In recent years, the consumption of digital content has experienced a surge in popularity. The main reason for this is the growing number of people who spend most of their time online. And with the widespread adoption of smartphones, tablets, & laptops, people have instant access to an abundance of digital content.
This shift in consumer behavior has led to a significant increase in the demand for digital content, making eBooks & Flipbooksan increasingly popular choice for many people. The global eBook market size was valued at USD 18.13 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to USD 23.12 billion by 2025, according to a report by Statista.
The global flipbook market size is expected to reach USD 4.74 billion by 2027, according to a report by Polaris Market Research. According to a survey by FlipHTML5, 33% of Flipbook users cited environmental protection as the primary reason for using Flipbooks.
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The US Environmental Protection Agency proposed new tailpipe standards that would require electric vehicles to make up two-thirds of new car sales by 2032. Automakers have made plenty of promises about electric vehicles. General Motors, Ford, and Volvo—some of the more ambitious—have pledged to sell only zero-emission cars by at least 2035.
That’s quite a commitment, as only 14 percent of new cars sold globally last year were electric, with the share in the US being half that. But a new proposal released by the US Environmental Protection Agency today threatens to hold automakers to their electric big talk—and to up the ante.
The agency suggested tighter emissions standards that it calculates would require electric vehicles to make up two-thirds of new passenger vehicle sales by 2032, sending millions more EVs onto dealership lots. It also wants to toughen standards for heavy trucks, albeit less aggressively.
During a media briefing Wednesday, EPA administrator Michael Regan called the proposals, which would kick in in 2027, the “strongest-ever federal pollution standards for cars and trucks.” If enacted, the rules could prevent the release of almost 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide through 2055.
The new pollution rules would operate by forcing automakers to ensure that each year between 2027 and 2032, the total emissions of all the vehicles they sell gets smaller. To meet those shrinking targets without slashing sales, manufacturers would have to offer a greener slate of vehicles. That could mean boosting fuel economy, offering more hybrids, or launching more cars powered by hydrogen or batteries.
Consumers’ booming appetite for EVs, and the more than trillion dollars that automakers have earmarked for electrification, suggests that building more battery-powered cars may be the industry’s easiest path to cutting emissions. The proposals could become one of the Biden administration’s most significant moves towards reducing air pollution and decarbonizing the US transportation system, which is alone responsible for more than a quarter of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Two years ago, a bipartisan infrastructure deal poured $7.5 billion into building a nationwide EV charging network, so that drivers powered by plug might one day roam without fear of running out of power. Just last summer, the Inflation Reduction Act created new incentives for businesses thinking of electrifying their own fleets of cars and trucks, and launched new tax credits rewarding companies that manufacture batteries and electric cars in the US.
Dave Cooke, a senior vehicles analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, says the EPA’s proposal builds on those previous policies to make clear what is expected of automakers as the US tries to curtail carbon emissions. “We’ve given them the carrot,” he says. “Now here’s the stick.” What does that mean for drivers?
If the EPA’s tough new rules take effect, Americans should see many more affordable electric vehicles in dealership lots in the next decade. There are already an unprecedented 91 electric models available for sale in the US today and 60 more coming by 2026, according to auto industry group the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
But the proposed EPA rules put serious pressure on manufacturers to produce more, during a decade in which decisive action will be crucial to hitting most of the companies’ lofty 2035 emissions pledges, says Chris Harto, a senior energy policy analyst with the nonprofit consumer organization Consumer Reports.
Conveniently, there’s evidence that drivers would like to see a greater variety of EVs to choose from, Harto says. “Consumers want the vehicles, and automakers aren’t delivering them,” Harto says. Consumer Reports’ 2022 survey of US consumers found that 71 percent of adults have at least some interest in owning an electric vehicle, a 350 percent increase in interest since 2020.
Many electric vehicles, including Ford’s Lightning pickup, Audi’s e-tron line, and Rivian’s R1T electric truck, have waiting lists that stretch from weeks to years. Amidst the supply crunch and demand crush, EVs sold through dealerships have been marked up by thousands of dollars. The average EV is still more expensive to buy than its gas-powered counterpart, though some auto industry experts predict they could reach cost parity by the end of the year.
