Latest news with #GranthamResearchInstituteonClimateChangeandtheEnvironment
DW
28-05-2025
- Business
- DW
German court dismisses climate case against RWE – DW – 05/28/2025
Judges have dismissed a climate case brought against RWE by a Peruvian farmer asking the energy giant to help fund defenses against potential flooding due to melting glaciers. In a decision that has been ten years in the making, judges in the western German city of Hamm have thrown out the case of a Peruvian farmer seeking damages from energy giant RWE for the risk of flooding connected to melting glaciers. Delivering its verdict in the David versus Goliath case, judges said no appeal is possible. Speaking ahead of Wednesday's decision. Noah Walker-Crawford, a research fellow at the London-based Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said the case set an important precedent. "It's the first time a court anywhere in the world is recognizing that corporations like RWE can be held liable for their contribution to climate change impacts," he said. A climate case a decade in the making It is almost a decade since Saul Luciano Lluiya first filed a lawsuit against German energy giant RWE, calling on the company to pay its fair share to protect his home in Peru. Lliuya's town of Huaraz is located in the west of the country, in a valley below the Palcacocha mountain lake. As greenhouse gas emissions have caused global temperatures to rise, glaciers in the region have been melting. Water in the lake above Lluiya's home has increased more than fourfold since 2003 alone, leading experts to warn of an increased risk of flooding, with potentially dire consequences for the region. They say if large blocks of ice were to break off the glacier and fall into the lake, it could trigger meter-high flooding in lower-lying urban areas. Lliuya is suing RWE under a German neighborhood law, which works to protect residents from disturbances resulting from the actions of their neighbors — for example, from tree roots causing damage from an adjacent property. His initial lawsuit was rejected in 2015 by a court in Essen, the western German city where the energy company is headquartered. But in 2017, a higher court in the nearby city of Hamm granted an appeal. In March this year, judges at that court heard evidence over whether Lliuya's house was really in jeopardy and whether RWE can be held responsible. "I feel a great responsibility," Lliuya said ahead of this year's hearings. For him, the case is about fighting climate change and the melting of glaciers and "holding those who have caused the damage to account." As the air temperatures increase due to the burning of fossil fuels, the lake near Lliuya's home fills with water from a melting glacier, increasing the risk of overflowing and causing flooding Image: Alexander Luna/Germanwatch e.V. The Peruvian farmer is calling on RWE to cover a pro rata percentage of the estimated costs to build flood defenses to protect the village from the rising lake water. This would equate to around €17,000 ($19,000). RWE, which is not active in Peru, says it has always complied with national legal regulations and has repeatedly questioned why it has been singled out. In a statement to DW earlier this year, the multinational said "if there were such a claim under German law, every car driver could also be held liable. We consider this to be legally inadmissible and the wrong approach from a socio-political point of view." Corporate responsibility for global emissions As an energy powerhouse largely using coal to generate electricity, RWE is one of Europe's biggest polluters. A 2023 analysis found the company to be responsible for just under 0.4% of global emissions — more than twice that of Greece. In ruling the case as admissible in an earlier hearing, the court in Hamm effectively recognized the transboundary effects of climate change — even if the damage occurs thousands of kilometers away. "Some of the arguments made in the case are of course transferable, even if not directly applicable in any other jurisdiction," said Petra Minnerop, a professor of international law at Durham University. "And this is what we see in litigation generally that litigants have tried to transfer the arguments and also learn from the court outcomes and then provided improved evidence and the adjusted legal argument," she added. But at the hearing on Wednesday, judges dismissed Lliuya's claims that his house was at risk. Setting a precedent for climate litigation Lliuya and his lawyers have celebrated the outcome as a win, since the court confirmed that high-emitting companies could be held responsible for the impact of their emissions. "This will set a massive precedent and we're likely to see repercussions around the world," said Walker-Crawford. Since the proceedings began, Walker-Crawford says around 40 cases have sprung up challenging big companies over their responsibility for climate change in countries such as Belgium, Indonesia and the United States. Saul Luciano Lliuya first filed his lawsuit against RWE a decade ago Image: Alexander Luna "There has been insufficient political progress on climate change over the past decades, especially at an international level and especially in terms of loss and damage, in terms of the devastating impacts that communities are facing around the world and that's why we're seeing more and more that communities are turning to the courts, really out of desperation," Walker-Crawford continued. However, while some see it as a landmark ruling, other experts doubt the impact it could have. "It's something that will probably provide orientation for other courts or will be cited as something that's quite powerful and courageous and it could encourage other courts to follow [...]but if doesn't necessarily allow us to predict how other jurisdictions will rule on it," said Minnerop. Edited by: Tamsin Walker
Euronews
14-05-2025
- Science
- Euronews
Two key reasons French men have 26% higher carbon footprint than women
