The UN released the 2022 Climate Change report. If we don’t transition to green faster we are headed for disaster (no surprise). With many of our environmental ecosystems, we are close to the point of no return.
We all know the ”doom and gloom” scenario as a consequence of failing to transition to green. We cannot change the past, we can influence the future. I am optimistic we can turn it around. 3 key mega-trends that will accelerate companies to either lower their emissions faster or remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
✅ Regulations - the force that will accelerate the transition to green.
✅ Green tech innovations scaling faster - enable the lowering of emissions faster.
✅ Carbon credits - enable the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
Regulations like SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation) came into effect in 2021 with the aim to avoid greenwashing will additional obligations coming into effect on 1st January 2023. REPower EU is a legislation in the EU Parliament pending approval. As a part of the proposal, a Solar Rooftop Initiative with a phased-in legal obligation to install solar panels on new public and commercial buildings will come into effect. Historic legislation in the EU means new cars after 2035 must be fossil free. This is just the beginning, more regulations will increase rapidly to force the transition.
A growing number of green tech scale-ups with amazing innovations that have the opportunity to accelerate the transition to green. Epishine, ENJAY, Ecorus, Absolicon Solar Collector AB, Heart Aerospace, Einride, to name a few. Proud that many of these innovations are born and nurtured in Sweden. There is an abundance of passionate people and green capital behind these innovations. However, many innovations fail to scale or take too long. It is important that these companies commercially scale fast. It’s only when they become a ”Tesla” that they will have the desired impact on our environment.
Due to the nature of their business certain industries will not be able to transition fast. For example Airline, shipping, and cement companies. To meet the regulations set by SFDR and other coming regulations they can offset the CO2 emissions by purchasing #carboncredits that capture and removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As an example, farmers plant trees or delay the cutting down of trees to allow the forest to capture more carbon dioxide. The Carbon Credit market will grow significantly as more and more regulations are introduced.
Yes, we are at the point of no return however, the winds of change are gaining momentum. I am confident the above 3 megatrends will help accelerate the transition.
//Bora Brännström
