Dear readers,
new research shows that consumption and investments by the richest people over the past 35 years are responsible for two-thirds of global warming. “Our study shows that extreme climate impacts are not just the result of abstract global emissions, but we can directly link them to our lifestyle and investment choices, which in turn are linked to wealth,” explained study author Sarah Schöngart at the Institute of Atmospheric and Climate Sciences at ETH Zurich. “We found that wealthy emitters play a significant role in driving climate extremes, providing strong support for climate policies aimed at reducing their emissions.” The researchers examined the contribution of groups within societies with the highest emissions and discovered that the richest one percent contributed 17 times the global average to droughts in the Amazon and 26 times more to the increase in monthly events of the 100-year global heat extremes. The impacts were particularly severe in the Amazon, southern Africa, Southeast Asia, and other vulnerable tropical regions, all of which contributed the least to the world’s emissions. The richest 1% contributed over 25 times more than the global average to the increase in pre-industrial-era heat extremes during peak summer temperature months,” published in Nature Climate Change #1. “If everyone had emitted like the bottom 50% of the world’s population, the world would have experienced minimal additional warming since 1990,” said study co-author Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, head of the IIASA Integrated Climate Impacts Research Group, in the press release. “This imbalance is critical for fair and effective climate action.” “This is not an academic discussion—it’s about the real impacts of today’s climate crisis,” Schleussner said. “Climate change mitigations that fail to address the significant responsibilities of the wealthiest members of society risk missing one of the most powerful levers we have to reduce future damage.”#1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7yAk5iYm_k
When the news is filled with spectacular deals and billion-dollar headlines, it’s easy to overlook the most influential stories – those that create long-term robust companies and technologies. The uptime technologies, the “we’ve found a way” companies, the sustainable and affordable raw materials. Entropy? Chaos in the market. They fold entropy into structure, transforming symbolic weight into trust. These are the stories that count in the long run, but they don’t always come with a PR newswire loop. But we listen differently, and here we’re talking more about the general theory of evolutionary systems and information. It’s not just dollars that count. Like the stories of Biotech Energy Farm, for example. They are pursuing a direction of optimal circular economy with tenacity, climate protection without government aid. They have developed a CO2-neutral biofuel that is no more expensive than fossil gasoline, used in gasoline and diesel engines, as well as in the chemical industry. Biotech Energy Farm didn’t win the battle for likes and shares, but it will shape them in the next decade. It is one of the drivers of infrastructure change. With it, the thunderous rumble of symbolic changes begins. And above all, they are the underdogs of the bioeconomy, which is fighting far beyond its means.
Germany is the largest producer of biodiesel in Europe, with total production reaching about 3.6 million tonnes in 2024. Rapeseed remains the dominant feedstock, accounting for approximately 53.1% of German biodiesel output in 2024. Other feedstocks included used cooking oils and fats (24.1%), soybean oil (15.0%), and animal fats (2%). Palm oil has not been used in German biodiesel or fuel applications since 2023 as it doesn’t count towards greenhouse gas reduction targets. The UFOP stated that roughly 1.45 million tonnes of rapeseed oil were processed into biodiesel in 2024, which is nearly equivalent to Germany’s rapeseed harvest, making the biodiesel industry the primary market for domestic rapeseed. This process also produces rapeseed meal, a key GM-free protein source for dairy cattle feed, illustrating an integrated bioeconomy value chain. Please also read the current ufop article in the attachment.
