Planet Tracker previously highlighted the negative environmental impacts of deep sea mining – but there’s another factor to consider – the minimal financial benefits for countries do not outweigh these negative impacts on the planet.
While proponents of deep sea mining argue it is needed to meet future demand for energy transition minerals, questions are beginning to be asked about the economic risk deep sea mining could pose to countries that mine these metals on land. By analysing the 12 biggest countries mining copper, cobalt, nickel and manganese, Mining for Trouble aims to highlight the value at risk to these economies if deep sea mining was to be green lit.
As the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is currently debating whether to allow deep sea mining in international waters, Race to the Bottom analyses the taxes and royalties countries could receive, revealing insignificant economic returns. According to Planet Tracker, there is no financial justification for deep sea mining, yet the environmental impact is vast.
Dow, the global chemical company aims for carbon neutrality by 2050. However, analysis by Planet Tracker suggests Dow’s mid-term climate strategy is not ambitious enough to align with the well-below 2°C pathway, instead aligning closer to a 3°C warming scenario by 2030.
Based on Planet Tracker’s assessment, to meet the well-below 2°C pathway by 2030 and its 2050 carbon neutrality goal, Dow would need to set more ambitious reduction targets, clearly link its investments to emissions reductions, and improve transparency in its sustainability initiatives.
There is a nature financing gap. The precise numbers vary but plans to close the gap partially rely on the reallocation of harmful subsidies to nature-based solutions. This paper briefly examines whether such a strategy is realistic. We observe that a range of countries have successfully eliminated subsidies – so it can be done – but others failed. We need to learn how the former delivered subsidy reform, and why others were unsuccessful.
Financial markets spend much of their time focused on risk and return metrics. The generally accepted relationship is that one needs to take on more investment risk to realise a higher return. If the investor is unwilling to take on risk, they should expect to receive the risk-free rate – e.g. a risk-free bond. But this assumes efficient pricing. Planet Tracker believes that the risks of synthetic chemicals are not being correctly priced by financial markets. A reassessment of the risk premium applied to producers and users of these substances looks wise.
Planet Tracker joins with Vizzuality for a “nature footprinting” study which highlights the urgent need for corporations to improve supply chain traceability.
Planet Tracker and Vizzuality have partnered on a “nature footprinting” study, highlighting how external analysis can expose a company’s environmental risk hotspots, even without full procurement data. This report features Nestlé as a case study and underscores the critical role transparency plays across supply chains. With technology advancing, companies that don’t adopt advanced traceability systems are exposed to rising reputational risk.
Report from Planet Tracker urges investors to address the financial risks associated with toxic chemicals, which are key drivers of environmental damage, as well as being responsible for chronic and acute impacts on human health.
The release of novel entities — artificial chemicals and other human-made pollutants — into the biosphere, has accelerated to a point that they have exceeded their planetary boundary, threatening the Earth operating system, along with humanity. Planet Tracker’s latest report, ‘Novel Entities – A Financial Time Bomb’, presents a detailed analysis of the risks of one of Earth’s nine boundaries, novel entities. The report highlights their risk to both human and planetary health and warns investors of the significant financial risk they face from not considering their potential impact.
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