Cutting carbon, cutting corners?

Here are a few stories that caught our eye this week:

Article by The Associated Press
Italy agreed Thursday to a Vatican plan to turn a 430-hectare (1,000-acre) field north of Rome, once the source of controversy between the two, into a vast solar farm that the Holy See hopes will generate enough electricity to meet its needs and turn Vatican City into the world’s first carbon-neutral state.

Article by The Guardian
Barclays has become the second UK bank to withdraw from a UN-backed net zero target-setting group, claiming that a wave of defections by international lenders meant it was no longer fit for purpose.

Article by Trellis
Like many of its competitors in retail, Sweden’s Ingka Group – the IKEA brand’s primary retailer – faces a daunting Scope 3 challenge: Value-chain emissions made up 98 percent of the 30 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) the company emitted in 2016, the baseline year for its net-zero target.

Article by Grist
As global inaction over the climate crisis has mounted and Pacific islands nations have watched in frustration as their calls for decisive action have gone unheeded, a growing number of them, led by Vanuatu, have turned to the courts. If policymakers won’t act, they hoped, perhaps the courts would.

Article by ESG News
Japan Airlines, in partnership with ITOCHU Corporation, ENEOS Corporation, NIPPON EXPRESS HOLDINGS, Mizuho Bank, Mizuho Research & Technologies, and Narita International Airport Corporation, has successfully completed Phase 1 of a groundbreaking initiative to advance sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) use through Scope 3 environmental value trading.