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thinkin

In conversation with Richard Dawkins

Long stories short A draft plan suggested the EU will loosen state aid rules to counter US climate subsidies.BP cut its long-term forecast for oil and gas demand (more below).Congo’s opposition leader said he would cancel a plan to allow drilling for oil and gas in one of the world’s largest tropical peatlands, if he wins an election this year. Cabin pressure A PR consultancy founded by two former Treasury advisers has supported three parliamentary groups lobbying against fuel and aviation taxes. The groups have received over £84,000 in funding from the transport industry over the past four years. Tendo Consulting, set up in 2015 by Peter Carroll and Will de Peyer, has acted as the secretariat for three all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) which have pushed for reductions in Air Passenger Duty (APD) and fuel duty. Carroll and de Peyer were both special advisers to Danny Alexander, the Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury under George Osborne. The groups are funded by airports, and trade associations representing airlines, the aviation industry and haulage contractors. APPGs are run by and for members of parliament but have no formal role in parliamentary business. They have been a key focus of The Westminster Accounts investigation. So what? Implementing taxes on carbon was never going to be easy. Yet economists agree that putting a price on our emissions is the best way to change behaviour. According to the IEA, aviation accounts for around 2.5 per cent of total global emissions while trucks carrying freight account for 4.4 per cent. Backdoor attempts by industry to preserve the status quo make it even harder to hit net zero goals.  In November 2020, as the airline industry was being pummelled by the pandemic, the Future of Aviation APPG wrote to the then-Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, requesting a temporary suspension of APD, while its chair called for a review of the passenger levy. The now-defunct Air Passenger Duty Reform APPG was also set up to campaign against the tax. The Road and Freight Logistics APPG has called for a pause in the rollout of Clean Air Zones, which restrict dirtier vehicles in cities, while MPs in the group have spoken about the need to reduce the “enormous level of taxation on diesel” and haulage fuel costs. The APPG is funded through Tendo by the Road Haulage Association, a trade association for haulage companies. Sunak halved APD on domestic flights in 2021. Fuel duty was frozen from 2011 to last year, when it was cut by 5p a litre. “Airlines and airports seem to be continually trying to find new ways to argue for lower passenger taxes, despite already benefiting from no tax being levied on aviation fuel and no VAT being charged on tickets,” said Tim Johnson, Director of the Aviation Environment Federation NGO. “The aviation industry seems unable to give up its preoccupation with growing its profits and minimising all liability for environmental costs.” A trip to Silverstone. Henry Smith MP has acted as Chair for the Air Passenger Duty Reform APPG and its successor the Future of Aviation APPG. He has repeatedly called for a 12-month waiver and review of APD, describing it as a “pressure on our industry,” and argued in Parliament for its reduction on both domestic and international flights. In 2021 and 2022, Emirates Airlines UK treated Smith to two trips to the British Grand Prix in Silverstone at a cost of over £8,000. Smith told Tortoise that Britain charges the highest air passenger duty “of any major economy”. He said: “The Future of Aviation APPG is also very focussed on Britain being at the forefront of sustainable aviation technology… given the significant economic benefits this can bring to the nation.” In a response to Tortoise on behalf of Tendo, de Peyer said: “In all our work we adhere to both the letter and spirit of the regulations and the code of conduct of our professional body, the PRCA, and the Office of the Registrar of the Consultant Lobbyists. Where required, details of our work are a matter of parliamentary and/or public record.” A message from Companies are investing more time producing climate risk disclosures based on the TCFD recommendations. However, these disclosures are not translating into actionable strategies to accelerate decarbonisation. The EY report analyses the reasons behind this by reviewing the disclosures made by 1,500 companies across 47 countries. This is sponsored by EY eco-nomics War economy The war in Ukraine will accelerate investment in renewables and reduce demand for oil and gas, BP says in its latest annual forecast. The upshot is that carbon emissions could peak earlier this decade than previously suggested. But BP’s analysis also shows the world is still far off track to reach net zero on time. Its latest annual outlook indicates that global emissions will only fall 30 per cent from 2019 levels by 2050, rather than the 95 per cent drop needed to achieve net zero. BP argues that even in a scenario of more than 95 per cent cuts in carbon emissions, investment in oil and gas production will still be required over the next 30 years as existing oilfields decline. The company maintains that the equivalent of 20 million barrels of oil per day will still be needed by 2050 if the transition is to be “orderly”. policy Sticks and carrots Consumer brands are loud about sustainability claims; more than 90 per cent of dishwashing products, for example, are marketed as environmentally friendly. The Competition and Markets Authority suspects many shoppers are paying a premium for household goods sold as sustainable without evidence to back up those claims. The watchdog is baring its teeth, warning it will analyse environmental claims to ensure they are compliant with consumer protection law. But research from Dejan Glavas and other academics at Essca School of Management in Angers, France, suggests that as well as using deterrents such as financial penalties, regulators could create opportunities for companies to atone for their greenwashing sins by moving to genuine sustainability. Pressure from regulators can be especially effective when companies have a lot to lose by dropping green marketing. nature On the edge Over the past four decades the Amazon has lost nearly a fifth of its forest cover, but there’s another threat that gets less attention: human activity and drought may have degraded more than a third of what remains of the world’s biggest tropical rainforest. The deteriorating forest is less able to store carbon, sustain a variety of species and is more vulnerable to the threat of fire. The research published in Science underlines the scale of the challenge facing Brazil, and the officials President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has appointed to key positions in environmental agencies. Has the rainforest reached a tipping point? The New York Times has a good deep dive. activism Climate quitting A third of people aged 18 to 25 say they have rejected a job offer because they didn’t agree with the company’s green credentials, according to a survey by KPMG. Out of 5,700 UK adults, 82 per cent placed some importance on being able to link “values and purpose” with the organisation they work for, rising to 92 per cent for those in the Gen Z cohort. Luckily, there’s plenty of green jobs out there: a 2022 LinkedIn survey found that listings for green jobs have grown at an annual pace of 8 per cent since 2015. The bigger issue is whether there is the talent to match. The same survey found that the number of people listing green skills grew only 6 per cent each year over the same period. Thanks for reading. Guy Taylor@GuyTayl47097519 Barney Macintyre@barneymac Additional reporting by Jeevan Vasagar. If you want to get in touch, drop us a line at sensemaker@tortoisemedia.com. Sponsored by With thanks to our coalition members: a network of organisations similarly committed to achieving Net Zero Visit the homepage to find out more about the coalition and join us. Slow newscast Egypt’s bad cop The story of one man, fighting to his last breath, to reveal the darkness that lies behind this year’s UN Climate Change Conference.