Men in France have a 26 per cent higher carbon footprint than women, according to new research exploring how gender impacts individual climate impact. Researchers say this is largely due to increased consumption of what the working paper calls 'gender stereotypical' goods: cars and red meat. Food and transport account for half of the average French person's carbon footprint. The study of 15,000 people in France also found that the gender gap in emissions may be as large as the gap between lower- and higher-income individuals. The research, which has not yet been peer reviewed, comes from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics (LSE) and the Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST). It found that household structure also plays a key role in shaping this carbon footprint gap. People in a couple tend to converge on food, meaning single women often have a less carbon-intensive diet. Gender differences in transport footprints were especially large when children were introduced into the mix. Researchers say this shows that who people live with - and how their roles are divided - can shape their climate impact. 'Our results suggest that traditional gender norms, particularly those linking masculinity with red meat consumption and car use, play a significant role in shaping individual carbon footprints,' says Ondine Berland, fellow in environmental economics at LSE. 'This points to the potential for information policies that challenge such norms, for example, by reframing plant-based alternatives as compatible with strength and performance.' At the same time, says Marion Leroutier, assistant professor at CREST-ENSAE Paris, cultural trends that promote raw meat or 'all meat' diets risk reinforcing these norms and increasing carbon-intensive behaviour. These trends are often accompanied by a negative rhetoric around plant-based diets. 'Interestingly, we do not find a gender gap in carbon footprints for plane, a transport mode seen as more gender-neutral than car,' she adds. 'This suggests that the gap is explained by gender differences in preferences pre-dating climate concerns.' Controlling factors which may have an influence on the results of studies into gender gaps can be hard. When this study was adjusted for socioeconomic factors like income and education, the gap between men's and women's carbon footprints in France dropped to 18 per cent. Men do need to eat more calories, but they consume disproportionately more food than women. They also, in general, have higher incomes, which previous research shows generally means higher emissions. One 2021 study from Sweden found that what men spend causes 16 per cent more emissions than what women spend, despite the sum of money being very similar. More research is also needed, the team explains, to understand whether these differences in carbon footprints may be down to greater concern from women about climate change and their higher likelihood of adopting climate-friendly behaviours in daily life.
France 24
14-05-2025
- Science
- France 24
'Red meat and cars': French men's carbon footprint 26% higher than women's, study finds
The average man in France has a 26% higher carbon footprint than the average woman largely due to increased car usage and red meat consumption, a study released on Wednesday by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics (LSE) and the Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST) found. Researchers analysed French consumption data from more than 2,000 car models and food products matched with detailed environmental information to shed light on the 'underexplored factor' of how gender might impact carbon emissions. It found men in France had an annual average carbon footprint associated with food and transport of 5.3 tonnes, compared with 3.9 tonnes for women, largely due to differences in consumption of what the working paper describes as two 'gender stereotypical' goods: red meat and cars. 'Women have substantially lower carbon footprints than men in the food and transport sectors,' said one of the study authors, Ondine Berland, a fellow in environmental economics at LSE. 'We identify household structure, biological differences, higher red meat consumption and car usage among men as key factors driving this gap.' Red meat – namely beef and lamb – is the most carbon intensive of all foods and road travel accounts for three quarters of global transport emissions – more than any other form of transport. In France, the food and transport sectors account for 50% of household carbon footprints. Part of the reason people who identified as women had a smaller carbon footprint on average was due to wider lifestyle factors. The study found women in France were 'more likely to live in large cities and poorer households and are more often unemployed or outside the labour force – all characteristics associated with lower carbon footprints". Single men and women also had lower and more equal carbon footprints than those living in dual-adult households, for whom traditional household structures played a 'key role' in shaping carbon consumption. Women – especially women with children – were less likely to work and more likely to seek out work with shorter commutes, reducing their work-related carbon emissions. As a result, men's 'work-related trips – which include both commuting and other business-related trips – explain most of the gender gap in transport carbon footprints', the study found. 'We did not find a gender gap in carbon footprints for planes, a transport mode seen as more gender-neutral than car," said study author Marion Leroutier, assistant professor at CREST Paris. 'This suggests that the gap is explained by gender differences in preferences pre-dating climate concerns.' 'Traditional gender norms' The opposite was true when it came to food, with women in couples having more carbon-intensive diets than their single counterparts. This is likely because women are more likely to adapt their eating habits to match their male partners', including eating more red meat. 'Shared meals and joint decision-making may limit the expression of gendered dietary preferences,' the study said. The overall findings indicate that 'traditional gender norms, particularly those linking masculinity with red meat consumption and car use, play a significant role in shaping individual carbon footprints", Leroutier said. In other words, who people live with and how they divide household roles can significantly shape their climate impact. For climate activists and politicians, the findings may shed light on how climate policies impact men and women differently, contributing to their success or failure. For example, there could be an opportunity to counter carbon-intensive 'cultural trends that promote raw meat or 'all-meat' diets – often accompanied by rhetoric dismissive of plant-based options' by 'reframing plant-based alternatives as compatible with strength and performance', Leroutier says. Such techniques may mitigate some emissions – but not all. A male appetite for red meat and likelihood of travelling more for work does not completely explain France's climate gender gap. Even after accounting for socioeconomic, calorific and travel differences, 25% of the foot footprint gap and 38% of the transport footprint gap remain unexplained, the study said. 'More research is needed to understand whether these differences in carbon footprints are also partly due to women's greater concern about climate change and their higher likelihood of adopting climate-friendly behaviours in daily life,' Leroutier added.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) Price Target Cut to $125 Amid Rising AI Capex Uncertainty
