February 16: Five Things Happening in the Green Economy This Week

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. Click here to listen to this week's episode.

On top of all the additional news, research, and analysis covered in the podcast, here are five (other) things happening in the green economy this week:

1) Canada’s largest pension fund, the Canadian Pension Plan, says it will eliminate carbon emissions in its portfolio by 2050. The fund, has up until now been a notable hold-out in making a strong commitment to greener investments. While the move was celebrated, critics point out that CPP has not set any interim targets, making it difficult to evaluate progress. 

2) In one of her first moves as Interim Leader of the Conservative Party, Candice Bergen dropped the party’s support for carbon pricing. The policy enjoyed cross-partisan support for a brief spell under Erin O’Toole’s leadership.

3) A group of European development banks announced plans to double their funding for global efforts to stop plastic pollution in the world's oceans. The Clean Oceans Initiative, led by the French and German development banks and the European Investment Bank, will increase funding from 2 billion to 4 billion euros by 2025. This comes after a World Wildlife Fund study reported a dangerous escalation in microplastics entering the ocean.

4) British and European scientists reported a major breakthrough in the development of nuclear fusion energy. Fusion, which promises a boundless supply of zero-pollution energy, has long been researched for practical use, with a major barrier being the extraction and control of the energy created by squeezing together two forms of hydrogen.

5) Many of the world's largest companies are failing to take the steps needed to live up to their climate promises. That’s according to a new study by the NewClimate Institute. The study examines the actions of 25 companies, including Walmart, Nestle and Amazon, and finds that many are pursuing weaker targets than were promised and failing to account for all the emissions they produce.

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.