thinkin

Who can save England’s rivers?

Long stories short A draft plan suggested the EU will loosen state aid rules to counter US climate subsidies.BP cut its long-term forecast for oil and gas demand (more below).Congo’s opposition leader said he would cancel a plan to allow drilling for oil and gas in one of the world’s largest tropical peatlands, if he wins an election this year. Cabin pressure A PR consultancy founded by two former Treasury advisers has supported three parliamentary groups lobbying against fuel and aviation taxes. The groups have received over £84,000 in funding from the transport industry over the past four years. Tendo Consulting, set up in 2015 by Peter Carroll and Will de Peyer, has acted as the secretariat for three all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) which have pushed for reductions in Air Passenger Duty (APD) and fuel duty. Carroll and de Peyer were both special advisers to Danny Alexander, the Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury under George Osborne. The groups are funded by airports, and trade associations representing airlines, the aviation industry and haulage contractors. APPGs are run by and for members of parliament but have no formal role in parliamentary business. They have been a key focus of The Westminster Accounts investigation. So what? Implementing taxes on carbon was never going to be easy. Yet economists agree that putting a price on our emissions is the best way to change behaviour. According to the IEA, aviation accounts for around 2.5 per cent of total global emissions while trucks carrying freight account for 4.4 per cent. Backdoor attempts by industry to preserve the status quo make it even harder to hit net zero goals.  In November 2020, as the airline industry was being pummelled by the pandemic, the Future of Aviation APPG wrote to the then-Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, requesting a temporary suspension of APD, while its chair called for a review of the passenger levy. The now-defunct Air Passenger Duty Reform APPG was also set up to campaign against the tax. The Road and Freight Logistics APPG has called for a pause in the rollout of Clean Air Zones, which restrict dirtier vehicles in cities, while MPs in the group have spoken about the need to reduce the “enormous level of taxation on diesel” and haulage fuel costs. The APPG is funded through Tendo by the Road Haulage Association, a trade association for haulage companies. Sunak halved APD on domestic flights in 2021. Fuel duty was frozen from 2011 to last year, when it was cut by 5p a litre. “Airlines and airports seem to be continually trying to find new ways to argue for lower passenger taxes, despite already benefiting from no tax being levied on aviation fuel and no VAT being charged on tickets,” said Tim Johnson, Director of the Aviation Environment Federation NGO. “The aviation industry seems unable to give up its preoccupation with growing its profits and minimising all liability for environmental costs.” A trip to Silverstone. Henry Smith MP has acted as Chair for the Air Passenger Duty Reform APPG and its successor the Future of Aviation APPG. He has repeatedly called for a 12-month waiver and review of APD, describing it as a “pressure on our industry,” and argued in Parliament for its reduction on both domestic and international flights. In 2021 and 2022, Emirates Airlines UK treated Smith to two trips to the British Grand Prix in Silverstone at a cost of over £8,000. Smith told Tortoise that Britain charges the highest air passenger duty “of any major economy”. He said: “The Future of Aviation APPG is also very focussed on Britain being at the forefront of sustainable aviation technology… given the significant economic benefits this can bring to the nation.” In a response to Tortoise on behalf of Tendo, de Peyer said: “In all our work we adhere to both the letter and spirit of the regulations and the code of conduct of our professional body, the PRCA, and the Office of the Registrar of the Consultant Lobbyists. Where required, details of our work are a matter of parliamentary and/or public record.” A message from Companies are investing more time producing climate risk disclosures based on the TCFD recommendations. However, these disclosures are not translating into actionable strategies to accelerate decarbonisation. The EY report analyses the reasons behind this by reviewing the disclosures made by 1,500 companies across 47 countries. This is sponsored by EY eco-nomics War economy The war in Ukraine will accelerate investment in renewables and reduce demand for oil and gas, BP says in its latest annual forecast. The upshot is that carbon emissions could peak earlier this decade than previously suggested. But BP’s analysis also shows the world is still far off track to reach net zero on time. Its latest annual outlook indicates that global emissions will only fall 30 per cent from 2019 levels by 2050, rather than the 95 per cent drop needed to achieve net zero. BP argues that even in a scenario of more than 95 per cent cuts in carbon emissions, investment in oil and gas production will still be required over the next 30 years as existing oilfields decline. The company maintains that the equivalent of 20 million barrels of oil per day will still be needed by 2050 if the transition is to be “orderly”. policy Sticks and carrots Consumer brands are loud about sustainability claims; more than 90 per cent of dishwashing products, for example, are marketed as environmentally friendly. The Competition and Markets Authority suspects many shoppers are paying a premium for household goods sold as sustainable without evidence to back up those claims. The watchdog is baring its teeth, warning it will analyse environmental claims to ensure they are compliant with consumer protection law. But research from Dejan Glavas and other academics at Essca School of Management in Angers, France, suggests that as well as using deterrents such as financial penalties, regulators could create opportunities for companies to atone for their greenwashing sins by moving to genuine sustainability. Pressure from regulators can be especially effective when companies have a lot to lose by dropping green marketing. nature On the edge Over the past four decades the Amazon has lost nearly a fifth of its forest cover, but there’s another threat that gets less attention: human activity and drought may have degraded more than a third of what remains of the world’s biggest tropical rainforest. The deteriorating forest is less able to store carbon, sustain a variety of species and is more vulnerable to the threat of fire. The research published in Science underlines the scale of the challenge facing Brazil, and the officials President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has appointed to key positions in environmental agencies. Has the rainforest reached a tipping point? The New York Times has a good deep dive. activism Climate quitting A third of people aged 18 to 25 say they have rejected a job offer because they didn’t agree with the company’s green credentials, according to a survey by KPMG. Out of 5,700 UK adults, 82 per cent placed some importance on being able to link “values and purpose” with the organisation they work for, rising to 92 per cent for those in the Gen Z cohort. Luckily, there’s plenty of green jobs out there: a 2022 LinkedIn survey found that listings for green jobs have grown at an annual pace of 8 per cent since 2015. The bigger issue is whether there is the talent to match. The same survey found that the number of people listing green skills grew only 6 per cent each year over the same period. Thanks for reading. Guy Taylor@GuyTayl47097519 Barney Macintyre@barneymac Additional reporting by Jeevan Vasagar. If you want to get in touch, drop us a line at sensemaker@tortoisemedia.com. Sponsored by With thanks to our coalition members: a network of organisations similarly committed to achieving Net Zero Visit the homepage to find out more about the coalition and join us. Slow newscast Egypt’s bad cop The story of one man, fighting to his last breath, to reveal the darkness that lies behind this year’s UN Climate Change Conference.

