- Unsustainable activities cause and accelerate climate change
As explained here sustainable activities are inherently not degenerative. Thus, in general activities which contribute to climate change, cannot be considered sustainable.
Of course, activities will have positive and negative impacts in a range of domains. New sustainability regulations account for this by defining priorities, and unacceptable impacts. For example, the EU Taxonomy requires that sustainable activities make a “substantial contribution” to at least one of the six Taxonomy environmental objectives, without doing “significant harm” to any of the other five objectives. Furthermore, all sustainable activities must uphold standards in relation to human rights, labor standards, corruption, tax and competition, called Minimum Safeguards.
- Urgency of the climate emergency
Climate positive regulations and activities have become a priority due to the catastrophic impacts of climate change. New venues of international cooperation have emerged to respond to the unprecedented threat, and the Paris Agreement effective since 2016, obliges countries to address climate change via mitigate and adaptation strategies. Consequently, climate laws have proliferated as countries endeavor to decarbonize their economies. Because the predominant focus of these new laws is on climate and environmental measures, engaging in sustainable activities in these realms is no longer optional.
- Incentivization of regenerative activities
The bar is being raised to higher standard – specifically, the gold standard of regenerative activities. Regenerative activities go beyond the baseline of ‘do no harm’ to instead provide for recovery and restoration of natural systems. As regenerative activities are prioritized going forward, the largest incentives packages will be attached to regenerative activities. Companies which can introduce regenerative practices will be prized.