E3G (Third Generation Environmentalism) is a climate change think tank operating to accelerate a global transition to a low-carbon future. The organisation has staff based in Brussels, Berlin, London and Washington, D.C..
E3G stands for Third Generation Environmentalism. The idea behind the name is that the first generation of environmentalists focused on the conservation of species and habitats, the second generation widened the scope to include pollution and natural resources and the third generation is building on this success, working on solutions rather than problems. [1]
E3G has three co-founding directors, Nick Mabey, co-CEO, Shane Tomlinson, co-CEO, and Tom Burke, [2] who is the current Chairman. [3] [4]
The organisation works across a number of areas including climate diplomacy, energy, finance, cities, risk, efficiency and infrastructure.
E3G was established in 2004, when it played a pivotal role in the successful diplomatic effort to get Russia to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. [5] In 2006, E3G developed a political analysis called Europe in the World, looking at how the EU could best respond to the challenge of maintaining its prosperity and security in an interdependent world. [6]
E3G created the Transform UK coalition in 2009, serving as a cross-sector platform to drive green investment in the UK and spearhead the Green Investment Bank campaign. [7] The Green Investment Bank was created to support low carbon infrastructure. The bank was established in 2011 with £3 billion in initial equity, taking on full legal status in 2013. [8]
In 2010, together with partners, E3G developed and piloted the concept of Low Carbon Zones in China. [9] This led to the Chinese government establishing 12 zones, covering 350 million people.
The groundbreaking Degrees of Risk report on climate risk management was published in 2011. [10] The report went on to influence the US Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Taskforce. Members of the group have also condemned US climate rhetoric that is religious in nature and which has made its way into discussions in the UK. [11]
The Energy Bill Revolution was launched the following year in 2012. The campaign set up a coalition of over 200 organisations calling on the UK government to recycle carbon taxes to make all UK fuel poor homes super energy efficient.
In the same year, E3G helped to launch the Norstec coalition, an industrial alliance working together on offshore renewable energy in Europe's North Sea. The North Sea Grid project is a great example of achieving power sector decarbonisation at the regional level.
In 2018 E3G proposed to the Mayor of London that he should support the first ever London Climate Action Week (LCAW 2019), held from 1–8 July 2019. [12] Well over 100 events took place, showcasing London based organisations’ global expertise and action on climate change solutions and aims to mobilise London’s world-class cultural institutions and diverse communities around new ways to inspire and motivate climate action. [13]
In 2021, E3G described the United Kingdom government's decision not to release the calculations underpinning its official Net Zero Strategy as smacking of "secrecy and subterfuge" and voiced concern that the interested public would not be able to scrutinize the estimated impacts of the measures under consideration. New Scientist magazine formally appealed the decision to withhold that information. [14]
In 2020, the University of Pennsylvania's Global Go To Think Tank Index Report ranked E3G seventh in top environment policy think tanks. [15]
Environmental finance is a field within finance that employs market-based environmental policy instruments to improve the ecological impact of investment strategies. The primary objective of environmental finance is to regress the negative impacts of climate change through pricing and trading schemes. The field of environmental finance was established in response to the poor management of economic crises by government bodies globally. Environmental finance aims to reallocate a businesses resources to improve the sustainability of investments whilst also retaining profit margins.
Carbon neutrality is a state of net zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide by eliminating emissions from society or carbon dioxide removal. The term is used in the context of carbon dioxide-releasing processes associated with transport, energy production, agriculture, and industry.
A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological economics, but has a more politically applied focus. The 2011 UNEP Green Economy Report argues "that to be green, an economy must not only be efficient, but also fair. Fairness implies recognizing global and country level equity dimensions, particularly in assuring a Just Transition to an economy that is low-carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive."
Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases or removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caused by emissions from fossil fuels burning. Mitigation can reduce emissions by transitioning to sustainable energy sources, conserving energy, and increasing efficiency. In addition, CO2 can be removed from the atmosphere by enlarging forests, restoring wetlands and using other natural and technical processes, which are grouped together under the term of carbon sequestration.
Business action on climate change includes a range of activities relating to climate change, and to influencing political decisions on climate change-related regulation, such as the Kyoto Protocol. Major multinationals have played and to some extent continue to play a significant role in the politics of climate change, especially in the United States, through lobbying of government and funding of climate change deniers. Business also plays a key role in the mitigation of climate change, through decisions to invest in researching and implementing new energy technologies and energy efficiency measures.
The economics of climate change concerns the economic aspects of climate change; this can inform policies that governments might consider in response. A number of factors make this and the politics of climate change a difficult problem: it is a long-term, intergenerational problem; benefits and costs are distributed unequally both within and across countries; and both the scientific consensus and public opinion on climate change need to be taken into account.
