Trump stomps on climate policy, Bloomberg maintains US funding and EU sustainability reporting
Also: EU plans to ban forever chemicals, Trump instructs federal departments to stop DEI programmes, solar power overtakes coal in the EU and IBM, L'Oréal team up for sustainable cosmetics research
You have slow news weeks. You have weeks when huge things happen. Then you have weeks when Donald Trump takes control of the most powerful nation on earth.
As you may expect, President Trump set the agenda for most of the major sustainability stories we cover this week.
But a lot of the executive orders he signed with such speed after taking to his throne have started knotty legislative processes. Many will take some time to work their way through to real-world action if they do so at all.
Still, the intent is clear. And some real stuff that matters immensely to sustainability and finance has already happened.
🌱 The US withdraws from the Paris Agreement
President Trump didn’t waste any time setting the tone for his second term in office.
Hours after his inauguration he withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement. The US joins Libya, Yemen and Iran as the only nations not party to the agreement.
They may need to make space for one more. The Financial Times reports that Javier Milei, President of Argentina, one of only a handful of world leaders who attended Trump’s inauguration, may soon follow the US in withdrawing Argentina from the agreement.
💨 That project? Blocked
Trump suspended offshore wind leases, using similar legal powers to those recently used by Biden to restrict permission for offshore drilling in some coastal waters around America.
The move has hit the share prices of companies in the industry and caused a few to rethink their strategies. Prysmian Group, an Italian manufacturer of cables used by the offshore wind sector, has withdrawn from plans to build a new factory in Massachusetts.
You can add this to a long list of firms scaling back their US renewable energy investment plans as Trump puts $300bn of green infrastructure funding on hold.
Billions of dollars of funding that would have been used to expand the country's electric car charging network were frozen. Trump also pulled back from Biden’s 2021 order for electric car sales to hit half of all new car sales in the US by 2030.
But, on the plus side...
🔋 84% of IRA clean energy grants finalised
The Biden administration managed to protect $96.7 billion, or about 84%, of the clean energy grants issued so far under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The funding is to help the development of clean energy in the US. However, $11 billion of clean energy grants are yet to be finalised.
Trump has the IRA firmly in his sights, but there may be political pressure, including from Republican lawmakers, to distribute the funds as planned.
🧑💻 US federal departments and agencies ordered to stop diversity, equity and inclusion programmes
We reported earlier this month how several major corporations started pulling back from diversity, equity and inclusion programmes ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
Now in office, Trump has instructed US federal agencies to scrap their programmes.
💰 Bloomberg helps maintain US funding for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
Michael Bloomberg is among the funders who offered to maintain US contributions to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Bloomberg did the same in 2017 when Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement in his first term as president. As well as helping the climate body keep running, the funds will be used to help the US continue reporting its emissions figures to the UN.
🧑⚖️ Tensions ahead of the EU’s upcoming omnibus legislation
Mars, Unilever and Nestlé are among the major corporations that published a joint letter to the European Commission requesting it to rethink planned changes to the region’s sustainability reporting standards.
The omnibus package is scheduled to be published on the 26th of February with the aim of making EU sustainability reporting requirements smoother to work with. It will have implications for the existing Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
The businesses highlight that they have already invested significantly in preparing to meet the current reporting requirements. However, at the same time, other businesses are calling for simplification.
🚗 Europe’s carmakers face the prospect of paying large carbon credit bills to Chinese rivals
European carmakers that fall short of hitting EU climate targets face the risk of buying carbon credits from their Chinese rivals.
Analysts estimate that in order to meet the EU’s emissions targets for carmakers there are three options: stump up the cash for carbon credits, pay hefty fines or cut EV prices to make the cars more affordable.
🧪 EU plans to ban forever chemicals in many consumer products
Reuters reports that the European Commission plans to ban the use of forever chemicals in consumer products.
As the name suggests, forever chemicals, or Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), to give them their technical name, hang around forever after use and do not break down.
There is a growing concern and awareness regarding the impact on the environment if PFAS use is allowed to continue unregulated.
It is projected to take some time to work its way through the courts as there are some uses where PFAS is regarded as an ‘essential’ ingredient.
🇧🇷 Brazil COP30 chief announced
Andre Correa do Lago has been nominated by Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to head next year’s COP30 climate summit that will be held in the country.
Speaking to the Financial Times, the COP30 chief commented that Trump’s decision to leave the Paris Agreement will have a ‘huge impact’.
On a positive note…
☀️ Solar power has overtaken coal in the EU
The EU made more electricity with solar than coal for the first time in 2024.
Data released last week by climate thinktank Ember showed that solar panels generated 11% of the EU’s electricity last year, surpassing coal which accounted for 10%.
Electricity generated by wind continues to trend up in the EU, sitting ahead of gas as the continent’s second-largest generator of electricity, behind nuclear which is firmly at the top.
💄 IBM and L'Oréal team up to use AI for sustainable cosmetics
IBM and L'Oréal have announced a partnership to build an AI model to create sustainable cosmetics.
In a press release, the companies say they plan to combine IBM’s GenAI tech and expertise with L'Oréal's cosmetics know-how for ‘scientific discoveries’ and ‘to unlock a future where science and technology can inform or help prioritize solutions that are both ecologically responsible and innovative’.
L'Oréal also hopes the partnership will help it hit its climate targets.