron ore miners and steelmakers do to solve the industry’s net zero equation?

The following images provide some clarity…

Achieving net zero will entail a revolutionary transformation of iron and steel, and its value chain. But a collaboration among key industry players will help drive green action.

The post Iron and Steel Industry Will Buy $250B Carbon Credits for Net Zero appeared first on Carbon Credits.

From Wild Seaweed to High-Value Products and Carbon Credits

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A wave of seaweed is covering the Caribbean coasts, killing wildlife while harming humans and tourism, but an innovative company is turning it into a revenue stream including carbon credits.

More than 24 million tonnes of sargassum blanketed the Atlantic in June, up by 20% from 18.8 million tonnes in May. This is a new historical record according to the report by the University of South Florida’s Optical Oceanography Lab.

The same amount of the “golden tide” was seen in July. Its concentration became so heavy in some parts of the eastern Caribbean shores that the island of Guadeloupe issued a health alert in late July.

Scientists said more research is necessary to know why sargassum levels in the Caribbean are reaching new highs. But the UN’s Caribbean Environment Program suggested that there are three major culprits for it:

Rising water temperatures due to climate change,
Fertilizers full of nitrogen running off from farms, and
Sewage waste.

Seaweeds are, in fact, one of the greatest carbon sinks that capture and sequester carbon. But large masses of them can pose risks to human health and have a severe environmental impact.

Sargassum, in particular, sequesters carbon but it also releases it during decay in the form of a more potent and dangerous GHG – methane.

Carbonwave saw a business opportunity in this. The startup turns seaweed into sustainable, high-value, and innovative products. At the same time, producing carbon credits.

Turning Seaweeds into Carbon Credits

Sargassum is a wild seaweed that provides key habitat for wildlife in the ocean such as sea turtles, fish, crabs, and more.

But with its ability to double in size every 11 days, sargassum has the potential to become a monster. It chokes coral reefs and fish and riddles beaches with a smell of rotten organic material as it decays.

This sea of brown algae also alters water temperatures and pH balance while invisibly releasing CO2 and methane back into the atmosphere.

About 20 – 30 million tonnes of sargassum are piling up on the Caribbean’s coastlines.

This hit the tourism industry very hard as hotels and beaches affected by the influx were closed.

Local measures were taken to harvest the algae pestering the region.

But after removal, the seaweed often ends up in landfills. This further prompts issues with decaying sargassum and its effects on water runoff and pollution.

Fortunately, new initiatives are exploring ways to monetize sargassum harvesting via processing.

And while some decided to bury the algae deep down into the oceans, Carbonwave turns this seaweed into a solution generating carbon credits.

Carbonwave’s patented sargassum processing

The Puerto Rico-based startup began collecting sargassum as raw materials for their patented processing technology that turns it into high-value, carbon-neutral products.

Jason Cole, Executive VP of Innovations, said that:

“Our goal is to manage the Sargassum bloom responsibly, and to avoid the environmental impacts it has had in the Caribbean.”

Instead of rotting away, the firm makes Sargassum into various products including the following:

bio-stimulants for cultivation and ecosystem restoration,
emulsifiers for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and
bio-leathers for fashion, apparel, and interior design.

The company’s key advantage is the ability of its seaweed products to have the lowest carbon footprint on the market.

Not to mention that instead of paying for the raw materials, they’re paid by the hotels to collect sargassum in most cases. Plus, it’s basking on energy and a cost-efficient patented production process.

Carbonwave believes that their market is poised to grow due to strong demand for sustainable, plant-based inputs. Here are the firm’s major growth drivers:

Carbon credits from sargassum

Alongside other major products, the startup expects to amass revenue from carbon credits this year up to 2025. The market size for this product is seen to grow by around 70% (from 2020 – 2025) as per the firm’s projection.

A carbon credit represents one tonne of CO2, or its equivalent, avoided or removed from the air.

The rotting sargassum on the shore releases methane, which is 34x worse than CO2 for causing global warming.

By turning the rotted seaweed into sustainable products, Carbonwave helps reduce and offset emissions from fossil fuels.