Less certain is whether the US is ready to deliver and support a rush of new EVs. Supply chains, especially for critical battery minerals that may prove difficult to mine outside of China, will need more capacity. And even as the Feds hand out money for charging infrastructure, there are plenty of challenges to be worked through before there are enough public chargers to support long-haul driving and enable people without a private garage to charge up.
In many places, the electrical grid will need upgradingor adjusting if it is to power millions of cars. Electrification “requires a massive, 100-year change to the US industrial base and the way Americans drive,” the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the industry group, wrote in a memo earlier this month that struck a skeptical tone on the prospect of tighter EPA rules.
The group did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the proposed pollution rules. The agency’s proposal will now be subject to months of public hearings and debates, as environmentalists, auto lobbyists, and anyone else with a stake in one of the largest industries in the US weighs in.
Aarian Marshall is a staff writer covering transportation and cities. Before joining WIRED, she wrote for The Atlantic’s CityLab. Marshall is based in Seattle, where she’s learning to love rain.
In the U.S., you could have blinked and missed a momentous announcement that impacts our ability to safeguard and improve our planet. I noticed that news coverage of the COP15 on biodiversity in Montreal was significantly less than that of the COP21 agreement on climate held in Paris in 2015. Nor did it receive the fanfare or celebrity endorsement. But, it is an important step forward in ensuring our planet continues to be a diverse ecosystem.
Biodiversity is paramount for the functioning of our planet, and the business case should suggest that focusing on biodiversity is as important as reigning in our carbon emissions: “Degrading ecosystems could trigger a downward spiral of US$2.7 trillion in global Gross Domestic Product by 2030.” Failures in biodiversity costs the global economy more than $5 trillion a year in the form of lost natural services.
The World Economic Forum in collaboration with PwC found that “$44 trillion of economic value generation—more than half of the world’s total GDP—is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services and is therefore exposed to nature loss.”
There are 23 environmental targets stipulated under the COP15 agenda. Of these, the most recognized target is known as the “30 by 30” conservation target (paywall). This name comes from the mandate that by 2030, governments will ensure and enable 30% of the planet is under protection.
This will be accomplished through the creation of protected areas and other known measures for area-based conservation. Currently, approximately 17% of land and roughly 8% of the oceans are protected. Additionally, the deal would roughly double overall financing focused on biodiversity protection to $200 billion a year from all sources.
But, all together, I think businesses can do more. Conservation is a powerful component in maintaining our biodiversity. As of 2019, one study found nearly 30,000 species were at risk of extinction, while another found that nearly 1 million species were at risk of extinction. A healthy planet, one with a fully functioning diverse ecosystem, requires we also determine how to recover those lost species.
It’s important for companies to plan for and align on the need to support biodiversity. Through new technologies, we can improve species resiliency and grow species capacity. Some companies like mine are even working on bringing back species that are needed for health ecosystems. These steps will allow us to create more hospitable spaces for species.
In the next five years, I think we will see scientists actively recovering species and protecting species from diseases, creating more extreme weather-resistant species.
More and more companies are joining in efforts to support the environment. But, other businesses also have the opportunity to get involved with efforts to support biodiversity efforts.
1. Identify your full environmental impact.
First, start with understanding the impacts of your organization on the full environment, not just your carbon emissions. Emissions are one aspect of climate change, but they paint an incomplete picture. I suggest business leaders also undertake a material assessment to understand the material impacts and dependencies of their organizations. Science Based Targets Network offers a guide that companies can utilize.
2. Evaluate business risks and opportunities related to nature and biodiversity.
This evaluation can lead to actions that help businesses understand the loss of biodiversity on your financial and business outcomes. One tool that organizations can utilize is the framework from the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), which can be used to evaluate and manage nature-related risks.
3. Set goals and raise awareness around your goals.
Measure and set targets for land use, freshwater use and ecosystem integrity. Again, there are useful tools available for companies attempting to measure and set biodiversity targets. And then, commit publicly to those goals to reduce waste and prioritize the protection of the planet as a core aspect of business. This could include signing corporate pledges.
4. Consider nature-based solutions.
New companies and legacy companies can consider the concept of “nature-based solutions,” which originate with the idea that companies can restore nature, mitigate and adapt to climate change, while also supporting the lifestyles and interests of local people. In doing so businesses can transform to restore and regenerate landscapes.
Stopping climate change and protecting plants and animals are and should be recognized as linked goals. Reducing carbon emissions is vital. Recovering species is too.