thinkin

A ThinkIn with Andrew Cotter, Olive and Mabel

Long stories short A draft plan suggested the EU will loosen state aid rules to counter US climate subsidies.BP cut its long-term forecast for oil and gas demand (more below).Congo’s opposition leader said he would cancel a plan to allow drilling for oil and gas in one of the world’s largest tropical peatlands, if he wins an election this year. Cabin pressure A PR consultancy founded by two former Treasury advisers has supported three parliamentary groups lobbying against fuel and aviation taxes. The groups have received over £84,000 in funding from the transport industry over the past four years. Tendo Consulting, set up in 2015 by Peter Carroll and Will de Peyer, has acted as the secretariat for three all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) which have pushed for reductions in Air Passenger Duty (APD) and fuel duty. Carroll and de Peyer were both special advisers to Danny Alexander, the Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury under George Osborne. The groups are funded by airports, and trade associations representing airlines, the aviation industry and haulage contractors. APPGs are run by and for members of parliament but have no formal role in parliamentary business. They have been a key focus of The Westminster Accounts investigation. So what? Implementing taxes on carbon was never going to be easy. Yet economists agree that putting a price on our emissions is the best way to change behaviour. According to the IEA, aviation accounts for around 2.5 per cent of total global emissions while trucks carrying freight account for 4.4 per cent. Backdoor attempts by industry to preserve the status quo make it even harder to hit net zero goals.  In November 2020, as the airline industry was being pummelled by the pandemic, the Future of Aviation APPG wrote to the then-Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, requesting a temporary suspension of APD, while its chair called for a review of the passenger levy. The now-defunct Air Passenger Duty Reform APPG was also set up to campaign against the tax. The Road and Freight Logistics APPG has called for a pause in the rollout of Clean Air Zones, which restrict dirtier vehicles in cities, while MPs in the group have spoken about the need to reduce the “enormous level of taxation on diesel” and haulage fuel costs. The APPG is funded through Tendo by the Road Haulage Association, a trade association for haulage companies. Sunak halved APD on domestic flights in 2021. Fuel duty was frozen from 2011 to last year, when it was cut by 5p a litre. “Airlines and airports seem to be continually trying to find new ways to argue for lower passenger taxes, despite already benefiting from no tax being levied on aviation fuel and no VAT being charged on tickets,” said Tim Johnson, Director of the Aviation Environment Federation NGO. “The aviation industry seems unable to give up its preoccupation with growing its profits and minimising all liability for environmental costs.” A trip to Silverstone. Henry Smith MP has acted as Chair for the Air Passenger Duty Reform APPG and its successor the Future of Aviation APPG. He has repeatedly called for a 12-month waiver and review of APD, describing it as a “pressure on our industry,” and argued in Parliament for its reduction on both domestic and international flights. In 2021 and 2022, Emirates Airlines UK treated Smith to two trips to the British Grand Prix in Silverstone at a cost of over £8,000. Smith told Tortoise that Britain charges the highest air passenger duty “of any major economy”. He said: “The Future of Aviation APPG is also very focussed on Britain being at the forefront of sustainable aviation technology… given the significant economic benefits this can bring to the nation.” In a response to Tortoise on behalf of Tendo, de Peyer said: “In all our work we adhere to both the letter and spirit of the regulations and the code of conduct of our professional body, the PRCA, and the Office of the Registrar of the Consultant Lobbyists. Where required, details of our work are a matter of