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Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggested this week that the Senate should "be able" to pass the entire "Rebuild Better Act." Democrats praised the bill as a historic investment in clean energy and climate solutions. The legislation includes tax credits for electric car manufacturers whose labor has joined a union, which is not the case with Tesla. Nonetheless, according to a 2015 report by the Los Angeles Times, this is clearly a contradictory position for the world's richest man. His business has benefited from nearly $5 billion in government support.

But Tesla is currently facing turmoil-a second sexual harassment lawsuit, an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (according to Reuters), and the delay of its German Gigafactory, which may delay it until 2022. More competition will only increase these troubles.

This week, we are also studying the potential of hydrogen energy to bring a net zero future, the world's first seaweed-based carbon credit program, and so on. In the climate talks, I discussed the company's plan to reduce waste and produce renewable packaging with Lars Holmquist, Tetra Pak's Executive Vice President of Sustainability and Communication.

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A hydrogen-powered zero-emission ambulance will be exhibited in Glasgow, Scotland on November 10, 2021. (Photo: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

Governments around the world regard hydrogen as a catalyst for achieving net zero emissions and use funds for research and development.

An Italian judge cited the "rapid expansion of the pathological phenomenon of green bleaching" in a ruling on an automotive textile supplier who was found to exaggerate the environmental benefits of its products.

As the Infrastructure Investment and Employment Act allocates $2.5 billion for electric school buses, the humble yellow school bus fleet in the United States is on the cusp of an exciting transition to a more environmentally friendly and less polluting mode of transportation.  

In the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Virginia, an underwater meadow has been slowly advancing for about 25 years. Now close to 10,000 acres wide, it is expected to become the world's first proven seagrass-based carbon credit program.

Although the science of climate change is widely known, misinformation about the phenomenon and its causes is still widespread on social media. Although a well-known American scientist called on YouTube to remove climate skeptic content, the platform stated that its current practices are sufficient to solve the spread of misinformation.

The warming waters of Australia’s east coast are forcing tiger sharks to migrate south in search of more suitable habitats, but in doing so, they may start competing with other species for resources, affecting the entire ecosystem.

Unsustainable land management practices, coupled with the pressures of climate change, continue to affect soil health in the Caribbean and threaten the prospects for future food security in the region.

Sylvia Earle participated in the AVENUE Altruism Award Underwater Life Gala in New York City on November 13, 2017, benefiting from the United Nations Blue Mission. (Photo: Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

For decades, the legendary oceanographer and marine biologist Sylvia Earle has been warning about environmental conditions, but she also believes that we are lucky to live in this era.

Lars Holmquist is responsible for the marketing and sustainability of the Swedish-Swiss packaging and processing giant Tetra Pak. This nearly 80-year-old company is a key part of many food and beverage global value chains, so it can play an important role in combating waste. Holmquist talks to Forbes about Tetra Pak's sustainability goals. 

What are the challenges involved in ensuring that packaging is recycled?

It starts when consumers realize that it is recyclable, but of course, this is not enough. They need to know where to go and how to deal with it. Then there needs to be a sorting and recycling infrastructure nearby so that you can separate fiber materials, polyethylene, and aluminum. Then there needs to be recycling capacity nearby, so you don't need to ship it to another country, and then there needs to be an aftermarket. This is everything we are closely involved in. We are establishing partnerships in this chain to ensure that we promote a sustainable collection and recycling value system. Awareness, classification, mailing, recycling, and finally the aftermarket are areas where we invest heavily to make it possible. 

We [also] need to make technological breakthroughs in packaging design and carbon packaging specifications, never affect safety and ensure its continuity to ensure product safety and long-term use worldwide. So this means that we will gradually reduce the "non-renewable" content, and eventually we will provide 100% renewable environmental aseptic packaging made from 100% renewable resources, which is completely recyclable, but also carbon-neutral . We have currently invested approximately 100 million euros in this development, and we will continue to invest at least this capital in this breakthrough technology in the next 5 to 10 years. 

Have you considered that once this new packaging is ready, are you willing to let the entire industry benefit from its manufacturing process?

I can hardly say what other companies should do. What is important to me is that we have a technology that can achieve fully renewable, fully recyclable, carbon-neutral packaging. Then we will have to make a decision in the process. Where do we open it and how do we make it accessible? What kind of agreement can we reach? So I’m not saying no, but I can’t share with you my plan to provide it to other companies right now.

How do you ensure that packaging is carbon neutral?

We focus on the entire life cycle and we will ensure that any emissions generated are offset. We believe that we can achieve a very small offset rate. By the way, we are working on a land restoration plan and hope to offset any residual emissions there.

The nature of your product means that you will be part of the scope 3 of many companies, also known as the corporate value chain, or emissions. How do you manage your own Scope 3 emissions?

[We] Most of the emissions in the value chain fall into scope three. More than 40% come from upstream, mainly sheet and polyethylene, as well as some aluminum suppliers. We are developing a supplier plan to ensure that our suppliers meet these goals so that we can achieve the goal of net zero in the value chain by 2050. On the downstream side, there may be 40% or 42% in our customers and distribution and retail. We have done a lot of work in production to ensure that we reduce energy consumption, water consumption, emissions and food waste.

For clarity, Lars Holmquist's answer has been condensed and edited.

Now is the time to address these three common questions about climate change once and for all to advance the narrative about the actions needed to deal with the climate crisis.

The increase in rocket launches leads to increased pollution because powerful engines burn fossil fuels such as kerosene or methane to power them. But some entrepreneurs hope to reduce this pollution. BluShift Aerospace, which makes rockets based on bio-derived fuels, also appeared.

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