August 2021 Sustainability and Public Policy News

Photo by Ant Rozetsky

Here’s the best of what we’ve read over the last month.

“Compared to other forms of transit, public buses are cheap, flexible and plentiful. But policymakers aren’t that interested in buses, and ridership is declining. It’s a problem that needs fixing, argues Steven Higashide.”
— Can Americans Learn to Love–and Ride–Bus Transit? (Governing)

“To entice the newly liberated worker and the newly hybrid company, Boston will need to become truly livable. That means abandoning its midcentury car-centric mentality for real. To free us from cars, policymakers will need to nurture urban life at a much more granular level and shift resources from drivability to livability. With a crowded mayor’s race under way, we’ve got a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape the city into a place we can call home.”
— What Would It Take for Boston to Become a Car-Free City? (Boston Magazine)

“Companies have a lot of good reasons to pay close attention to environmental, social and governance factors: attracting talented employees who want to work at a place that is making a positive impact on the world; responding to regulators who are demanding more ESG-related transparency; and pleasing major investors who are pushing them to be sustainable for the long haul. But there’s at least one thing that being ESG-minded may not do: help a corporation stand out from the crowd as much as other actions might.”
— When It Comes to ESG, Companies Often Find It Hard to Stand Out (The Wall Street Journal)

“Around the world, governments and automakers are focused on selling newer, cleaner electric vehicles as a key solution to climate change. Yet it could take years, if not decades, before the technology has a drastic effect on greenhouse gas emissions. One reason for that? It will take a long time for all the existing gasoline-powered vehicles on the road to reach the end of their life spans.”
— Electric Cars Are Coming. How Long Until They Rule the Road? (The New York Times)

“Central banks could play a critical role in catalyzing the rapid shift of financial flows away from oil, fossil gas, and coal. However, to date, central banks have instead tinkered at the edges.”
— Unused Tools: How Central Banks are Fueling the Climate Crisis (Oil Change International)