parliamentary and/or public record.” A message from Companies are investing more time producing climate risk disclosures based on the TCFD recommendations. However, these disclosures are not translating into actionable strategies to accelerate decarbonisation. The EY report analyses the reasons behind this by reviewing the disclosures made by 1,500 companies across 47 countries. This is sponsored by EY eco-nomics War economy The war in Ukraine will accelerate investment in renewables and reduce demand for oil and gas, BP says in its latest annual forecast. The upshot is that carbon emissions could peak earlier this decade than previously suggested. But BP’s analysis also shows the world is still far off track to reach net zero on time. Its latest annual outlook indicates that global emissions will only fall 30 per cent from 2019 levels by 2050, rather than the 95 per cent drop needed to achieve net zero. BP argues that even in a scenario of more than 95 per cent cuts in carbon emissions, investment in oil and gas production will still be required over the next 30 years as existing oilfields decline. The company maintains that the equivalent of 20 million barrels of oil per day will still be needed by 2050 if the transition is to be “orderly”. policy Sticks and carrots Consumer brands are loud about sustainability claims; more than 90 per cent of dishwashing products, for example, are marketed as environmentally friendly. The Competition and Markets Authority suspects many shoppers are paying a premium for household goods sold as sustainable without evidence to back up those claims. The watchdog is baring its teeth, warning it will analyse environmental claims to ensure they are compliant with consumer protection law. But research from Dejan Glavas and other academics at Essca School of Management in Angers, France, suggests that as well as using deterrents such as financial penalties, regulators could create opportunities for companies to atone for their greenwashing sins by moving to genuine sustainability. Pressure from regulators can be especially effective when companies have a lot to lose by dropping green marketing. nature On the edge Over the past four decades the Amazon has lost nearly a fifth of its forest cover, but there’s another threat that gets less attention: human activity and drought may have degraded more than a third of what remains of the world’s biggest tropical rainforest. The deteriorating forest is less able to store carbon, sustain a variety of species and is more vulnerable to the threat of fire. The research published in Science underlines the scale of the challenge facing Brazil, and the officials President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has appointed to key positions in environmental agencies. Has the rainforest reached a tipping point? The New York Times has a good deep dive. activism Climate quitting A third of people aged 18 to 25 say they have rejected a job offer because they didn’t agree with the company’s green credentials, according to a survey by KPMG. Out of 5,700 UK adults, 82 per cent placed some importance on being able to link “values and purpose” with the organisation they work for, rising to 92 per cent for those in the Gen Z cohort. Luckily, there’s plenty of green jobs out there: a 2022 LinkedIn survey found that listings for green jobs have grown at an annual pace of 8 per cent since 2015. The bigger issue is whether there is the talent to match. The same survey found that the number of people listing green skills grew only 6 per cent each year over the same period. Thanks for reading. Guy Taylor@GuyTayl47097519 Barney Macintyre@barneymac Additional reporting by Jeevan Vasagar. If you want to get in touch, drop us a line at sensemaker@tortoisemedia.com. Sponsored by With thanks to our coalition members: a network of organisations similarly committed to achieving Net Zero Visit the homepage to find out more about the coalition and join us. Slow newscast Egypt’s bad cop The story of one man, fighting to his last breath, to reveal the darkness that lies behind this year’s UN Climate Change Conference.

