Journal’s Quarterly: Our Second Newsletter | COP26, Kunming Accord, Green Careers, and a Podcast Rec | Vol II
Hi y’all!
Wish you a happy new year! A lot has indeed happened ever since we rolled out our first newsletter. Countries around the world met in Glasgow over the COP26 summit and made a fresh series of commitments. Heads of 50 nation states met in Kunming, China for the 15th COP on Convention of Biological Diversity. And, an Airbus A319 took a test flight on a cooking oil derived biofuel in a bid to test aviation industry’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) development!
But more first on Green Careers!
Green Career News and Jobs
Green defectors ditch high-flying careers in business and finance
A financial times story on how executives in traditional fossil fuel companies are giving up their high end lives to work in areas more attuned to helping solve the 21st century climate crisis. For some, the shiftcame as a result of an outcry from younger people, while others did so witnessing a change in European winter.
“Medhurst joined the Extinction Rebellion protest movement’s finance team after struggling at his London job with Nest, a workplace pension provider. “I could not reconcile encouraging young people to save money for a future that I was struggling to believe existed any longer,” he says.”
One thing for all of them stands true, however: they have discovered a deeper sense of purpose in their lives.
Oil and gas majors compete to recruit talent in shift to greener future
An FT story on major global oil companies recruiting talent to meet their net zero demands and shift towards a greener future. Story assesses the challenges for most major firms on achieving net zero targets and the scale of retraining and recruitment required to get anywhere close to it.
“BP has some 63,000 employees worldwide and Shell has more than 80,000. In both cases the majority are still employed in fossil-fuel related jobs. That balance will need to change rapidly over the next decade for the companies to achieve their goals. “The biggest challenge of the energy transition is not financial capital, it’s human capital,” says one industry veteran, who recently left a European oil major after more than 20 years.”
Article also highlights a resistance such firms face reaching out to colleges for recruitment due to their fossil fuel involvement.
Audit Senior Associate, Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) (Remote Opportunity)
By KPMG | Philadelphia, PA, United States
KPMG is looking for an Audit Senior Associate to join its Audit practice. Responsiblities include identifying and communicating opportunities for ESG efficiencies, understanding, enhancing, and utilizing KPMG’s ESG Audt Methodology, supervising Audit Associates and Interns on engagements, and coordinating day-to-day activities of ESG engagements. Read more
Tax Senior — EY Quantitative Economics and Statistics — Environmental Social and Governance
By EY | Washington DC, United States
EY is recruiting for a senior analyst to support ESG related offerings that provide innovative solutions to complex business and sustainability related challenges faced by some of the world’s biggest companies today. Responsibilities include developing and optimising ESG focused analytics for clients, supporting client facing engagements by working with cross-functional teams across EY, and supporting ESG solutions through business requirements gathering. Read more
By Environmental Incentives, LLC | Washington DC, United States
Environmental Incentives is seeking a Gender and Environment Specialist to integrate women’s empowerment into a wide range of climate programming across USAID. Responsibilities include supporting USAID’s implementation of the new US Government Gender Equity and Equality Strategy, and providing technical support for and building the capacity of USAID to integrate gender into a wide ranfe of climate, environmental, energy, and infrastructure programming across the full USAID program cycle. Read more
Environment, Policy & Social Initiatives Environment Reporting Specialist
By Apple | Cupertino, CA, United States
Apple is looking for an Environmental Reporting Specialist. Responsibilities include writing and producing reports about Apple’s environmental initiatives, reporting on progress towards Apple’s environmental goals, and managing external consultants. Read more
Associate for Sustainability and ESG Strategies Growth Equity Fund
By JPMorgan Chase Bank | San Francisco, CA
J.P. Morgan is looking for an Assocaite for a late stage venture on J.P. Morgan’s platform. Responsibilities include monitoring global ESG trends, analysing investment opportunities, and building and maintaining financial models and conducting valuation analysis. Read more
Okay! That’s about it. Onto global green updates now
COP26, Kumning Accord, Sustainable Aviation Fuel, and More
About COP26 — so, some 151 countries submitted new climate plans (better referred to as the Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs), to cut their emissions by 2030. But none of that will help keep the goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 C within reach. In fact, according to experts, we need to cut global emissions by half in order to reach that goal, and according to the UN, the current plans put us on track for 2.5 C, a scenario still devastating for infrastructure, people, and the environment. Learn more about that here.
All of this, by the way, brings me to the following video:
A webinar recording from the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy at the American University in Washington DC. Discussion focuses on COP26 outcomes, UNFCCC processes, international climate politics, and concerns for environmental non-profits, amongst other othings.
Cop26 ends with deal, but frustration over watered down coal commitment
A brief video on how the commitment to phase out coal over the COP was watered down after lobbying efforts from India and China.
And a quick glimpse into what commitments were actually made!
While mostly half baked, some of these included limiting coal use, speeding up the switch to electric vehicles, and halting deforestation. Which brings me to the Kunming Accord, or COP15!
But wait! Why two COPs?
Turns out, the 26 is for climate, while 15 is for biodiversity. COP, to be precise, is an acronym for ‘Conference of Parties.’ These are conferences organised by the UN with high level participation of states, non profits, and regional organisations. Therefore, while COP26 is already something thoroughly discussed earlier and on climate, COP15 is conference dedicated to biodiversity. This particular COP deals with the convention on biological diversity and takes place every two years. This year, it took place in a virtual format from Oct 11th to Oct 15th. An in person event, planned for April 25th, stands chance of being upended due to covid restrictions, however.
But first, more on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
It turns out, the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international legal instrument for the conservation of global biodiversity, sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits that arise from the use of genetic resources. This convention has been ratified by 196 countries and is governed by the Conference of Parties. And that’s where the problem is!
The ultimate authority of every ratifying country meets over these COPS that are organised once in every 2 years. It is therefore during this time that a progress review is done, and actionable goals and priorities set (although that’s probably doubtful!). Now given the upcoming Omicron crisis, the in person part of the Kunming accord might be upended, leading to a delay of a session vital to the conservation of biodiversity. More on this below
Omicron variant threatens UN talks to seal global nature deal
Moving on to sustainability in aviation, the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (or SAF), is a new market rage these days. And for all the right reasons.
Greenhouse gas emissions from air travel are increasing at a faster rate than previously predicted. This comes as a forescast from the UN’s aviation body which predicts that airplane CO2 emissions will triple by 2050 in comparison to the baseline emissions level of 2018. Therefore, while not the biggest emitter, air travel is definitely poised to be amongst the biggest sources of carbon emissions in the future.
Several aircraft manufacturers, flyer associations, and aviation agencies have already started responding to this by innovating in the Sustainable Aviation Fuel space. An A319, for example, took a test flight of little less than 3 hours on October 28th, completely running on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
France -backed consortium begins flight tests of 100% SAF-powered single -aisle
While not the first, this effort definitely adds to a series of others being taken up by the aviation industry to ultimately transition to a more sustainable flying experience.
Podcast Rec
Temperature Check with Shrey, Episode 4: Declaring a Climate State of Emergency?
Host speaks with Beruce Preville, a retired tech engineer, to talk about how he helped California’s Santa Clara County declare a climate state of emergency. He talks about the benefits of this but also touches on how such goals can mostly be empty, and how legislation can be too slow at times.
And that’s it for this time! Thanks for bearing with us if you’ve come this far. In case you have suggestions, or queries, or would like to see specific types of careers, articles, or podcasts, let us know by reaching out on our parent org’s Facebook Page here!
Onward and Forward!
Journal on the Environment and Society
Edwardsville, Il
