Latest news with #Biden-EraClimateDisclosureRule
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fashion's Decarbonization Delays Also a Dollar Short
The Apparel Impact Institute's 2024 annual report opens with a compliment sandwich—arguably, one that the textile trade has been choking down since 2021. 'We're halfway to 2030—a critical year by which the fashion industry must achieve a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions to meet our climate goals—and while we've made progress, it's not enough,' said the nonprofit, better known by its acronym, Aii. More from Sourcing Journal PrimaLoft's Pure Process Wants to Cool the Climate, Heat Up Efficiency SEC Votes to End Its Defense of Biden-Era Climate Disclosure Rule Panama Canal Opens 'Net-Zero' Transit Slot for Low-Emissions Ships The climatic cost of the sector's scant sustainable solutions is hot on the trail of reaching degrees that will decimate the ocean's remaining coral reefs, per 2018 IPCC data. 'The cost of inaction is monumental,' Lewis Perkins, president of Aii, wrote in the report's opening letter. 'As Aii tracks industry progress, the findings emphasize the urgency of the moment…..Many scientists and climate experts now warn that we are more realistically heading toward 2 degrees Celsius or higher, unless urgent action is taken.' If the industry fails to accelerate its efforts to meet this goal, he continued, its carbon footprint will continue to grow unchecked. For context, the fashion industry generated an estimated 897 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2021, per the Aii's last annual report. If unchecked, 2030's emissions could reach 1.2 billion metric tons. 'This will lead to further acceleration of global climate impacts, with severe economic and environmental impacts that will devastate both people and the planet,' Perkins said. 'But here's the good news: many scale-ready solutions exist, and momentum is building.' To that end, the California-based industry advocate's resulting 73-page report detailed the greenhouse gas reductions attained through Aii's programs, totaling 8.58 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions 'saved over useful life' since 2018. Last year alone saved roughly 2.7 million metric tons, though the Cascale partner is shy of hitting its goal by about 92 percent. 'To achieve this industry's ambitious climate goals, it's imperative that every stakeholder leverages their influence to drive tangible change,' Perkins said. 'A joint effort among brands and retailers is essential to create conditions where suppliers are motivated and capable of making these investments.' On the topic of financing such motivations is the organization's Fashion Climate Fund. The $250 million call to arms to identify, fund and propagate verifiable solutions for decarbonizing apparel and textile production has 'mobilized' $156 million for supply chain decarbonization to date. Up 42 percent year-over-year, the 'catalytic capital' accounts for 66 percent of its pooled $250 million target and 7.8 percent of its overarching goal of unlocking $2 billion by 2030. 'Financial institutions are poised to offer better finance options provided there's a robust pipeline of suppliers ready to embrace decarbonization efforts,' Perkins said. 'The acceleration of these efforts occurs when the industry aligns its business strategies, resources and investments toward the most impactful solutions.' As a result, suppliers have nearly doubled (49 percent) greenhouse gas emissions reductions over useful life in 2024 against 2023, per the report. Over 1,250 facilities and 9,600 farms were reached through Aii's Supplier Journey from 2018-2024. This framework, formerly known as the Climate Action Approach, works to support suppliers' decarbonization efforts. This includes the low-carbon thermal energy roadmap published last month, outlining steps industry players can take in the near-, mid-and long-term to implement electrification effectively in pursuit of net zero. 'With the release of our roadmap we have a clear direction of travel for the sector's largest supply chain emission source: thermal energy in wet processing facilities,' Pauline Op de Beeck, Aii's climate portfolio director, said in the report, noting the 'fascinating' work done with GEI in effort to help partners strategize. 'Without supply chain investment using the plays in our playbook, we cannot achieve the vision that the roadmap and our strategy has set out.' The nonprofit also 'remains focused' on its Climate Solutions Portfolio—a registry of credible carbon-squashing solutions—working to 'strengthen supplier financing mechanisms and ensure decarbonization strategies are accessible across the industry,' per the report. 'In this round of grants, we bridged innovation gaps by supporting solution innovators who have leading-edge, impactful and practical technologies,' said Aii's chief impact officer, Kurt Kipka. 'Collectively, these solutions have the potential to reduce 24,407 tcOe2 within the first 12 months of project implementation.' Also of note was Aii's 'digital transformation.' In 2024, the Clean by Design promoter shifted its software and technology focus to this process, which 'integrates digital technologies in all areas of an organization to improve operations, efficiency, partner experiences and service delivery value,' the company said. Aii overhauled its tech strategy to meet 2030 deadlines with efforts like forming strategic partnerships to improve the delivery of services (like the Carbon Toolkit) and building a robust, reliable data repository. 'While digital transformation may seem like a common strategy implemented by organizations across all industries, its impact relies heavily on commitment to a shared vision and execution,' Dan Xavier, Aii's head of software, said in the report. 'These are areas where Aii truly excels, and I'm already excited at the progress we've made in such a short time as a smaller organization. The industry will soon see not only Aii's innovative mind at work but also our ability to take an idea and make it into a reality with all industry stakeholders in mind.'
