Sustainability Weekly
Fridays are for…
National Recycling Day, COP30, Sodium Batteries, New NYC Mayors, and more!
by Alli DiGiacomo
Happy Friday and November! Starting this week, the United Nations are meeting in Brazil for COP30 (read more below). Also happening tomorrow, November 15th, is National Recycling Day!!! It is a nationally recognized day to spread awareness about recycling, reducing waste, and conserving resources. The currently rate (way too low) in the U.S. is only at 32%, with the goal of 50% by 2030. The biggest challenge is knowing what local programs accept. Tomorrow is a perfect time to educate yourself on what your local servicer accepts, and how to recycle items they don’t accept. Recycling is SO important because it keeps waste out of landfills, conserves natural/raw resources, prevents pollution, saves energy, and more. There is not a single reason not to recycle. Check out so many great recycling resources here. Happy recycling!! ♻️🌎
Keep reading for more sustainability news…
T H I S W E E K ’ S T O P S T O R I E S
COP30 BEGINS IN BRAZIL
Brazil, from November 10-21. 10 years ago at COP21 in Paris, the Paris Climate Agreement was approved, pledging to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (preferable 1.5 degrees Celcius). Here is a status update from the past 10 years. This year, around 190 countries are gathering to negotiate the next phase of efforts under the Paris Agreement, such as how to cut emissions, strengthen climate adaptation, climate finances, nature protection (especially the Amazon), and ensure a just transition to a low-carbon economy. Developing countries want wealthier nations to follow through on climate funding, and negotiators will debate how fast the world should move away from coal, oil, and gas. The summit is especially important because countries are expected to show how they will meet their next round of climate commitments, though most missed the deadline to submit their national plans.
To summarize the first week, from day one the agenda was to address four contentious issues: climate finance, trade measures, the 1.5 °C ambition, and transparency of national data. Scientific assessments heading into the summit showed that the world is extremely likely to surpass the 1.5-degree Celsius target very soon, and current policies put the planet on track for roughly 2.8 degrees of warming. Even if countries meet their new pledges, projections still fall far short of the Paris goals.
Indigenous groups and small island states strongly voiced demands that the summit stick to the 1.5 °C target and emphasized the important role of forest protection and human rights. Brazil then launched the “Baku to Belém Roadmap” with the goal of scaling up funding to $1.3 trillion per year. While these meetings were happening, Indigenous protesters, who are frustrated for not being part of the conversations about forest and land rights as a vulnerable group, clashed with security guards outside the venue.
Unsurprisingly, the United States did not send any senior officials, continuing its retreat from global climate diplomacy under President Trump, who withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement in January and has recently called climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” during a speech at the UN in September, among other obvious reasons. Some think the U.S. absence is adding to the climate uncertainty, but others are completely okay with the Trump administration not showing up because of the hostility toward anything climate related and it may have just been a "menace". There are still U.S. leaders present, see a complete list here. Stay tuned for week 2.
SCIENTISTS IN CANADA DEVELOP NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD ALLOW SODIUM TO REPLACE LITHIUM IN BATTERIES
Researchers at Western University in Ontario have developed a new material that could help sodium-ion batteries replace lithium-based ones. This is important because Lithium is expensive, geographically limited, and can overheat and even explode in current designs. Sodium, however, is more abundant, cheaper, and safer. The challenge so far has been getting sodium ions to move quickly through solid electrolytes. The Canadian team solved this by creating a solid electrolyte made with sulfur and chlorine, permitting sodium ions to travel much more easily between the positive and negative ends of a battery. The sulfur component improves conductivity and strengthens the material, overcoming the sluggish ion movement seen in traditional solid electrolytes. The new material is also thermally and mechanically stable, does not degrade when in contact with other battery parts, and could support long-lasting batteries that work across a wide temperature range. This is positive news because batteries are becoming more and more popular as electricity demand increases.
WHAT THE ZOHRAN MAMDANI’S WIN MEANS FOR CLIMATE POLITICS
Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral race last week, and his climate politics approach is unique in a way that makes environmental action and sustainable policies relevant to people’s daily concerns rather than referring to it or framing it as abstract or expensive. The truth is, climate and environmental health do relate to almost all public policy and public health in one way or another. Mamdani’s climate agenda focuses mostly on buildings, transportation, and housing. For buildings, he was an early supporter of Local Law 97, which limits emissions from large buildings, and wants to help middle-income owners comply through tax breaks, lower fees, and city support. His “Green Schools for a Healthier New York City” plan would renovate 500 schools with renewable energy systems, better heating and cooling, and green schoolyards that can help absorb stormwater and reduce flooding. For transportation, Mamdani wants fast, free buses to save residents money and reduce emissions, and to improve bus speed and reliability through tactics like dedicated lanes and traffic signal adjustments.
Mamdani will probably face challenges at the state level since Governor Kathy Hochul has tried to pull back on some climate goals over cost concerns and might approve a new gas pipeline. His victory and campaign brought excitement, especially among young voters and tenants, but he is taking on a city with urgent climate and environmental issues that will require immediate attention.
MORE IN SUSTAINABILITY NEWS
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has withdrawn PA from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, leaving the state with the fourth-highest emissions in the country without a significant climate policy.
US’s largest solar panel maker, First Solar, will open a new 3.7-GW factory.
How urban farms can make cities more livable and help feed America.
China’s CO2 emissions have now been flat or falling for 18 months straight (!!)
‘Conservation abandonment’, a growing yet largely invisible threat to biodiversity and climate goals, is a major concern at COP30 begins in Brazil.
How government shutdowns give polluters a free pass.
A historic military facility in the Bronx is becoming a giant mixed-use facility with affordable housing, an event center, and more.
A project protecting the Brazilian rainforest with drones and AI won an Earthshot Prize. This is important because Brazil is home to some of the planet’s largest areas of tropical forest, but the Atlantic Forest on the country’s eastern coast once covered 350 million acres, and today only 12% of it remains.
5 'foods of the future' that could help save the planet.
Germany hit a milestone: Over 1 million balcony solar panel systems have been installed across the country. The plug-and-play solar systems, called “Balkonkraftwerke” in German, can be installed without an electrician and plug into a regular wall outlet.
Jane Goodall Honored at Her Funeral as a Visionary Scientist and a Voice of Hope for the Planet.
Australia has so much solar power that it wants to give it to people for free.
A University of Leeds spin-out called SwitchDye has found a way to dye polyester using 90% fewer chemicals and 40% less water with the help of carbonated water.