This is all possible, but requires technology investment and ideological alignment. Protecting biodiversity is more than just conserving what we have; it’s planning a pathway to a better tomorrow.
The Trends in Security Digital Identities report from the Identity Defined Security Alliance (IDSA) ... [+]getty
Identity is at the core of cybersecurity. Digital identities, such as usernames and passwords, are used to authenticate users and grant access to data and resources. There are other ways for threat actors to get the job done but stealing or compromising a valid identity is often the path of least resistance. The importance of identity security cannot be overstated, as a breach in identity security can have severe consequences for both individuals and organizations.
The explosion of digital identities is just one facet of the larger issue of a vast and expanding attack surface. However, a rise in phishing attacks, the continued growth of cloud computing and SaaS (software-as-a-service) application adoption, and the dramatic shift to remote and work-from-home business models that require workers, contractors, and employees to access network resources securely across the internet, the role of identity security is heightened.
About the IDSA
The Identity Defined Security Alliance (IDSA) is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to promoting best practices in identity security. The organization’s mission is to provide education and resources to help organizations protect their digital identities and secure their systems and data.
There are a variety of white papers, case studies, and other valuable assets available on the IDSA website. The organization released its 2022 Trends in Security Digital Identities report last summer, which provides key insights and useful guidance to help organizations implement effective identity security.
Trends in Securing Digital Identities
The introduction to the report explains, “Many identity stakeholders have responded by prioritizing identity in the past year. For forward-thinking enterprises, identity is not simply the subject of discussions within the human resources department or the help desk team. It is a critical consideration in security planning as well. With identity-related breaches remaining a continual threat, the business impact of handling identity correctly—and incorrectly—has never been more clear.”
The report—based on feedback from a survey of over 500 enterprise organizations with 1000 employees or more—found that 84% of organizations experienced an identity-related breach in the prior year. This is a significant increase from the 79% reported in the previous two years, highlighting the growing threat of identity-related breaches.
As Julie Smith, Executive Director of IDSA, shared on the TechSpective Podcast, “I think the headline, if you were to give it one, is that identity-related breaches continue to happen. And they do impact organizations in pretty significant ways. But there’s investments being made. And that’s maybe where this could help inform organizations on what they should be doing in the next year, and executive leadership support seems to be making a difference.”
The report also found that 96% of the organizations surveyed felt that the breach could have been prevented if they had focused on the right security measures. In other words, with more effective identity security in place, it could have been avoided. This highlights the importance of investing in identity security and implementing best practices to protect digital identities.
Insights and Guidance
One of the primary recommendations by the IDSA is multi-factor authentication (MFA). MFA adds an additional layer of security by requiring users to provide two or more forms of identification, such as a password and a fingerprint, before they can access sensitive information and systems. The report found that organizations that implement MFA solutions are less likely to experience identity-related breaches.
Another important aspect of identity security is incident response planning. The IDSA’s report found that organizations that have a well-defined incident response plan in place are better able to contain and mitigate the effects of a breach. This includes having policies and procedures in place for identifying and responding to breaches, as well as having the necessary technologies in place to detect and prevent breaches.
The IDSA report also highlights the importance of employee education and awareness. According to the survey responses, organizations that provide regular training to their employees on identity security are better able to protect their digital identities and respond to breaches.
In conclusion, the IDSA’s 2022 Trends in Securing Digital Identities report provides valuable insights into the state of identity security in organizations. The report highlights the growing threat of identity-related breaches and the importance of investing in identity security and implementing best practices to protect digital identities. Multi-factor authentication, incident response planning, and employee education and awareness are key measures recommended by the IDSA to protect digital identities and prevent breaches.
The exponential growth in e-commerce and the impact of the pandemic have fuelled the rise of ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ (BNPL), making it one of the biggest retail trends in 2021. This is set to continue in 2022, with new players entering the market and new partnerships and acquisitions being established. BNPL has largely been driven by consumer appeal, easy availability and the promise of no interest and no fees – if payments are made on time.
It is popular across all demographics for different reasons but has especially gained traction among millennials and Gen Z consumers as a means of financial empowerment. For consumers, it provides an easily accessible method of borrowing, instant gratification, a flexible returns policy and the ability to manage finances by spreading the cost of purchases over an agreed period.