Also, as the company makes products that replace fossil fuels, it’s further cutting carbon emissions. And this qualifies them more to generate a corresponding amount of carbon credits once measured and verified.

The firm can then sell the credits to those who seek to offset their emissions.

Other initiatives include growing seaweed in the desert and making floating offshore farms to capture carbon and earn credits.

The post From Wild Seaweed to High-Value Products and Carbon Credits appeared first on Carbon Credits.

Ammonia: Carbon-Free Fuel for the Shipping Industry

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Converting ammonia into hydrogen is an emission-free fuel to help decarbonize the heavy-duty and shipping transportation industry.

The transportation industry is the biggest polluter in the U.S. In 2020, it accounted for the largest share at 27% of all the country’s GHG emissions according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Due to the significant amount of transportation emissions, actions are taken to reduce the sector’s pollution. This includes the notoriously dirty shipping industry.

The recently introduced Clean Shipping Act of 2022 aims to rid of emissions in ports in 2030 as the soonest. The law also restricts anchoring of ships in U.S. ports that don’t follow the zero emissions guidelines.

Ammonia Is Key to Hydrogen Rollout

As per the International Maritime Organization (IMO), ships with 5,000 gross tonnage and above are responsible for 85% of net GHG emissions from the shipping industry.

The industry currently emits about 1 billion tons of carbon annually. But with increased regulation, carbon offsets, and innovative technology, carbon emissions can be reduced.

IMO’s goal is to decrease that by 50% by 2050, and will implement a long-term strategy by 2023.

Given the size and weight of those ships, battery technology is not possible to use in them. Thus, hydrogen has become the leading alternative technology to power the massive vessels.

And to support the rollout of hydrogen, ammonia is a critical element.

Ammonia naturally doesn’t contain any carbon molecules. So it has a great potential to be a zero emission fuel. Plus, it can carry hydrogen effectively to a fuel cell.

Hydrogen, in itself, has some challenges when it comes to storage and transportation. This is where ammonia becomes helpful in aiding the deployment of hydrogen.

Why ammonia?

There’s already existing infrastructure for ammonia as it has been used in agriculture for long years as input. There’s a pipeline for ammonia production and storage, making it a potential renewable fuel.
Also, ammonia is a liquid which makes it easy to store. This reduces the cost and space requirements for its storage in comparison with hydrogen and LNG.
Lastly, ammonia even has a high volumetric energy density. It means the storage vessels can be light, fast, and travel long distances.

With all these qualities of ammonia, it’s suitable for decarbonizing the shipping industry. After all, there has been an agreement that the sector has to shift to new fuels and propulsion technologies to reach global emission goals. And ammonia is one option for that.

Based on the infographic below, zero carbon fuels will hit a 5% fuel mix by 2030. That means the industry has about 8 years remaining to achieve 60GW of electrolyzers to produce about 30 million tons of ammonia.

Meanwhile, it’s the size and operational profile of a ship that determines the applicability of carbon-free technologies.

For instance, the most vital performance metric for huge sea vessels like cargo ships is often the energy density requirements for fuels and motor systems. But for small and medium-sized ships like ferries, such factors are less strict.

Ammonia & Hydrogen for Clean Shipping

The clean hydrogen community expects that government financing programs will promote the technology and infrastructure in the U.S.

There are some major initiatives in place to advance the policy environment and drive the ambitious hydrogen agenda.

Take for example the case of putting up regional “Hydrogen Hubs”. These efforts make it easier for advancing clean hydrogen technology. These hubs can positively impact the country’s climate policy environment.

More collaboration, funding, and technology demonstrations can help push this fuel alternative for a clean shipping industry.

Ammonia is currently gaining traction as a solution for carrying hydrogen and decarbonizing shipping. In this case, it makes sense to include ammonia technology solutions in those efforts.

Ultimately, there must be a full transition away from fossil fuels to tackle global warming. And the shipping sector must do its part to cut down its emissions.

Clean hydrogen technology alongside ammonia may offer a suitable solution.

