🍃 Founder of the Patagonia brand donates company to take care of the planet
Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia – a clothing brand for outdoor activities – known for his stances in favor of the environment, wants to do more for the planet and decided, at the age of 83, to donate his company.
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Chouinard had the option to sell the brand, valued at $3 billion, according to The New York Times, or quote it on the stock market. However, it decided transfer 100% of its shares to a fund responsible for ensuring that its values are respected and to an association combating the climate crisis and protecting nature, to which the profits will be donated.
“The Earth is now our sole shareholder”, wrote Chouinard in a letter published on the brand's website.
Founded 50 years ago, Patagoniapromeyours quickly for protecting the environment, carefully choosing the raw materials used in its products and donating 1% of the value of its annual sales to environmental NGOs.
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However, this was not enough, according to its founder.
“One option was to sell Patagonia and donate all the money. But we could not be sure that a new owner would maintain our values and retain our employees.”, explained Chouinard in the letter.
And taking Patagonia public would have been a “disaster,” he predicted. “Even well-intentioned listed companies are under a lot of pressure to generate profits of curto term at the expense of long-term vitality and responsibility”.
Patagonia will continue to be a company concerned about its financial situation and will operate with a board of directors and a general director.
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The Chouinard family will continue to “guide” the work of the fund and the association.
🌱 World Bank will help Latin America adapt and combat climate change
The World Bank will help Latin America and the Caribbean face the climate crisis, promoting strategies to adapt and combat the phenomenon, according to the project called “A Roadmap for Climate Action in Latin America and the Caribbean 2021-2025” (🇬🇧), presented this Wednesday (14).
Latin America and the Caribbean generate just 8% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, but this percentage could increase if action is not taken, the bank warned..
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Climate change is already causing economic damage in the region, by increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather phenomena. They also threaten drag between 2,4 million and 5,8 million people into extreme poverty in this part of the world by 2030, notes the report.
The damage to infrastructure caused by these phenomena cost the region more than 1% of GDP and up to 2% of annual GDP in several Central American countries, such as the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Panama.
Climate change has a negative impact on most crops, affecting food security. As an example, the bank points out that droughts could cause soybean yield losses of up to 50% in Argentina by 2050.
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Likewise, they cause very serious rainfall deficits in the Caribbean, modify maritime ecosystems and cause forests to dry out. In the Amazon basin, the forest could convert to savanna due to a combination of climate change and deforestation.
Given this panorama, the bank proposes the creation of long-term strategies based on its Climate Action Plan 2021-2025, which set the objective of allocating an average of 35% of loans to finance climate issues for five years.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the focus is on adaptation, “on long-term resilience” to “get out of the frequency and intensity of extreme effects” and not have enormous economic losses, declared Ana Bucher, specialist in Environment, at a press conference. of the World Bank.
The bank's climate priorities in the region are agriculture, food systems, energy, transport and cities. Without concerted action, more than 17 people in the region could be forced to move by 2050, which could increase the urban population by up to 10%, the report estimates..
☘️ Shell, Raízen, Hytron, USP and Senai form a partnership to convert ethanol into hydrogen
Shell Brasil, Raízen, Hytron, University of São Paulo (USP) and the National Industrial Learning Service (Senai) signed a cooperation agreement for the construction of hydrogen (H2) production equipment from ethanol, announced the agency FAPESP.
The agreement also includes a vehicle fueling station on the USP campus, in the city of São Paulo. One of the buses used by students and visitors to Cidade Universitária will stop using diesel and traditional internal combustion engines and will be fueled with hydrogen and equipped with fuel cells. These cells are equipment that transform hydrogen into electricity – and this powers the electric motors that drive the buses.
With the start of operations scheduled for 2023, the initiative emerges as a low-carbon solution for heavy transport, including trucks and buses, with the first hydrogen ethanol station in Brazil and in the world.
🇫🇷 'City of Lights' switched off early
Paris City Hall will turn off the Eiffel Tower lights an hour earlier to save energy.
According to the city hall, the Eiffel Tower lights will be turned off after the last visitor leaves at 23:45 pm, starting on September 23rd. Other tourist attractions in the city, such as the Saint-Jacques tower and the city hall building, will be switched off at 22pm.
Europe is preparing for rationing measures in light of Russia's gas cuts to the continent and the arrival of winter in the coming months. Also this Wednesday (14), the French government announced that will limit the increase in energy bills to 15% in 2023 as a way of protecting the population from rising energy costs. (Valor Econômico)🚥
O Curto Verde is a daily summary of what you need to know about the environment, sustainability and other topics linked to our survival and that of the planet.
(With AFP)
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