Corporate Knights

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SMALL NUKES ARE BIG MISTAKE [Re: Ontario Power Generation’s ad promoting the development of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs)]. These have been falsely touted as a solution to climate change, convincing various levels of government. In fact, SMRs are completely irrelevant to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, largely because they will take a minimum of 10 years, likely much longer, to be up and running, which is far too long to wait to address our climate emergency. Nuclear energy is astronomically expensive, dangerous, unethical and environmentally unsound, with a particular burden placed on First Nations communities (mining disproportionately occurs on First Nations lands). It creates highly toxic radioactive waste, the disposal of which no country has figured out despite nuclear energy being around for many decades. A respected magazine such as CK that promotes…

time to go all in on the zero carbon economy

When Elon Musk was a teenager living in Montreal, he ran an experiment to see if he could survive on a dollar-a-day food budget for a month. The thinking being if he could live on almost nothing, he could afford to risk everything. Even if he failed spectacularly, he would always be able to scrounge up $30 to avoid going hungry. A combination of pasta, hot dogs, oranges and green peppers got him through the month. Some 30 years later, riding Tesla’s soaring stock, Musk passed Jeff Bezos to become the richest man on the planet, with a net worth of US$189.7 billion as of January 8, 2021. In carrying out his mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, Musk has become a prophet for clean capitalism. He’s not alone. The Prince…

biden picks his team for climate fight

While running for the U.S. presidency, Joe Biden championed climate action and promoted a US$2-trillion “Build Back Better” action plan. As president-elect, Biden showed he means business by naming a tough, experienced team to bring a climate lens to transition challenges – not just in Energy and related departments, but also in Defense, Treasury and Justice. After four years of Donald Trump’s coal and fracking cronies, U.S. environmental groups were elated that progressive, professional experts were taking back government. Sure, there was a jolt of concern in mid-November when Biden appointed Louisiana Congressman Cedric Richmond as incoming director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, with special responsibility for climate issues and the pandemic. The 12-year congressman has earned a reputation as a climate conservative, supporting fossil-fuel exports and offshore drilling…

unilever’s bold veggie stake

An outbreak of swine flu in 1998 persuaded Dutch cattle farmer Jaap Korteweg to become a vegetarian. But he still craved the taste of meat, so he worked with chefs, scientists and producers of vegetable protein to develop plant-based foods with the flavour and texture of beef, pork and chicken – but without the cruelty of meat production or its environmental risks (the world’s cattle produce more greenhouse gases than all its automobiles). In 2010, Korteweg opened The Vegetarian Butcher (TVB), a single storefront in the Dutch capital of The Hague, where he says the only thing being slaughtered was prejudice. Since then, his veggie bratwurst, no-chicken chunks, meatless burgers and fish-free eel pies have spread across Europe, winning numerous best-food awards. TVB even finished third in a Dutch newspaper contest…

bojo’s bold, green plan

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson surprised his country by introducing a 10-point plan for a “green industrial revolution.” His £12-billion plan aims to phase out petrol-powered vehicles by 2030, quadruple offshore wind power, boost hydrogen power, develop zero-emission planes and ships, invest in new carbon-capture projects, retrofit homes and public buildings, and make London the world’s centre of green finance – all while creating 250,000 new jobs. “Mr. Johnson’s target is ambitious – but we need action to back it up, right now.”— Sir Brian Hoskins, to BBC News Naturally, the PM took a pasting for thinking too small. “This announcement doesn’t remotely meet the scale of the jobs emergency or the climate emergency,” said Labour MP Ed Miliband. “France and Germany are investing tens of billions of euros. This provides, at best,…

extinction rebellion calls for financial disobedience

In fall 2018, London faced a blizzard of fierce, smart protests. In October, a thousand people occupied the street in front of the fabled Houses of Parliament. In November, activists blockaded government offices, glued themselves to the gates of Downing Street, blocked traffic and occupied five bridges over the River Thames. “Our political economy is hardwired to resist the change needed.”— Extinction Rebellion manifesto That was the public’s introduction to Extinction Rebellion (XR), a direct-action group inspired by 100 British academics and scientists who publicly expressed concerns about the environmental crisis and their disgust with society’s failure to confront it. XR demands that the U.K. government tell the truth about climate and reduce carbon emissions to net-zero by 2025. Traffic stopped. Tempers flared. Hundreds were arrested. While most of XR’s demands weren’t met,…