A low-carbon economy (LCE) or decarbonised economy is an economy based on energy sources that produce low levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. GHG emissions due to human activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the mid-20th century. Continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause long-lasting changes around the world, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive, and irreversible effects for people and ecosystems. Shifting to a low-carbon economy on a global scale could bring substantial benefits both for developed and developing countries. Many countries around the world are designing and implementing low-emission development strategies (LEDS). These strategies seek to achieve social, economic, and environmental development goals while reducing long-term greenhouse gas emissions and increasing resilience to the effects of climate change.
Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) is an Australia-based, internationally recognised climate change solutions think-tank. The organization produces independent economic and public policy research on the transition of advanced economies to a zero emissions model. Beyond Zero Emission's stated research aims are to provide detailed pathways for a rapid transition in each major sector of Australia’s economy. The organisation is funded by donations from individuals and charitable trusts including the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation and the Hamer Family Fund.
Green growth is a term to describe a hypothetical path of economic growth that is environmentally sustainable. It is based on the understanding that as long as economic growth remains a predominant goal, a decoupling of economic growth from resource use and adverse environmental impacts is required. As such, green growth is closely related to the concepts of green economy and low-carbon or sustainable development. A main driver for green growth is the transition towards sustainable energy systems. Advocates of green growth policies argue that well-implemented green policies can create opportunities for employment in sectors such as renewable energy, green agriculture, or sustainable forestry.
Climate change is impacting the environment and human population of the United Kingdom (UK). The country's climate is becoming warmer, with drier summers and wetter winters. The frequency and intensity of storms, floods, droughts and heatwaves is increasing, and sea level rise is impacting coastal areas. The UK is also a contributor to climate change, having emitted more greenhouse gas per person than the world average. Climate change is having economic impacts on the UK and presents risks to human health and ecosystems.
The economics of climate change mitigation is the part of the economics of climate change related to climate change mitigation, that is actions that are designed to limit the amount of long-term climate change. Mitigation may be achieved through the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the enhancement of sinks that absorb GHGs, for example forests.
A Green bond is a fixed-income financial instruments (bond) which is used to fund projects that have positive environmental and/or climate benefits. They follow the Green Bond Principles stated by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), and the proceeds from the issuance of which are to be used for the pre-specified types of projects.
Eco-investing or green investing, is a form of socially responsible investing where investments are made in companies that support or provide environmentally friendly products and practices. These companies encourage new technologies that support the transition from carbon dependence to more sustainable alternatives. Green finance is "any structured financial activity that has been created to ensure a better environmental outcome."
Climate change in Europe has resulted in an increase in temperature of 1.9 °C (2019) in Europe compared to pre-industrial levels. Europe's climate is getting warmer due to anthropogenic activity. According to international climate experts, global temperature rise should not exceed 2 °C to prevent the most dangerous consequences of climate change; without reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, this could happen before 2050. Climate change has implications for all regions of Europe, with the extent and nature of impacts varying across the continent.
Climate finance is "finance that aims at reducing emissions, and enhancing sinks of greenhouse gases and aims at reducing vulnerability of, and maintaining and increasing the resilience of, human and ecological systems to negative climate change impacts", as defined by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Standing Committee on Finance. The term has been used in a narrow sense to refer to transfers of public resources from developed to developing countries, in light of their UN Climate Convention obligations to provide "new and additional financial resources", and in a wider sense to refer to all financial flows relating to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Bright Blue is an independent think tank and pressure group advocating for liberal conservative ideas and policies, based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2014 by British entrepreneur Ryan Shorthouse, Bright Blue aims to "defend and champion liberal, open, democratic and meritocratic values, institutions and policies." Bright Blue is a membership-based think tank, with membership open to anyone who identifies as a liberal conservative.
Carbon Tracker is a London-based not-for-profit think tank researching the impact of climate change on financial markets.
The European Green Deal, approved in 2020, is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union (EU) climate neutral in 2050. An impact assessed plan will also be presented to increase the EU's greenhouse gas emission reductions target for 2030 to at least 50% and towards 55% compared with 1990 levels. The plan is to review each existing law on its climate merits, and also introduce new legislation on the circular economy, building renovation, biodiversity, farming and innovation.
Green recovery packages are proposed environmental, regulatory and fiscal reforms to build prosperity in the wake of an economic crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic or the Global Financial Crisis. They pertain to fiscal measures that intend to recover economic growth while also positively benefitting the environment, including measures for renewable energy, efficient energy use, nature based solutions, sustainable transport, green innovation and green jobs, amongst others.
Sustainable finance is the set of financial regulations, standards, norms and products that pursue an environmental objective. It allows the financial system to connect with the economy and its populations by financing its agents while maintaining a growth objective. The long-standing concept was promoted with the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement, which stipulates that parties must make "finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development." In addition, sustainable finance had already a key role to play in the European Green Deal and in other EU International agreements, but since the COVID-19 pandemic its role is even more important.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
