Today's Pickup: Banks Are Forcing Container Lines To Reduce Their Carbon Emissions

Good day,

Eleven banks that lend to maritime shipping companies have announced that climate impact will now feature in the criteria that determine their lending limit to the container lines. The banks will reportedly set their standards based on the International Maritime Organization's 2018 climate commitment that envisions a 50 percent reduction from the CO2 emission levels seen in 2008 by 2050, and a 40 percent cut in individual ship emissions from 2008 levels by 2030.

This move is likely to create a sizable impact in the industry, as the 11 banks collectively represent roughly 20 percent of the financing that flows into the global shipping market. "We're making banks alert to the consequences of climate change in their portfolios," said Michael Parker, global industry head for shipping with Citigroup. "We're now taking climate change issues into decision-making in a way that helps the industry transition to necessary technology to design ships, reduce emissions and de-carbonize the industry."

Did you know?

Oil production in the Permian basin is expected to hit a new record by a month on month increase of 55,000 barrel per day (b/d) in July, eventually reaching 4.226 million b/d next month.

Quotable

"I believe that a child born today will look back on our era now and laugh at what we do. A child born today will probably never learn to drive a car, will be driven around in an autonomous vehicle, and will think it's ridiculous that we put up with the air quality as we do."

– Stephen Voller, the CEO of ZapGo, a fast electric charging technology startup, commenting on the future of transport.

In other news

Darkening mood among Japanese manufacturers flags risks ahead

Japanese manufacturers' business confidence dropped to a more than 2-1/2-year low in June, re-igniting fears the economy could be hit by slowing external demand in the face of a global slowdown and trade risks. (Reuters)

World's top bicycle maker says the era of ‘Made in China' is over

Giant Manufacturing is moving its U.S. orders to its Taiwan factory due to trade war concerns between the U.S. and China. (Bloomberg)

A new era brings new challenges to automaker-supplier relations

Electronics are creating new tensions in automaker-supplier relations. (Automotive News)

Tesla stock price rallies today after Elon Musk claims he is deleting Twitter

Tesla Inc TSLA stock price jumped more than 4 percent today to keep the momentum of a rebound after a tough start of the year. (Electrek)

New York is poised to legalize electric scooters and bikes

A longtime holdout is finally ready to welcome the popular and polarizing battery-powered devices. (The Verge)

Final Thoughts

Artificial intelligence startup Nauto released findings from its study of commercial drivers' distracted driving behavior and found that nearly all drivers had at least one distracted driving incident during their lengthy careers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that about nine people die each day in the United States as a direct consequence of distracted driving. Nauto's study sheds new light on this number, with it claiming that the statistics were an underestimation. It's 2018 study found that over 70 percent of all collisions involved distracted driving.

Image Sourced From Pixabay