The Triple Bottom - 🌱 Web3 Ocean Conservation

The good: UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) clamping down on ESG ratings
In the UK the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a report saying there is “a clear rationale” for it to regulate MSCI, Sustainalytics and the other firms that carry out ESG ratings on companies and financial products. 
Why? Ratings agencies are using their own methodologies which often produce divergent results which are routinely seeing them criticised. Critics challenge whether methodologies account for the most material impacts of a business, particularly after S&P’s 500 ESG Index removed Tesla but kept companies which have historically impeded the low-carbon transition.
Importance: Increased scrutiny is important in ensuring investors are able to access comparable and credible information about the environmental, social and ethical impacts of the firms they invest in. It also pushes rating agencies to increase the robustness of their methods.

The bad: State Side Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) powers curbed 
The Supreme Court has curbed the ability of the country’s top environmental regulator (The Environmental Protection Agency) to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The ruling centres on a Barack Obama-era proposal known as the Clean Power Plan that would have ordered power plants to cut emissions by 2030, but was suspended by the Supreme Court.
Shaky ground: The ruling blocks that proposal and limits the potential of similar proposals in the future, and leaves the Biden administration more reliant on an unco-operative Congress to pass crucial climate legislation. There is also concern that other climate rules are now on shakier grounds - such as the SEC’s climate disclosure rules we spoke about last week.

The (potentially) ugly: Car maker warns of market collapse if EV's don't get cheaper
This week the European Parliament endorsed plans to eliminate carbon emissions from cars produced after 2035. Following the announcement, the region's biggest automaker, Stallantis (the parent company of brands such as Fiat, Jeep and Peugeot), has warned that if EVs don't become cheaper, the EV car market faces "demand destruction". This warning is a blow to the Parliament's plans as “demand destruction” could pose a risk to the 2035 target.

World's largest vertical farm is being built in the UK
In 2020 nearly 50% of all food consumed in the UK was imported, and a recent report found that 77% of imported fruit, veg and cereals came from countries with lower environmental standards. To reduce this reliance on food from overseas, the food company, JFC, is building the world’s largest vertical farm - the equivalent of 96 tennis courts stacked on each other. JFC currently vertically farms fresh basil and other leafy greens, yet its new venture will experiment with soft fruits, vegetables and flowers. 
Environmental benefits… includes less fertiliser use (as it’s recycled through the farm’s water system) + no risk of fertiliser polluting water sources. The setup can be powered with 100% renewable energy + uses 95% less water + has far fewer food miles.

• Google Maps now lets businesses tag themselves as LGBTQ+ owned

• Massive 900-megawatt pumped hydro battery to launch in Switzerland

• The world’s biggest ever carbon credit scheme is planned in Gabon as ministers say the country needs to start benefiting financially from its forests. 

• A vanilla-bean based bioplastic self-destructs on demand while 60% of the original building-blocks/monomers are recoverable for reuse.

• Vegetarian eating gets more complicated as new climate research shows that imported fruit and veg account for an outsized amount of food transport emissions