| | | | |  | | By Jordan Wolman and Allison Prang | Presented by Neste MY SAF | | | | | 
COP27 is wrapping up. | Nariman El-Mofty/AP Photo | WHAT DID COP27 DELIVER?: As we bid adieu to this year's installment of U.N.'s annual climate conference, emotions are still simmering and the scramble is on to determine what was actually achieved in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The devil is always in the details, but when it comes to the pure language concluding COP27, experts aren't sure climate diplomats really moved the ball forward in a meaningful way, based on draft decisions issued Friday. "This COP will be seen as a failure if it not only fails to make progress on the Glasgow text around fossil fuel phase out from last year, but actually backtracks from that text," Catherine Abreu, a campaigner with Destination Zero, told POLITICO's Karl Mathiesen . The draft does not include a proposal from India to phase out all fossil fuels. And it left out a timeframe for countries to align their emissions reduction plans with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees. Draft text does, however, call on institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to take on more risk to increase climate finance threefold by 2025. All that is said while the green movement achieved impressive access at the conference — the kind of access the fossil fuel industry can only dream of, Karl reports. Take, for example, Jennifer Morgan. Until February she was head of Greenpeace International. Now, she is Germany's top climate envoy and was handed the job of finding agreement between among 200 countries on the most explosive issue at the conference: Who pays for the damage caused by climate change? It's a path more and more climate activists are choosing. That shift gives them power to shape global affairs, but it also comes at the price of moral purity. Just one year ago, Morgan was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Pacific islanders and other vulnerable nations against the wealthy polluters that have caused climate change. This year, she was huddled with her advisers meeting over those countries' demands for climate reparations while her employer, the German government — along with the EU and U.S. — resisted creating a reparations fund. It's "one of the most controversial issues ever," Morgan said. Ultimately, Morgan's EU bloc backed a proposal for climate reparations. The U.S., though, is seeming more and more to be the lone holdout — even though President Joe Biden promised delegates this time would be different . That's putting U.S. climate envoy John Kerry in a make-or-break spot: Does he play spoiler or savior on the central issue of this year's climate gathering? Zack Colman, Karl and Sara Schonhardt have details .
| | | | A message from Neste MY SAF: To reach the ambitious goals set out in the Paris Agreement on climate change, greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced urgently, and drastically. In aviation, Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ is a solution available today. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% over the fuel's life cycle compared to using fossil jet fuel. Moreover, it is commercially available and in use worldwide. Neste MY SAF. Today. | | | | | | DREAMS OF CARBON NEUTRALITY — California has a new long-term plan that aims to get to carbon neutrality by 2045. The plan isn't final yet (it still needs to be voted on by the California Air Resources Board next month), but it is drawing criticism from some who say the state isn't doing enough to cut pollution in disadvantaged neighborhoods, our Camille Von Kaenel reports . That's not its only hurdle. To reach the lofty goals of the plan — which spans a whopping nearly 300 pages (in case you're looking for some light bedtime reading) — Californians would need to reduce driving by a third. And if past performance is any indicator, that doesn't look too likely. California would also need a lot more clean energy to meet its emissions goals. Like a lot. As in, it would need to quadruple its wind and solar power by 2045. And while California's renewable energy development rate is ahead of schedule, it's not ahead enough. The state, for its part, acknowledged the plan — which it's calling a "North Star" — is lofty to some. "Make no mistake, many people don't think this is possible, and as many again don't think 2045 is soon enough," said Lauren Sanchez, Gov. Gavin Newsom's climate adviser. Read more here .
| | | SOCCER AND GREENWASHING — The World Cup will be big on fun and games — quite literally — with maybe a side order of "greenwashing." Organizers of the event, set to kick off Sunday, have said it is carbon neutral. But critics think there's a little sketchiness in that portrayal. Preparations for holding the famous soccer tournament in Qatar required a massive amount of climate-damaging construction. And it's expected to produce a lot more emissions compared with the last edition in 2018, according to climate advocates. While the sport's global governing body is using a carbon credit scheme to offset roughly half of the expected emissions, that tactic has been widely criticized, Daniel Cusick of POLITICO's E&E News reports . "It's a form of climate denial," said Allen Hershkowitz, founding director of the nonprofit Sport and Sustainability International and a leading expert on the intersection of climate change and professional sports. Read more here .
| | | | A message from Neste MY SAF:   | | | | | | BANK SHOT ON ESG — The Kentucky Bankers Association is suing state Attorney General Daniel Cameron over his involvement with a multi-state investigation into six of the nation's banks over "alleged antitrust and consumer protection law violations related to ESG." Cameron acted beyond his legal authority in joining other Republican attorneys general in seeking information from banks over their involvement with the U.N. Net-Zero Banking Alliance, KBA said in a lawsuit filed in Franklin Circuit Court on Halloween. The group also accuses Cameron of violating First Amendment Rights and a state law that permits the state to stop doing business with financial institutions that boycott fossil-fuel companies. "Our members understand the values and goals behind the passage of SB205, but that cannot be the basis of a precedent for allowing any government official or agency to exceed its authority over our industry," KBA President and CEO Ballard Cassady said in a statement. "Today, it is the ESG-type issues raised by the AG's actions, tomorrow it could be dictating interest rates or hiring practices." The attorney general's office is reviewing the KBA's lawsuit and plans to respond by Nov. 23, Krista Buckel, the acting communications director for Cameron, said in an email.
| | | GAME ON — Welcome to the Long Game, where we tell you about the latest on efforts to shape our future. We deliver data-driven storytelling, compelling interviews with industry and political leaders, and news Tuesday through Friday to keep you in the loop on sustainability. Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott , deputy editor Debra Kahn and reporters Jordan Wolman and Allison Prang . Reach us all at gmott@politico.com , dkahn@politico.com , jwolman@politico.com and aprang@politico.com . Like what you're reading? Excellent. Sign up for the Long Game . Four days a week and still free! | | | — A major Italian energy firm is planning to build a solar cell plant in the U.S. as part of broader push into the American market, the Wall Street Journal reports . — A high-tech effort to reduce emissions related to air travel that actually might make things worse. Bloomberg has the story . — Climate-linked weather disasters are prompting prospective retirees to rethink where they want to spend their golden years, according to the New York Times . — And speaking of the World Cup, Qatar has decided to bar beer sales at stadiums during the tournament. That may annoy fans who are coming from around the world for the tournament, but it's really going to bother Budweiser owner Ab InBev, which reportedly paid $75 million for sponsorship rights . | | | | A message from Neste MY SAF: Greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause of climate change. Reducing them is paramount to the very future of our planet. To achieve the ambitious emission reductions the aviation sector has set itself, a solution for today is urgently needed. And it is here. Now. Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ (SAF) drastically reduces GHG emissions of air travel.
Neste is ramping up the production of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ to meet demand. By the end of 2023, Neste will have an annual SAF production capacity of 1.5 million tons of SAF.
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