The post Ammonia: Carbon-Free Fuel for the Shipping Industry appeared first on Carbon Credits.

How The First Carbon Negative Nation of Bhutan Did It

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As the world’s richest and largest emitting countries are struggling to reduce emissions, Bhutan became the first carbon negative nation.

Fog-enshrouded temples nestled in mountainous terrains make Bhutan attractive to tourists.

But this tiny Asian nation in the Himalayas has an added bonus. It’s the first to achieve carbon negativity through its vast forests.

In fact, forests cover about 75% of the small nation’s land area.

Bhutan enshrined in its constitution a commitment to protect 60% of its territory as forest land.

This is key to its carbon neutrality as its forests sequester about 9 million tons of carbon each year while the country generates only 2 million tons in 2020.

What Does Carbon Negative Mean?

To be carbon negative means an entity’s actual emissions are outweighed by the footprint it offsets. Bhutan is the first country to achieve carbon negativity.

Not only is the small kingdom a net sink for carbon; it also offsets its emissions by exporting renewable energy. It exports a lot of hydroelectric energy to its neighbor India.

As mentioned, its vast forestland absorbs far way more carbon (9 million tons) than the country emits (2 million tons).

Beyond abating carbon via sequestration and renewables, Bhutan is also preserving biodiversity.

The country allows wildlife to travel between different preserved areas of nature.

GNH: Happiness over Money?

Other countries are having hard times to reduce emissions, even the richest ones.

So, many are wondering how did the small nation with less than 1 million population manage to become carbon negative.

The answer lies in a concept which Bhutan is famous for – GNH or Gross National Happiness. It’s one of the major governing principles of the country that prioritizes happiness over GDP.

It recognizes the importance of economic growth. But it also asserts that it must not undermine the nation’s pristine environment.

Thus, the country’s growth strategies are then suited to maximize happiness rather than GDP.

Bhutan’s GNH index has two important parts:

sustainable socio-economic development
environmental conservation

Bhutan’s happiness-based philosophy is a key factor in driving its green policies.

In official documents relating to climate change, the government places strong emphasis on the rights of future generations to environmental safety and the enjoyment of natural resources.

This approach makes intergenerational climate justice a key enabler in affecting climate action.

In summary, here are the ways how Bhutan became a carbon negative nation:

It bans log exports
Preserves 60% of the country’s total land area under forest cover for all time
Uses free hydroelectric power from its bountiful rivers rather than fossil fuels
Rural farmers are given free electricity

Add to this, Bhutan has also secured long-term funding for its projects with “Bhutan for Life”. It’s a fund developed in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund in 2017 to finance the nation’s sustainability and conservation efforts.

Besides preserving protected areas, the project also finances R&D in renewable energy. It will also encourage more sustainable living in local communities.

Such efforts reduce the country’s negative impact on the environment while allowing it to capture more carbon than it emits.

Yet, it’s important to note that Bhutan is a small, non-industrialized nation. This could mean that its approach to curb emissions may not be suitable for larger countries like the U.S.

Still, its accomplishments do show what’s possible when environmental sustainability is at the center of the political agenda.

What does the Bhutan experience tell us?

Bhutan achieved what all participating countries of the Paris Agreement hope to achieve by 2050.

The fact that it reached net zero status and continues to draft bigger plans to remain so is something to which all countries may aspire.

The constitution and the culture of Bhutan go together to make net zero a reality. It protects its major carbon sink: the forests.

While the exact Bhutanese model for reducing emissions may be hard to apply to larger industrialized countries, the principle of prioritizing environmental sustainability as part of promoting happiness may be a good start.

But there’s no guarantee that other nations can catch up in time to prevent Bhutan from suffering from the adverse effects of climate change.

As the former Bhutanese prime minister Tshering Tobgay once said,

“After all, we’re here to dream together, to work together, to fight climate change together, to protect our planet together… Because the reality is we are in it together.”

Bhutan may be the first carbon negative nation but many others could also follow.

The post How The First Carbon Negative Nation of Bhutan Did It appeared first on Carbon Credits.