thinkin

Biodiversity rules: what more should all of us be doing to protect nature?

Long stories short A draft plan suggested the EU will loosen state aid rules to counter US climate subsidies.BP cut its long-term forecast for oil and gas demand (more below).Congo’s opposition leader said he would cancel a plan to allow drilling for oil and gas in one of the world’s largest tropical peatlands, if he wins an election this year. Cabin pressure A PR consultancy founded by two former Treasury advisers has supported three parliamentary groups lobbying against fuel and aviation taxes. The groups have received over £84,000 in funding from the transport industry over the past four years. Tendo Consulting, set up in 2015 by Peter Carroll and Will de Peyer, has acted as the secretariat for three all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) which have pushed for reductions in Air Passenger Duty (APD) and fuel duty. Carroll and de Peyer were both special advisers to Danny Alexander, the Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury under George Osborne. The groups are funded by airports, and trade associations representing airlines, the aviation industry and haulage contractors. APPGs are run by and for members of parliament but have no formal role in parliamentary business. They have been a key focus of The Westminster Accounts investigation. So what? Implementing taxes on carbon was never going to be easy. Yet economists agree that putting a price on our emissions is the best way to change behaviour. According to the IEA, aviation accounts for around 2.5 per cent of total global emissions while trucks carrying freight account for 4.4 per cent. Backdoor attempts by industry to preserve the status quo make it even harder to hit net zero goals.  In November 2020, as the airline industry was being pummelled by the pandemic, the Future of Aviation APPG wrote to the then-Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, requesting a temporary suspension of APD, while its chair called for a review of the passenger levy. The now-defunct Air Passenger Duty Reform APPG was also set up to campaign against the tax. The Road and Freight Logistics APPG has called for a pause in the rollout of Clean Air Zones, which restrict dirtier vehicles in cities, while MPs in the group have spoken about the need to reduce the “enormous level of taxation on diesel” and haulage fuel costs. The APPG is funded through Tendo by the Road Haulage Association, a trade association for haulage companies. Sunak halved APD on domestic flights in 2021. Fuel duty was frozen from 2011 to last year, when it was cut by 5p a litre. “Airlines and airports seem to be continually trying to find new ways to argue for lower passenger taxes, despite already benefiting from no tax being levied on aviation fuel and no VAT being charged on tickets,” said Tim Johnson, Director of the Aviation Environment Federation NGO. “The aviation industry seems unable to give up its preoccupation with growing its profits and minimising all liability for environmental costs.” A trip to Silverstone. Henry Smith MP has acted as Chair for the Air Passenger Duty Reform APPG and its successor the Future of Aviation APPG. He has repeatedly called for a 12-month waiver and review of APD, describing it as a “pressure on our industry,” and argued in Parliament for its reduction on both domestic and international flights. In 2021 and 2022, Emirates Airlines UK treated Smith to two trips to the British Grand Prix in Silverstone at a cost of over £8,000. Smith told Tortoise that Britain charges the highest air passenger duty “of any major economy”. He said: “The Future of Aviation APPG is also very focussed on Britain being at the forefront of sustainable aviation technology… given the significant economic benefits this can bring to the nation.” In a response to Tortoise on behalf of Tendo, de Peyer said: “In all our work we adhere to both the letter and spirit of the regulations and the code of conduct of our professional body, the PRCA, and the Office of the Registrar of the Consultant Lobbyists. Where required, details of our work are