Every two weeks, Mike Moffatt, Senior Director at SPI, explores five things to watch in the green economy in a segment for Smart Prosperity: The Podcast.

Here are five things happening in the green economy this week:

1) The United States officially rejoined the Paris Agreement on climate change, one of President Biden's top priorities. The US is expected to announce new emissions reduction commitments ahead of the UN climate conference in November.

2) President Biden’s first virtual meeting with a foreign leader was on February 23 with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The two leaders agreed to “double down” on fighting climate change, and committed to a High Level Climate Ministerial to ensure renewed collaboration.

3) Michelin announced it will ship tires made in its Nova Scotia facility across the Atlantic Ocean on a cargo ship powered primarily by wind. The massive adapted commercial sail boat, which is to be built by a start-up shipping line called Neoline will reduce fossil fuel consumption by up to ninety percent.

4) Ford became the latest automaker to accelerate its transition to electric cars, announcing that its European division would soon begin to phase out vehicles powered by fossil fuels. By 2026, the company will offer only electric and plug-in hybrid models, and by 2030 all passenger cars will run solely on batteries.

5) British Columbia’s public-sector fund manager announced it will commit five billion dollars to green bonds and cut the carbon exposure in its stock-market holdings by nearly a third within the next four years, following the moves of other major investors to deal with the financial risks of climate change.

Listen to the full segment, and plenty of other great content, in today's new episode of Smart Prosperity: The Podcast. Our podcast provides fresh takes on the current affairs, politics, research and business of the clean economy. New episodes posted every two weeks.