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Bows Out of IMO's Carbon Tax Proposal, Urges Other Governments to Follow
The U.S. has abandoned international talks for a global carbon tax on emissions produced by oceangoing vessels, and has threatened to take reciprocal measures to offset any fees levied on U.S. ships. In a letter to other member states of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the U.S. unveiled its opposition to the tax, and any efforts to impose economic measures based on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or fuel choice. More from Sourcing Journal USTR Reevaluates Proposed Port Fees on Chinese Ships After Industry Pushback Here's Why Genco's CEO Is Considering Pulling Out of U.S. Ports SEC Votes to End Its Defense of Biden-Era Climate Disclosure Rule The carbon tax is aimed at helping the IMO reach its net-zero GHG emissions objective by 2050, a goal the organization set in 2023. 'Should such a blatantly unfair measure go forward, our government will consider reciprocal measures so as to offset any fees charged to U.S. ships and compensate the American people for any other economic harm from any adopted GHG emissions measures,' the letter, seen by publications including Bloomberg and Politico, wrote. 'The Trump administration will protect the American people and their economic interests.' The IMO, the United Nations' regulatory body over international shipping, is meeting in London this week to approve the proposed new global regulations The debate at the meeting will cover whether to tax shipping emissions through carbon credits trading plan or a universal levy, which would entail a flat-rate tax on emissions. A flat tax could charge as much as $150 per metric ton of GHG emissions per ship, with supporting actors saying the duty would generate billions of dollars a year to help developing countries cope with the impact of the climate crisis. If the tax charged $100 per metric ton, it would raise an estimated $60 billion per year, according to IMO estimates. Within the leaked document, the U.S. called on the other governments to reconsider their support of the measures, which 'would impose substantial economic burdens on the sector and drive inflation globally.' The U.S. previously showed support for the proposal under the Biden administration. The Trump administration had stayed out of the discourse to start 2025, but it now joins countries including China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and South Africa in opposition of a tax. On Jan. 31, those countries, and eight others, argued a levy could reduce exports from the developing world, raise food prices and increase inequalities. 'A levy would not deliver a just and equitable transition [to low-CO2 shipping] and its adoption may trigger negative, economy-wide impacts…a levy is a fundamentally divisive proposal,' they wrote. According to the U.N., 3 percent of total carbon emissions worldwide have come from container shipping, with that figure increasing over the past decade due to the increased size of vessels and the amount of cargo traveling per trip. The opposition from the U.S. and others has continued a common theme of disagreement among IMO member nations over the impacts of a shipping levy on global trade. The topic has only garnered more concern in the wake of President Donald Trump's global 10-percent tariffs and an escalating trade war between the U.S. and China. For the U.S., the move falls in line with many of President Trump's positions that run averse to climate regulation. The president pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement for the second time upon returning to the Oval Office in January. 'The U.N. should halt all efforts to proliferate the deeply unfair agenda reflected in the Paris Agreement in other fora,' the leaked document said, indicating that '[a] plain reading of these measures is that they are foremost an effort to redistribute wealth under the guise of environmental protection.' It is unclear if American opposition to a carbon tax will hamper wider decarbonization efforts across shipping, particularly if other countries follow the U.S.'s lead. The IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee, the body that would approve the carbon emissions reduction measures, typically makes decisions by consensus. While a ballot is a possibility, the U.S.'s vote wouldn't carry more weight than that of other nations, but it might be able to influence others into voting in a certain way. Despite its dominance on the global economic stage, its fleet of commercial ships remains small compared to other countries. Flag states—places where vessels are registered—are integral to implementing the IMO's air pollution rules as they exercise regulatory control over issues such as working and living conditions for seafarers, boat safety and marine environment protection.