a matter of parliamentary and/or public record.” A message from Companies are investing more time producing climate risk disclosures based on the TCFD recommendations. However, these disclosures are not translating into actionable strategies to accelerate decarbonisation. The EY report analyses the reasons behind this by reviewing the disclosures made by 1,500 companies across 47 countries. This is sponsored by EY eco-nomics War economy The war in Ukraine will accelerate investment in renewables and reduce demand for oil and gas, BP says in its latest annual forecast. The upshot is that carbon emissions could peak earlier this decade than previously suggested. But BP’s analysis also shows the world is still far off track to reach net zero on time. Its latest annual outlook indicates that global emissions will only fall 30 per cent from 2019 levels by 2050, rather than the 95 per cent drop needed to achieve net zero. BP argues that even in a scenario of more than 95 per cent cuts in carbon emissions, investment in oil and gas production will still be required over the next 30 years as existing oilfields decline. The company maintains that the equivalent of 20 million barrels of oil per day will still be needed by 2050 if the transition is to be “orderly”. policy Sticks and carrots Consumer brands are loud about sustainability claims; more than 90 per cent of dishwashing products, for example, are marketed as environmentally friendly. The Competition and Markets Authority suspects many shoppers are paying a premium for household goods sold as sustainable without evidence to back up those claims. The watchdog is baring its teeth, warning it will analyse environmental claims to ensure they are compliant with consumer protection law. But research from Dejan Glavas and other academics at Essca School of Management in Angers, France, suggests that as well as using deterrents such as financial penalties, regulators could create opportunities for companies to atone for their greenwashing sins by moving to genuine sustainability. Pressure from regulators can be especially effective when companies have a lot to lose by dropping green marketing. nature On the edge Over the past four decades the Amazon has lost nearly a fifth of its forest cover, but there’s another threat that gets less attention: human activity and drought may have degraded more than a third of what remains of the world’s biggest tropical rainforest. The deteriorating forest is less able to store carbon, sustain a variety of species and is more vulnerable to the threat of fire. The research published in Science underlines the scale of the challenge facing Brazil, and the officials President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has appointed to key positions in environmental agencies. Has the rainforest reached a tipping point? The New York Times has a good deep dive. activism Climate quitting A third of people aged 18 to 25 say they have rejected a job offer because they didn’t agree with the company’s green credentials, according to a survey by KPMG. Out of 5,700 UK adults, 82 per cent placed some importance on being able to link “values and purpose” with the organisation they work for, rising to 92 per cent for those in the Gen Z cohort. Luckily, there’s plenty of green jobs out there: a 2022 LinkedIn survey found that listings for green jobs have grown at an annual pace of 8 per cent since 2015. The bigger issue is whether there is the talent to match. The same survey found that the number of people listing green skills grew only 6 per cent each year over the same period. Thanks for reading. Guy Taylor@GuyTayl47097519 Barney Macintyre@barneymac Additional reporting by Jeevan Vasagar. If you want to get in touch, drop us a line at sensemaker@tortoisemedia.com. Sponsored by With thanks to our coalition members: a network of organisations similarly committed to achieving Net Zero Visit the homepage to find out more about the coalition and join us. Slow newscast Egypt’s bad cop The story of one man, fighting to his last breath, to reveal the darkness that lies behind this year’s UN Climate Change Conference.