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By Sharon Kimathi, Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital

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The European Union’s renewables targets are the main focus today as the Commission President says that the fossil fuel growth model is “obsolete”. And check out the ESG Spotlight for goats reducing the risk of forest fires in Chile.

An energy mix based on fossil fuels cannot deliver sustainable economic growth for future generations, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said as she sought to add impetus to the decarbonization of Europe’s economy.

Von der Leyen was speaking at a European Parliament-hosted event in Brussels entitled “Beyond Growth” whose main theme was how to reconcile economic development with environmental goals.

“A growth model centered on fossil fuels is simply obsolete,” von der Leyen said, adding the goal of the EU’s Green Deal energy transition was to create “a different growth model that is sustainable far into the future”.

The 27-member EU currently has a target to cut net emissions by 55% by 2030 as a step towards a “net zero” goal by 2050, setting it at the forefront of global efforts to decarbonize the economy. It is pushing a plan to add a legally binding 2040 milestone to ensure the 2050 target is achieved.

Cooling towers are seen near the Golfech nuclear plant on the border of the Garonne River between Agen and Toulouse, France, August 29, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

This comes as European Union countries are set to finalize a new renewable energy target to get 42.5% of the bloc’s energy from renewable sources by 2030, a final version of the law showed.

The EU and its member states are pushing hard to decarbonize their economies to tackle climate change and shore up security of supply by developing a European green industry to avoid dependence on energy from any one country such as Russia.

The EU’s existing target is to have a 32% share of renewable energy by 2030. The new law sets a binding new goal of 42.5% and says member states should aim for 45%.

The final law, which diplomats from EU countries will review on Wednesday, confirms a political deal reached with the European Parliament at the end of March. Talks were tense after a French push to allow hydrogen produced by nuclear power to be included.

Speaking of France and its pro-nuclear stance, the nation is set to host a meeting of ministers from 16 pro-nuclear European states this week aimed at coordinating expansion of atomic power and urging the EU to recognize its role in meeting climate goals for 2050, documents seen by Reuters showed.

A draft of the post-meeting statement seen by Reuters said the countries would encourage the commissioner to integrate nuclear energy into the EU’s energy policy by recognizing nuclear alongside other green energy technologies in EU decarbonization goals.

Nuclear energy jumped up the EU’s energy policy agenda this year when countries splintered into pro- and anti- nuclear alliances amid a dispute over whether to count the energy source towards EU renewable energy targets.

After a last-minute compromise was thrashed out on that law, France and other pro-nuclear states are now seeking to improve the status of nuclear energy more broadly and boost cooperation between countries that use the technology.

EU opponents of nuclear energy – among them Germany, which switched off its last reactors last month, Luxembourg and Austria – cite concerns including waste disposal and maintenance issues that have plagued the French fleet in recent years.

People protest after Italy’s right-wing government told Milan’s city council to stop registering same-sex parents’ children, in Milan, Italy, March 18, 2023. REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Roger Smith, Asia lead at SteelWatch, an emerging civil society organization, shares his thoughts about G7 host Japan and its steel industry’s influence on climate policies:

“This year’s G7 Summit in Hiroshima presents an opportunity for market-shaping countries to push for low-emissions and cost-competitive steel production, with three of the five largest steel producers globally among its members.

“However, Japan, the host country, is holding back progress due to its dependence on coal-heavy infrastructure, and its steelmaking industry’s opposition to climate policy. 

“Japan’s heavy industry, led by the fourth largest steelmaker, Nippon Steel, has been blocking climate policy for years.

“The Japanese government recently approved the ‘Green Transformation’ policy, which endorses speculative and ineffective emissions reduction technologies while extending the life of fossil fuel infrastructure.

“Truly transformational reforms, such as putting a price on carbon pollution and rapidly scaling up renewable energy, are put off until the next decade.

“Japan’s steelmakers are not only holding back the Japanese economy, but they are also putting their own future competitiveness at risk. They need to deploy existing low-emissions solutions while advocating for policies that can unlock the technical potential for near zero-emissions steel. 

“The country has a small window to make investments to preserve competitiveness and reduce emissions in the steel sector.

“The G7 Summit is an opportunity to set a clear direction to accelerate the rate of change by phasing out coal-based technologies, deploying proven lower-emissions technologies and scaling affordable renewable energy.”

India’s weather office has forecast normal monsoon rainfall in 2023. However, a 90% likelihood of an El Nino weather pattern developing during the June-September monsoon season raises the possibility of less than normal rain.

In the past, India has experienced below-average rainfall during most El Nino years, sometimes leading to severe drought that destroyed crops and forced authorities to limit the export of some food grains.

Victor Faundez, founder of the “Buena Cabra” (Good Goat) project walks next to his herd of goats nibbling on foliage in Santa Juana, Chile, May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Juan Gonzalez

Animals take center stage in today’s ESG Spotlight as a herd of goats in the southern Chilean city of Santa Juana have helped fight the blazes from wildfires earlier this year, while Australia reintroduces the platypus for the first time in over fifty years to the country’s oldest national park.

The Chilean goats have already saved the native forest of the Bosques de Chacay once, preventing the park from being consumed by February forest fires – fueled by heatwaves and a punishing drought – that left dozens dead, thousands injured and almost 440,000 hectares destroyed in south-central Chile.

The technique, also used in Portugal and Spain, relies on grazing goats to control dry pastures and other vegetation that fuel forest fires in the summer. Goat droppings also help enrich the soil and prevent further erosion.

A platypus by the Hacking River after being released by scientists back into Sydney’s Royal National Park, in Sydney, Australia, May 12, 2023. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

The platypus, a species unique to Australia, was reintroduced into the country’s oldest national park just south of Sydney on Friday in a landmark conservation project after disappearing from the area more than half a century ago.

Known for its bill, webbed feet, and venomous spurs, the platypus is one of only two egg-laying mammals globally and spends most of its time in the water at night. Due to its reclusive nature and highly specific habitat needs, most Australians have never seen one in the wild.

“While the shift to greener sources of energy must be encouraged, now is the time to start asking serious questions about the human rights abuses in electric vehicle supply chains.”

Pochoy Labog, Southeast Asia researcher at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

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