This past Memorial Day Weekend officially kicked off the start of summer 2023, and with a new season comes new environmental news!
Open (Farmers Market) Season!
The time has finally come when all 20 farmers markets in Fairfax County are open for business!
The County’s Park Authority operates half of those, the remaining 10 are either FreshFarm-run or independent markets. Fortunately, there is a market open every day of the week (expect for Mondays), so you are sure to find local produce and products anywhere across the county.
If you find yourself outside of Fairfax County, you’ll be met with no shortage of options for markets. In fact, the Northern Virginia area will have a whopping 50+ markets open this season—you can find their locations and hours at this Fun in Fairfax article.
And as always, don’t forget to bring your reusable bag or container with you, especially as some of these markets seek to phase out those plastic bags supplied by vendors during the 2023 season.
Clean Energy Investment Milestones
Global investment in clean energy is set to outpace that in fossil fuels for the first time, according to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). According to the report, about “USD 2.8 trillion is set to be invested globally in energy in 2023, of which more than USD 1.7 trillion is expected to go to clean technologies – including renewables, electric vehicles, nuclear power, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency improvements and heat pumps – according to the IEA’s latest World Energy Investment report. The remainder, slightly more than USD 1 trillion, is going to coal, gas and oil” (Browning, 2023).
In short, “For every dollar invested in fossil fuels, about 1.7 dollars are now going into clean energy. Five years ago, this ratio was one-to-one” (Browning, 2023). While this spending trend is moving in the right direction, “current fossil fuel spending is significantly higher than what it should be to reach the goal of net zero by mid-century,” according to an IEA spokesperson (Browning, 2023). Moreover, demand for these traditional polluting energy sources is set to reach an “all-time high or six times the level needed in 2030 to reach net zero by 2050” while investment in new fossil fuel supply will increase 6% in 2023 (Browning, 2023), thus demonstrating the difficulty of weaning an industrialized world off of oil and coal, and the uphill battle that remains in the global decarbonization fight.
Plastic Pollution Treaty Talks begin in Paris
Over 2,000 participants gather in Paris this week to continue discussing a proposed treaty to tackle the global plastic pollution crisis. The group, known as the The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for Plastics, “is charged with developing the first international, legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. This is the second of five meetings due to take place to complete the negotiations by the end of 2024” (Adamson and McDermott, 2023). The focus of this session is to make critical decisions about “the objectives and scope of the text — such as what kind of plastics it will focus on” (Adamson and McDermott, 2023).
As “humanity produces more than 430 million tons of plastic annually, two-thirds of which are short-lived products that soon become waste, filling the ocean and, often, working their way into the human food chain,” there is an increasingly urgent need to address the plastics problem (Adamson and McDermott, 2023). Solutions however, vary wildly by who you ask—with industry representatives, manufacturers, public health professionals, government officials, and environmental groups & leaders all bringing their own perspectives. Each of these perspectives may steer the treaty talks in very different directions. Some of these possibilities include:
[A] focus on human health and the environment, as desired by the self-named “high ambition coalition” of countries, led by Norway and Rwanda, with limits on plastic production and restrictions on some of the chemicals used in plastics. The coalition is committed to an international, legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution by 2040. It says that this is necessary to protect human health and the environment while helping to restore biodiversity and curb climate change.
Alternatively, the treaty could have a more limited scope to address plastic waste and scale up recycling, as some of the plastic-producing and oil and gas exporters want. Most plastic is made from fossil fuels. Countries supporting this plan include the United States, Saudi Arabia and China. The U.S. delegation in Uruguay said national plans would allow governments to prioritize the most important sources and types of plastic pollution. Many plastics and chemical companies want this approach, too, with a plastic waste treaty that prioritizes recycling.
The International Council of Chemical Associations, the World Plastics Council, the American Chemistry Council and other companies that make, use and recycle plastics say they want an agreement that eliminates plastic pollution while “retaining the societal benefits of plastics.” They’re calling themselves the “global partners for plastics circularity.” They say that modern plastic materials are used around the world to create essential and often life-saving products, many of which are critical to a lower-carbon, more sustainable future. Adamson and McDermott, 2023
It looks like an ambitious treaty and first-of-its-kind commitment to curbing global pollution is in sight, climate activists just hope it is not poised to be weakened by the powers of the plastic and oil industry lobbying…Stay tuned for an update soon!
