‘No single company can address the climate crisis alone’: Business leaders on why co-operation is so important

Published

3 years ago

October 12, 2021

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Whether it’s a sportsperson trying to outdo their rival on the playing field or a tech giant attempting to develop the latest cellphone and dominate the market, competition and going it alone can drive innovation and success.

When it comes to the environment and climate change, however, things are different.

As COP26 nears, calls for an approach which focuses on working together in favor of a common goal —keeping emissions low and putting plans in place to address the challenges our planet will face over the coming years and decades — are growing louder by the day.

There are always exceptions and getting people to find common ground is hugely challenging, but this focus on collaboration is beginning to span politics, civil society and business.

Thierry Delaporte is CEO of Wipro, which describes itself as an “information technology, consulting and business process services” firm.

During a recent debate moderated by CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick, Delaporte emphasized the need for different parties to work together. “The reality is that no single company can address the climate crisis alone,” he said.

“To really have a big impact and to really drive … real results to net zero we need to standardize [a] net zero approach to ensure the progress is made efficiently and effectively,” he went on to explain.

Delaporte also spoke of the need for a good relationship between governments and firms.

“It must be … substantially easier for companies of all size, all sectors across the globe to also move towards achieving a net zero future,” he said.

“The connection with … other companies, the ecosystem, the communication and the cooperation with administrations in the respective countries is absolutely essential for us to drive … substantial results.”

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During the discussion Adair Turner, who is chairman of the Energy Transitions Commission, stressed the importance of the relationship between government and business.

“There’s this endless iterative process between government setting frameworks, setting, for instance, carbon prices, setting regulations that make it clear that the private sector is going to have to respond,” he said.

Turner went on to flesh out his argument, explaining the private sector would then do what it does, namely cost reduction and innovation, to deliver within those targets at least cost.

“This is a process that never ends but it needs to involve both strong action by governments and strong action by the private sector, including by private sector finance — asset managers, banks, etcetera.”

One example of climate-related collaboration is the Science Based Targets initiative, or SBTi, a partnership between the World Wide Fund for Nature, World Resources Institute, CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) and United Nations Global Compact.

The latter’s CEO and executive director, Sanda Ojiambo, explained to CNBC how the SBTi was leveraging the four organizations’ strengths.

Leading companies, she said, had “been setting emissions reduction targets in line with the latest climate science advanced by the SBTi.”

Earlier this year, the SBTi published a progress report for 2020. Among other things, this looked at emissions reductions from 338 firms it described as having “approved science-based targets.”

“The 338 companies in our analysis collectively reduced their annual emissions by 25% between 2015 and 2019 — a difference of 302 million tonnes, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of 78 coal-fired power plants,” the report said.

For Ojiambo, getting the message out there and communicating progress is a crucial tool.

“It’s been really important to demonstrate that, with science-based targets, progress has happened,” she said.

“For us, it’s important to have a standard and it’s important to not only raise the ambition but make sure that actions are grounded in science and we’re able to track and measure that progress.”

Environment

Podcast: GMC Sierra EV Denali first drive, Hyundai Ioniq 9 unveiling, Jaguar rebranding, and more

Published

3 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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Podcast: GMC Sierra EV Denali first drive, Hyundai Ioniq 9 unveiling, Jaguar rebranding, and more

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss our GMC Sierra EV Denali first drive, Hyundai Ioniq 9 unveiling, Jaguar’s rebranding, and more.

Sponsored by ALSET Auto: North America’s leader in paint protection and restyling; offering colored wraps, paint protection, window tint, ceramic coatings and more, exclusively on EVs.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):

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Environment

The electric Chrysler Pacifica is finally coming, but not soon enough

Published

3 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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The electric Chrysler Pacifica is finally coming, but not soon enough

It’s official: Chrysler will finally launch an electric Pacifica minivan. The company is developing clever storage ideas that could make it even more functional than Volkswagen’s recently introduced ID.Buzz. But you’ll have to wait a little longer to get your hands on one.

Chrysler confirms plans to launch an electric Pacifica

Chrysler has yet to release its first fully electric vehicle. Although the nearly 100-year-old automaker has teased several EV concepts, we have yet to see one come to fruition. That will change soon.

Earlier this year, the company revealed its Halcyon Concept, a futuristic sports car-like EV drastically different from Chrysler vehicles currently on the road. The model builds on previous concepts, like the Airflow crossover introduced in 2022.

Chrysler’s CEO, Christine Feuell, said the Halycon would be brought to life with advanced new tech from parent company Stellantis, sleek new styling, and a software-defined connected cockpit.

The radical design will be used in future Chrysler vehicles, including the electric Pacifica. At the LA Auto Show this week, Feuell confirmed to GreenCarReports that the Pacifica is due for an overhaul in 2026. The refresh will lay the groundwork for the first electric Pacifica, which is expected to launch the following year.

Chrysler’s CEO hinted the upcoming Pacifica EV could challenge Volkswagen’s ID.Buzz, the first electric minivan to arrive in the US.

While you’ll need to remove the seats for that open-air space in the ID.Buzz, Chrysler is working on more functional solutions. According to Feuell, the company is developing a system like its patented Stow ‘N Go Seating to open up space in the rear.

electric-Chrysler-Pacifica-interior — 2025 Chrysler Pacifica PHEV interior (Source: Stellantis)

Although nothing is set in stone, one option is adjustable front seats, enabling the second row to be stored underneath.

Electrek’s Take

As Chrysler’s only production model in 2024, it only makes sense to launch an electric Pacifica. The Pacifica hybrid was the fourth best-selling plug-in hybrid in the US in Q3. It also accounted for 14% (3,009) of the 21,504 Pacifica models sold last quarter.

Meanwhile, the company is quickly losing market share in the US. Pacifica sales crashed 44% in Q3 and are down 18% through September.

Several new larger electric SUVs, like the Kia EV9, are already hitting the market, and more are on the way, including the recently unveiled Hyundai IONIQ 9. With the electric Pacifica not due out until 2027 (at the earliest), Chrysler will likely continue losing ground as new, more advanced competitors roll out.

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Environment

Tesla converts Shell gas station into Supercharger and it looks awesome

Published

3 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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Tesla converts Shell gas station into Supercharger and it looks awesome

Tesla has converted an entire Shell gas station into a Supercharger station for electric vehicles in Spain, and it looks fantastic.

One of the favorite arguments of electric vehicle naysayers is that there are not as many charging stations as gas stations – making EVs less convenient.

The argument is flawed since most EVs are charged overnight when parked, and they can be charged literally anywhere there’s an electric outlet, which is not the case with gas-powered vehicles.

Most of the time, charging electric vehicles is more convenient than refueling a gas-powered car, and that’s going to become more widespread as time goes on because there are more charging stations being deployed, and many gas stations are going away.

In some markets where electric vehicles are being adopted at a higher rate, like in Norway, gas stations have been closing left and right.

In some cases, EV charging stations are directly replacing some.

Today, we get to see a beautiful example in Cordoba, Spain, where Tesla took over a Shell gas station and converted it into (hat tip to Aland≡Bru on X):

While it is not completed, it’s particularly interesting to see that Tesla has kept a similar design to the classic gas station setup.

To be fair, this is not exactly a new concept. There’s even a company that specializes in replacing gas stations with EV charging stations.

We have also previously seen gas station operators replacing gas pumps with charging stalls.

Interestingly, even the oil giant Shell, which is seeing its gas station here replaced by a Tesla Supercharger here, is investing in electric vehicle charging through several new efforts.

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