Google’s Eco-Friendly Routing Comes to Europe

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Google expanded its eco-friendly routing on its Google Maps to 40 countries across Europe.

With Google Map’s eco-friendly routing, drivers can choose a route that’s optimized for lower fuel consumption by showing the most fuel-efficient routes. This helps users save money on fuel and cut carbon emissions, too.

The ability to reduce emissions is a great concern among the EU states. That’s because road transportation is the largest source of emissions throughout Europe.

The internet giant’s eco-friendly routing roll out appears to be a timely intervention.

Google’s Eco-friendly Route Feature

In addition to showing the fastest route, Google Maps can now also display the one that’s most fuel efficient across European nations. These include France, Ireland, Poland, Spain, and the UK, while it was introduced in Germany last month.

Users can see the eco-friendly route marked with a leaf label.

The feature was originally launched in the US and Canada last year. It’s part of what Google calls its sustainability initiatives.

The company claimed that after rolling-out eco-friendly routes in the U.S. and Canada, it has saved carbon emissions equivalent to 100,000 cars. That equals to removing over half a million metric tonnes of emissions.

This is exactly the reason behind Google’s eco-friendly routing feature. It will highlight routes that use less energy if they have a similar ETA to other alternate routes.

As shown in the image, the user can choose among the driving options to prefer fuel-efficient routes.

How to select eco-friendly routes

The user can easily make that choice with only a few taps. Here’s the quick steps to follow:

Tap on profile on Google Maps
Go to Settings > Navigation Settings
Scroll down to route options
Tap and select “Prefer fuel-efficient routes” to turn on eco-friendly routing

What’s even more powerful is that users are given various options based on what type of fuel their cars run on.

For instance, diesel engines are usually more efficient at higher speeds than petrol or gas. While hybrid and electric vehicles perform better in stop-and-go traffic.

This is why Google will allow drivers to use its eco-friendly routing across Europe, Canada, and the US in the coming weeks based on their engine type.

Petrol or gas
Diesel
Hybrid
Electric vehicle (EV)

Doing so will give them the best route and most accurate fuel efficiency estimates.

According to the tech giant, this technology is possible with insights from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and data from the European Environment Agency.

The company also stated that:

“By pairing this information with Google Maps driving trends, we were able to develop advanced machine learning models trained on the most popular engine types in a given region.”

Google is going green

In recent years, Google has been encouraging people to consider more eco-friendly navigation options with new features in Google Maps.

For example, the company first introduced EV charging station information to its app in 2018.

Two years later, Google Flights also allowed flyers to compare CO2 emissions and overall price. The firm also rolled out features for bike navigation with details like the amount of road traffic along the route.

Here’s a list of how Google Maps can help users make sustainable choices.

EV charging station: this feature allows users to see charging stations nearby with helpful information like types of ports and charging speeds. It’s even possible to know if there’s an available charger in a station to save waiting time.

Cycling route: Google Maps also provides cycling route information such as car traffic, steep hills, and even stairs on the route. The app further gives detail on bike and scooter shares in 500+ cities across Europe.

Directions for pedestrians: Google Maps offers turn-by-turn directions for pedestrians. It also has a Live View option that displays arrows and directions overlaid on the map. Pedestrians can also preview their walking route with the Street view feature.

Public transport navigation: In Directions on the app, there’s a transit icon that gives directions to destinations by bus, train, subway, and even ferry. The feature also provides details such as how crowded the ride will be. Plus, wheelchair-accessible routes are available.

All these features are a part of Google’s commitment to empowering 1 billion people through its products by the end of the year.

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UK Pension Schemes Under Pressure for Climate Impact Reporting

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The mid-sized and smaller pension schemes in the UK are under tighter rules as new reporting regulations are requiring more detailed information.

The UK has been one of the fastest countries to adopt the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) reporting requirements into law. This covers corporates, regulated financial institutions, and pension schemes.

Large pension schemes in the country have to report climate risks in line with TCFD guidance since last October. This is also part of the Occupational Pension Schemes Regulations 2021.

