Planning for the breach

May 20, 2022 View in browser   By Lorraine Woellert THE WEEK THAT WAS A project in Iceland hopes to suck in 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. | Businesswire via AP THE OVERSHOOT — What if we don't make it? Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world agreed to limit — or at least try to limit — global warming to 1.5° Celsius. But we're approaching that horizon now, and chances are pretty good that we'll breach it. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last month said that it is "almost inevitable." Enter the Climate Overshoot Commission, a new group that will explore ways to respond and adapt if global warming continues on its present trajectory. On the commission's agenda: Large-scale carbon capture and a system to cool the planet by reflecting sunlight back into space. It all sounds a little sci-fi. Geoengineering is scientifically controversial. And large-scale carbon dioxide removal and sunlight reflection would require global governing structures that don't exist, which is one problem the commission will try to address. But big problems demand big ideas. The 16-member group includes former heads of state, government ministers, environmental leaders, academics and others. It's led by Pascal Lamy, president of the Paris Peace Forum and former director-general of the World Trade Organization. "All of us would prefer not to confront the consequences of insufficient action," Lamy said in an announcement of the group's formation on May 17. "We will continue to work towards achieving the world's climate goals as best we can. But we also have an overriding responsibility to be prepared, in case we do not succeed." The group holds its first meeting in June at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center in Italy and is to deliver its ideas at the 2023 U.N. Climate Change Conference. The takeaway: Geoengineering, at least in theory, is becoming mainstream. YOU TELL US Thanks for joining us this week. If you're in the Eastern half of the U.S., get ready for the heat. Is it too hot for you to work? Please tell us about it. H/t to Jordan Wolman for pitching in today. Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott, deputy editor Debra Kahn, and reporters Lorraine and Jordan . Reach us at gmott@politico.com, dkahn@politico.com, lwoellert@politico.com, cboudreau@politico.com and jwolman@politico.com. Want more? You can have it. Sign up for the Long Game. Four days a week and still free. That's sustainability! SUSTAINABLE FINANCE WRITING THE RULES — Regular readers know that accounting and reporting standards are going to be critical to building a more sustainable economy. We need a set of rules for measuring and reporting progress, be it in workplace diversity, greenhouse gas emissions or something else. The fledgling International Sustainability Standards Board will be writing those rules. The board, a consolidation of fragmented standard-setting bodies, aims to have a comprehensive global baseline of disclosure rules by the end of 2022. It laid out its game plan on Wednesday. Ultimately, a baseline reporting standard should cut costs for companies and make it easier for investors and the public to understand what's actually going on. G7 finance ministers and central banks endorsed the ISSB's work on Friday, firmly cementing its bona fides as the standard-setter. Still confused about ESG disclosures? You're not alone. POLITICO convened a panel on the subject this week. Here's what you might have missed. On carbon tunnel vision: "It's not just about the carbon counting, it's about the broader business and the business ecosystem. How are you as a responsible business or entity making sense of what kind of impact your business has on the environment? When I say environment, not just physical environment around you, but also your stakeholders, the people that you work for. You think about supply chains and the transparency required within a supply chain of a company. How are you making sure that there's no child labor or forced labor as part of that? It's not just about carbon and it's not even just about the environment. It's really about being a responsible and sustainable business for the future generations." — Christina Shim, head of strategy at IBM Sustainability Software. On standardizing standards : "We need regulators who are pragmatic in their approach and understand that the corporate community is not their enemy. They're not, in our view, resisting this. The market is demanding this. What they want are workable solutions that don't unnecessarily expose them to litigation risk and exorbitant new costs…. We are used to the corporate community saying 'no regulation, deregulate.' That's not the response here." — Ed Knight, executive vice chair, Nasdaq. On the SEC's proposed climate disclosure rule: "This is a first, and I think Chair [Gary] Gensler is very committed to providing investors with what they need and to trying to get better information from companies that investors and other stakeholders can use. So I think for the next couple years we're going to see more of this." — Lisa Woll, president of investor group US SIF. On human capital : "There is general buy-in that diversity is important. It's important for social reasons and impact. It's also important to workforce retention and recruitment. I think that most employers recognize that having a diverse and inclusive work environment is important to the health of your workplace and your ability to attract and retain high-quality staff. So the disclosure around that is increasing. We've seen, in the data that we have, that more and more companies are disclosing that." — Elizabeth King, president of ESG for the Intercontinental Exchange. For more, check out our video from the summit at POLITICO Live.   DON'T MISS THE 2022 GREAT LAKES ECONOMIC FORUM:  POLITICO is excited to be the exclusive media partner again at the Council of the Great Lakes Region's bi-national Great Lakes Economic Forum with co-hosts Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot. This premier, intimate networking event, taking place June 26-28 in Chicago, brings together international, national and regional leaders from business, government, academia and the nonprofit sector each year. "Powering Forward" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect key decision-makers with thought leaders and agents of change to identify and advance solutions that will strengthen the region's competitiveness and sustainability in today's competitive climate of trade, innovation, investment, labor mobility and environmental performance. Register today.     IN YOUR BACKYARD SPEAKING OF BIG IDEAS — California said it will bid for a share of $8 billion in federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to build a renewable hydrogen project. Near-term activities will focus on electrifying port operations and freight trucking. Have an idea? Fill out this form. The Department of Energy has all the details. WHAT WE'RE CLICKING Lake Mead is giving up its secrets. | AP Photo/John Locher — Human remains and buried Mormon settlements are emerging as our man-made lakes dry up. The New York Times has the story. — The National Academy of Medicine is "working urgently" on a plan to cure burnout among health care workers. It's looking for input. LOOK AHEAD Events are listed in Eastern Time May 23 — The Atlantic Council holds a virtual discussion on bridging the digital divide at 2 p.m. May 23-27 — Florida holds a week-long special session on the property and casualty insurance market. May 24 — A panel of the House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing on disability from long-term Covid-19. May 24 — Rice University's Baker Institute holds a forum on electric vehicles and society at 11:15 a.m. May 25 — The Securities and Exchange Commission meets at 1 p.m. to discuss rules targeting greenwashing in investment funds. May 25-26 — The Investment Company Institute holds a two-day leadership summit in Washington. May 25-27 — The American Bar Association holds a forum on affordable housing.   STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.       Follow us on Twitter Debra Kahn @debra_kahn Greg Mott @gwmott Lorraine Woellert @Woellert Jordan Wolman @jordanwolman   Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.