Are big corporates genuinely serious about climate change? Unearthed, Greenpeace UK’s award-winning journalism project, exposed how America’s biggest oil company, ExxonMobil had been working to weaken key aspects of President Joe Biden’s flagship initiative on climate change, despite publicly claiming to support the Paris climate agreement.
A senior lobbyist for Exxon described to an undercover reporter Biden’s new plan to slash US greenhouse gas emissions as “insane” and admitted that the company had aggressively fought early climate science through “shadow groups” to protect its investments.
Back home, Africa’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, Eskom is pitching a $10bn (R140bn) plan to global lenders that would see it shut the vast majority of its coal-fired plants by 2050 and embrace renewable energy. Eskom currently emits around 213 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year from generating more than 90% of South Africa’s electricity chiefly by burning coal.
In return, the coal guzzler is putting on the table: “South Africa can offer you the biggest point source of carbon emissions reduction in the world.”
For Exxon, dousing fires may be too little too late, but for Eskom the future may just become cleaner.
So, does anyone care? Field producer of Penguin Town, Cayley Christos, thinks there is a way to make people care – through a new way of telling sad stories and getting people attached, much like to your own dog.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s most interesting headlines:
SA Business
- International financiers pump R10bn into SA’s Aspen Pharmacare to boost Covid-19 vaccine production – Daily Maverick
- RMB, Investec in talks with South Africa’s Cell Cover funds – Bloomberg
- Get me to the church on time: Norma Mngoma recounts how she discovered Malusi Gigaba’s ‘sex video’ had gone viral – Daily Maverick
US Business
- Musk’s SpaceX must fork over hiring records for US bias probe – Bloomberg
- TikTok nukes accounts of over 7 million children – MyBroadband
- Dealmakers drown in deals in second-quarter M&A frenzy – Reuters
In-depth
- Jacob Zuma isn’t a man with a cause. Just a wily politician trying to evade the law – The Conversation
- Why the big quit is happening and why every boss should embrace it – Forbes
- How Rumsfeld Deserves to Be Remembered – The Atlantic
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