We recently compiled a list of the . In this article, we are going to take a look at where NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) stands against the other AI stocks. Latest reports from the IMF reveal that economic gains from artificial intelligence are likely to outweigh the costs of rising carbon emissions from the data centers needed to run AI models. The report, released at the IMF's annual spring meeting in Washington, revealed how artificial intelligence is going to boost global output by around 0.5% a year between 2025 and 2030. At the same time, it also noted how these output gains will not be shared equally worldwide. READ NOW: and "Despite challenges related to higher electricity prices and greenhouse gas emissions, the gains to global GDP from AI are likely to outweigh the cost of the additional emissions. The social cost of these extra emissions is minor compared with the expected economic gains from AI, yet it still adds to the worrisome buildup of emissions'. Considering that energy policies remain the same and artificial intelligence use becomes widespread, greenhouse gas emissions will see a cumulative global increase of 1.2% between 2025 and 2030. However, a switch to greener energy policies would limit the increase to 1.3 Gt. Quantifying the social cost of these emissions, the report calculated that the extra cost is likely to be at $50.7-$66.3 billion, which is smaller than the income gains that can help boost the economy by 0.5% each year through AI. According to the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, AI may even be able to generate an overall reduction in carbon emissions if it accelerates advances in low-carbon technologies in the power, food, and transport sectors. "But market forces alone are unlikely to successfully drive AI's application toward climate action. Governments, tech companies and energy companies must play an active role in ensuring AI is used intentionally, equitably and sustainably.' For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds. The hedge fund data is as of Q4 2024. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). A close-up of a colorful high-end graphics card being plugged in to a gaming Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) specializes in AI-driven solutions, offering platforms for data centers, self-driving cars, robotics, and cloud services. On April 22, Deutsche Bank reiterated the stock as 'Hold' and lowered its price target to $125 per share from $135. 'While ests being de-risked for China and the resulting valuation being at a meaningful discount vs historical averages is incrementally appealing, uncertainties surrounding the sustainability of AI-related capex appear to be rising given the current trade war.' Overall NVDA ranks 4th on our list of the AI stocks analysts are talking about. While we acknowledge the potential of NVDA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NVDA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at . Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) Price Target Lowered to $220 but Remains a Top Long-Term Pick
We recently compiled a list of the . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stands against the other AI stocks. Latest reports from the IMF reveal that economic gains from artificial intelligence are likely to outweigh the costs of rising carbon emissions from the data centers needed to run AI models. The report, released at the IMF's annual spring meeting in Washington, revealed how artificial intelligence is going to boost global output by around 0.5% a year between 2025 and 2030. At the same time, it also noted how these output gains will not be shared equally worldwide. READ NOW: and "Despite challenges related to higher electricity prices and greenhouse gas emissions, the gains to global GDP from AI are likely to outweigh the cost of the additional emissions. The social cost of these extra emissions is minor compared with the expected economic gains from AI, yet it still adds to the worrisome buildup of emissions'. Considering that energy policies remain the same and artificial intelligence use becomes widespread, greenhouse gas emissions will see a cumulative global increase of 1.2% between 2025 and 2030. However, a switch to greener energy policies would limit the increase to 1.3 Gt. Quantifying the social cost of these emissions, the report calculated that the extra cost is likely to be at $50.7-$66.3 billion, which is smaller than the income gains that can help boost the economy by 0.5% each year through AI. According to the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, AI may even be able to generate an overall reduction in carbon emissions if it accelerates advances in low-carbon technologies in the power, food, and transport sectors. "But market forces alone are unlikely to successfully drive AI's application toward climate action. Governments, tech companies and energy companies must play an active role in ensuring AI is used intentionally, equitably and sustainably.' For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds. The hedge fund data is as of Q4 2024. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). A customer entering an internet retail store, illustrating the convenience of online Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is an American technology company offering e-commerce, cloud computing, and other services, including digital streaming and artificial intelligence solutions. On April 22, Goldman Sachs reiterated the stock as 'Buy' and lowered its price target on the stock to $220 per share from $255. 'Looking long-term, AMZN remains one of our top picks and provides investors with a range of exposures to virtually all key secular growth themes across Consumer Internet and Cloud Computing.' Overall AMZN ranks 1st on our list of the AI stocks analysts are talking about. While we acknowledge the potential of AMZN as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AMZN but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at . Sign in to access your portfolio