According to a law firm associate, the trend goes towards demanding more and more detailed information. He also added that:

“The aim is clearly a good one. That said, the regulations are detailed and it is going to be quite an uphill battle for smaller schemes to comply. There will be a challenge to find the time and resources.”

The requirements stem from the 2017 recommendations of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which was a forum set up in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis.

Pension Schemes as Responsible Stewards

Schemes in the UK have to disclose four measures in their accounting which include:

the total carbon emissions of all the scheme’s assets;
a measure of the intensity of such emissions per unit of currency;
a measure of the trustees’ own choices in relation to climate factors; and
a measure of the extent to which the scheme’s investments align with the aim of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

The last measure has become compulsory only recently. This obliges trustees of the schemes with the Paris goals as their 3rd measure to find a new one.

Speaking on the recent change in reporting for pension schemes, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Secretary noted that it’s to support trustees in their climate disclosures.

And so more work is necessary to refine methodologies and ensure consistent and robust reporting. This is vital to also ensure that schemes act as responsible stewards on behalf of millions of UK pension savers.

Commenting on this, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, Nigel Peaple said:

“As we enter the next phase of scheme reporting, it is important that the largest companies and asset managers meet institutional investors’ expectations… by enhancing their climate impact disclosure, as well as fully implementing their regulatory responsibilities within the TCFD regime.”

Getting enough information

Preparing TCFD reports started with larger pension funds last year. But it includes mid-sized operators this year, too, from £5 billion in assets under management to £1 billion.

This would be challenging for smaller pension schemes in the UK. One challenge is the ability of trustees to get relevant information from asset managers.

This may not be the case with listed equities and corporate credits. But it might be for emerging markets and private asset classes where confidentiality is a concern.

For instance, Hymans Robertson, a pensions and financial services consultancy firm stated that private market managers are failing to provide their clients with the information they need to manage climate risks.

The firm’s analysis revealed the industry-wide concerns about the incomplete disclosure of climate data.

Hymans also stated that the reporting of carbon emissions data is not yet commonplace. It said that:

“Managers of property and infrastructure funds are better prepared with just under half – (44%) for property and 48% for infrastructure – providing data on carbon emissions… In contrast, private equity and private debt managers were able to report significantly less information on climate issues – no private debt managers in the survey provided carbon emissions data.”

In line with this, the DWP remarked that it will review the existing thresholds for pension schemes’ climate-related reporting.

Taking into account (or ignoring) the risk

Reporting in line with the TCFD framework measures financial risk linked to climate change. But this is not the only concern for UK pension schemes.

Asset managers must also take into account stewardship and engagement. This means looking at ways how the financial sector can help in the race to net zero.

Some experts in this matter said that some schemes will find it impossible to meet the new TCFD reporting requirements.

While operators may see it as a once-a-year exercise, there’ll be more requirements on what the trustees need to do.

A worst-case scenario would be some firms will refuse to give trustees the TCFD information. And this will place their portfolio under question.

If such happens, any scheme that ignores climate change reporting also turns a blind eye to a major risk to pension savings. Most importantly, they’re missing out on vital investment opportunities.

Pension schemes in other countries have been diligent enough in disclosing their climate change data.

Allocating capital more efficiently

Regulators across the entire UK investment chain are committed to disclose climate information. And the government is making plans to reach its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

This means that resilient pension schemes protecting savings from climate risk are within reach. But to achieve this, pension trustees should focus on their three major duties:

Exercise of investment powers for their proper purpose;
Take into account material financial factors (including transition and physical risks); and
Act according to the “prudent person” principle.

The prudent person principles means:

“Trustee investment powers must be exercised with the ‘care, skill and diligence’ that ‘a prudent person would exercise when dealing with investments for someone else for whom they feel morally bound to provide.”

Performing those duties will allow for a more efficient allocation of capital. Better yet, firms and investors alike will understand the financial implications of transitioning to a lower-carbon economy.

Finally, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) also has new climate reporting standards. Adoption of these standards will further place more pressure on climate reporting by pension schemes.

But the UK government has committed to promptly implementing the ISSB standards. The goal is to help pension scheme savers in their investment decisions.

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