• Atmospheric CO2 /Parts per Million /Annual Averages /Data Source: noaa.gov

  • 1980338.91ppm

  • 1981340.11ppm

  • 1982340.86ppm

  • 1983342.53ppm

  • 1984344.07ppm

  • 1985345.54ppm

  • 1986346.97ppm

  • 1987348.68ppm

  • 1988351.16ppm

  • 1989352.78ppm

  • 1990354.05ppm

  • 1991355.39ppm

  • 1992356.1ppm

  • 1993356.83ppm

  • 1994358.33ppm

  • 1995360.18ppm

  • 1996361.93ppm

  • 1997363.04ppm

  • 1998365.7ppm

  • 1999367.8ppm

  • 2000368.97ppm

  • 2001370.57ppm

  • 2002372.59ppm

  • 2003375.14ppm

  • 2004376.96ppm

  • 2005378.97ppm

  • 2006381.13ppm

  • 2007382.9ppm

  • 2008385.01ppm

  • 2009386.5ppm

  • 2010388.76ppm

  • 2011390.63ppm

  • 2012392.65ppm

  • 2013395.39ppm

  • 2014397.34ppm

  • 2015399.65ppm

  • 2016403.09ppm

  • 2017405.22ppm

  • 2018407.62ppm

  • 2019410.07ppm

  • 2020412.44ppm

  • 2021414.72ppm

  • 2022418.56ppm

  • 2023421.08ppm

A cat sits in the ruins of a destroyed house in Borodianka, Ukraine, in January of this year
News & Views

Ukraine war delays net zero goals but means shot in the arm for renewable investments

The combined effects of a climate and energy crisis due to the Ukraine conflict are accelerating investments in renewables

Content Tags: Research  Transition  Renewables  Europe 

The ongoing war in Ukraine is impacting markets and industries not just across Europe, but globally the effects from the violent conflict between Russia and Ukraine are felt.

From wheat and energy price hikes to a booming weapon industry and rising inflation, the political instability in Eastern Europe is altering markets, disrupting supply chains and impacting business investment strategies.

As a result, many business leaders across Europe believe their net zero ambitions may be scaled back or postponed. 

One of the direct setbacks in the road to net zero is the fact that short-term reliance on fossil fuels has increased significantly as a result of the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.

Consequently, business leaders and policymakers across Europe and the US expect the war in Ukraine to delay global net zero goals by up to three years, as many parts of the world turn to alternative sources of fossil fuels to reduce their reliance on Russia. 

However, even though companies may not get to net zero as fast as they anticipated, the renewables sector is thriving like there is no tomorrow with record amounts of fresh equity flowing in.

The combined effects of a climate and energy crisis are accelerating investment flows into renewable transition, with 96% of business leaders already sourcing renewables or planning to in the future, according to fresh data studied by Net Zero Investor this morning.

According to Matthias Taft, CEO of BayWa, whose firm looked into net zero and climate ambitions of a range of businesses across Europe: “The impacts of the Ukraine crisis are being felt globally, and this crisis does not care about recessions, policies, borders or the speed at which humanity can adapt."

Taft told this publication that "the war in Ukraine has simultaneously been a catalyst to speeding up the renewable transition, while also increasing short-term reliance on fossil fuels." 

His firm found that more than half of all business leaders say the resulting rise in energy prices has brought renewed urgency, positively impacting their sustainability ambitions.

Coal

Taft said that coal returned to the global conversation in 2022 and carbon-related mentions are also firmly back on the radar. 

"This all comes against the backdrop of the changing conversation where consumers have increased the use of urgent language such as ‘climate crisis’ and ‘climate action’, which have overtaken ‘global warming’ as a talking point," he noted.

bxs-quote-alt-left

The war in Ukraine has been a catalyst to speeding up the renewable transition.

bxs-quote-alt-right
Matthias Taft

Taft points to his firm's new report ‘The Decade That Matters 2.0’, which surveyed 3,000 business leaders and policymakers across Europe, the UK and the US, and used a suite of social listening tools to analyse evolving public discourse online.

The direction of travel is clear: businesses are transitioning to renewable energy.

However, when it comes to fully achieving that transition, 57% of business leaders believe it won’t happen until 2050 or after, and almost one in ten (8%) think the transition will never be fully achieved.

This is in contrast to policymakers, with over a third (35%) believing it will be achieved during the 2030s, and only 11% saying after 2050.

"As the world increasingly experiences the impacts of the climate crisis and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) makes repeated calls to aim higher and move faster, timing is fundamentally crucial," Taft said.

Finger-pointing 

Policymakers and business leaders not only differ in their views on the timing of the renewable transition but also about the biggest barriers to realising net zero.

Globally, business leaders cite a lack of support from government (34%) and government policy (29%) as delaying the journey to net zero.

While policymakers believe public understanding (35%) and the speed at which businesses can adapt (35%) are the biggest issues. However, 42% of business leaders and 33% of policymakers are in agreement that cost is a major barrier.

Changing sentiment is driving action

The report also shows a growing change in sentiment around climate change through its social listening findings.

In the first report, mentions of ‘net zero’ were shown to have more than quintupled between the years of 2015 and 2019. In the three years since, they have done so again – a significant rise in what is a far shorter amount of time.

In 2021, there was also a noticeable shift around the term ‘climate crisis’ which overtook ‘global warming’ as a talking point, peaking at over 2.5 million online mentions.

While in 2022, sentiment shifted once more, with overtly negative mentions of ‘net zero’ doubling in comparison to 2018.

These changes around public understanding are undoubtedly influenced by seismic shifts in world affairs – ones that indicate a move from awareness to urgency.

While continuing to evolve, they also show growing impatience with the current pace of change.

"The opportunity to take the action necessary to avert the most catastrophic effects of the climate crisis is still there, but that window is rapidly closing as the initial impacts of the climate crisis are felt globally," Taft concluded.

Content Tags: Research  Transition  Renewables  Europe 

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