The Australian Hazer Group has entered into a binding alliance agreement with Kellogg Brown for the commercial deployment and licensing of Hazer’s proprietary methane pyrolysis technology. KBR has licensed over 260 ammonia plants since 1943. Over 50% of the world’s ammonia is produced using KBR’s ammonia process. https://www.sahmcapital.com/news/content/hazer-group-enters-into-binding-alliance-agreement-with-kellogg-brown-and-root-for-commercial-deployment-and-licensing-of-hazers-proprietary-methane-pyrolysis-technology-2025-05-05
US ethanol exports rebounded significantly in March, increasing 41% to 195.8 million gallons (mg), driven by broad improvements across most major markets. Shipments were 23% above the prior-year level. Canada was also the top destination for US ethanol in March for the fourth consecutive year. Exports increased 27% to a six-month high of 64.5 mg, accounting for two-thirds of denatured ethanol sales in March. Exports to the United Kingdom, the largest foreign market for US ethanol, more than tripled to an 11-month high of 30.0 mg. https://ethanolrfa.org/media-and-news/category/trade-monitor/article/2025/05/march-u-s-ethanol-and-ddgs-exports-post-strong-gains
The Indian government has approved an additional 2.8 million tons of rice as an ethanol feedstock, in addition to the 2.4 million tons already approved for the season. This is due to lower sugarcane production for ethanol. At the same time, the government aims to exceed the 20 percent blending quota set for this year. Although rice was previously approved as an ethanol feedstock, producers have so far only purchased less than one million tons. https://agriinsite.com/centre-approves-additional-2-8-million-tonnes-of-fci-rice-for-ethanol-production/
BP has successfully led a taskforce to achieve approval from the UK Ministry of Defense for co-processing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) with up to 30% renewable hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty acids HEFA feedstock concentration, a significant increase from the current limit of 5%. This standard is now approved for the production of JetA1, globally. The Defence Standard milestone was achieved through collaboration with industry stakeholders, including OEMs, IATA, fuel producers and airline companies, to help lower lifecycle carbon emissions in the aviation sector. Co-processing is a method where vegetable oils, waste oils and fats, or similar sustainable feedstocks are processed along with conventional feedstocks in existing refineries. It is a SAF production method that can be activated quickly and use existing fuel distribution infrastructure, important especially during the early scale-up of SAF. https://www.bp.com/en/global/air-bp/news-and-views/press-releases/bp-leads-industry-taskforce-to-achieve-update-to-Defence-Standard-for-renewable-aviation-fuel.html
The eagerly awaited framework agreement between the UK and the US has been announced. In return for the elimination of 25% additional tariffs on steel and aluminum and a 10% tariff quota on 100,000 cars, the UK government has made concessions in two areas of agriculture. Specifically, the US will gain access to the UK beef market through a tariff quota of 13,000 tons of hormone-free beef. In return, the UK will receive 13,000 tons of protected access to the US beef market. The US can also fully liberalize the UK bioethanol market. The remaining tariffs remain unchanged, and the US additional 10% tariff will continue to apply to all UK exports to the US. https://www.nfuonline.com/updates-and-information/uk-us-trade-agreement/
Pioneer Point announced the final close of its second sustainable institutional fund, Pioneer Infrastructure Partners II SCSp (“Fund II”), having raised over €1.1 billion in commitments. This significantly exceeded the initial €800 million target and reached the increased hard cap, a notable achievement raised in just over twelve months. Fund II received strong demand from a diverse range of institutional investors across Europe and North America, with over half of the commitments coming from existing investors. https://pioneerpoint.com/
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production is growing in the U.S. with new capacity coming online. U.S. production of other biofuels, the category the Energy Information Agency (EIA) uses for SAF in its Petroleum Supply Monthly, roughly doubled from December 2024 to February 2025. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65204
According to a new economic contribution study, biofuel production reflects stagnating corn demand across the agricultural economy. The direct impact of biofuels remains strong, but the multiplier effects of corn and soybean purchases have diminished as commodity prices have fallen. One study concluded: “Despite several factors converging in 2024 that put pressure on the Iowa biofuels industry and reduced its economic contribution to the Iowa economy compared to previous years, the Iowa renewable fuels industry recorded another record fuel production.” https://iowarfa.org/2025/05/2024-iowa-renewable-fuels-economic-contribution-study-shows-impact-of-stagnant-corn-demand-hitting-agriculture-economy/
The first milestone in the construction of the world’s first large-scale ethenolysis plant based on rapeseed oil methyl ester has been reached: The first distillation column has been installed. Starting in 2026, large quantities of renewable molecules for the chemical industry will be produced at the Verbio site in Bitterfeld. These specialty chemicals are used, for example, in detergents and cleaning agents, high-performance engine lubricants, and plastics. Verbio is thus driving the transition from fossil to renewable raw materials in the chemical industry. https://www.verbio.de/en/press/news/press-releases/detail/verbio-in-bitterfeld-baufortschritte-bei-der-neuen-ethenolyse-anlage/
AkzoNobel is purchasing significantly reduced carbon footprint raw materials from BASF for its decorative paints production in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), demonstrating the shared commitment of both companies to drive down Scope 3 emissions. Signaling AkzoNobel’s intent to deliver more lower carbon products into the mainstream, the agreement involves the company using BASF’s biomass balanced (BMB) ingredients – which don’t require any new formulations or changes to existing paint manufacturing processes. The end result of this approach is an AkzoNobel paint with exactly the same quality and performance, but with a reduced carbon footprint of at least 5%. AkzoNobel is purchasing significantly reduced carbon footprint raw materials from BASF for its decorative paints production in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), demonstrating the shared commitment of both companies to drive down Scope 3 emissions. Signaling AkzoNobel’s intent to deliver more lower carbon products into the mainstream, the agreement involves the company using BASF’s biomass balanced (BMB) ingredients – which don’t require any new formulations or changes to existing paint manufacturing processes. The end result of this approach is an AkzoNobel paint with exactly the same quality and performance, but with a reduced carbon footprint of at least 5%.