For retailers, it reduces basket abandonment, increases sales and adds stickiness, without any risk. BNPL providers pay merchants up front and issue loans to consumers while bearing all the credit risks and administration costs of running the loan programme. They typically charge the retailer a fee of around 2-7% of the transaction plus a fixed fee, depending on their business model.
If managed correctly, BNPL offerings can be a convenient and cheap way of accessing credit, but late or missed payments can lead to late fees, blocked accounts, bad debt and even impact credit ratings. BNPL company Laybuy revealed that in a six-month period in 2021, almost half their revenue came from late fees. This is revenue gained from people’s inability to pay, and there is growing concern that BNPL practices are leading to financial hardship and debt accumulation in an industry where oversight is needed to protect consumers.
THE GROWTH OF BUY NOW PAY LATER
Research and Markets’ Global Buy Now Pay Later Market Report 2021 forecasts that BNPL spend will grow by 22.4% from 2021 to 2028, reaching over $20 billion by 2028. In the UK, an FCA survey found that the total value of BNPL transactions in 2020 was £2.7 billion and is expected to grow rapidly by 2024. According to UK consumer protection charity Citizens Advice, 45% of people aged 18 to 34 and 31% of those aged 35 to 54 have used BNPL to make purchases in the last year. And the BBC estimates that approximately 15 million adults in the UK are actively using BNPL, an increase of more than 2 million in 2021.
Looking at BNPL provider data, Afterpay found that retailers using their service had a 50 to 200% increase in basket size. Klarna and Affirm reported a 58% and 87% increase in average orders, respectively. Equifax estimates that BNPL users spend 51% more on clothes each month than online shoppers who pay up front. PayPal launched its BNPL service in October 2020 and in one year has processed over £2.5 billion in payments globally.
The data paints a powerful picture. Unprecedented times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to the explosive growth of BNPL at a time when many people were experiencing financial uncertainty and needed an easily accessible form of credit.
THE PROBLEMS FOR CONSUMERS
BNPL clearly fills a gap in the market, and consumers welcome the convenience, flexibility and allure of interest-free credit. However, the rapid growth, with no regulatory framework, has led to a lack of uniformity in the market. The differences in product offerings, terms of use and the many providers and business models can be confusing for consumers. As with other forms of credit, there are risks for consumers, and the BNPL industry must manage these appropriately.
Because the market is currently unregulated, BNPL providers are not obligated to perform full affordability checks on consumers, and users can accumulate debt across multiple lenders. In many cases, users see this as a technology innovation and don’t realise they are taking out a credit agreement and could be referred to debt collectors if payments are missed. Citizens Advice reported that consumers were charged £39 million in late fees over a one-year period. Of those who were referred to a debt collector for missed payments, 96% said there had been negative consequences.
These statistics justify the concern that many consumers are spending more than they can afford on non-essential purchases while unable to pay essential bills, causing spiralling consumer debt. The voices calling for tighter controls and market regulation are getting louder.
THE REGULATORY GAVEL
As concerns about consumer debt increases, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) commissioned a review, led by Christopher Woolard, which found that “BNPL represents significant potential consumer harm”, such as its promotion to consumers, poor consumer understanding of the product, lack of affordability assessments and inconsistent treatment of customers in financial difficulty. The Woolard Review recommended that the industry be regulated to ensure better protection for users, and the FCA is currently undergoing a consultation process to define the regulation framework.
FCA regulation will protect consumers and position BNPL as a sustainable product with more transparency and greater checks for credit risk and affordability, bringing it on par with other credit products, such as credit cards. It will ensure that people are treated fairly and provided with clear information to ensure they can make informed choices about whether they want to use the product. As a credit product, BNPL should be appropriately regulated to protect all users.
Many countries, including the UK, the European Union, the USA, Australia and New Zealand, have raised concerns about consumer debt and are actively looking into passing new regulations for BNPL. I predict that as more data becomes available and the debt crisis rears its ugly head, more countries will follow suit.THE CHANGING FACE OF BNPL
As the market becomes increasingly saturated with major banks, payment schemes and new entrants competing for market share, BNPL growth is extending across markets to banking, luxury retail, travel, hospitality, insurance, trading, healthcare, and the list is growing. Many global retailers are building their own in-house solutions with the aim of protecting their customer base and better controlling the services they provide.
Others are forming partnerships or making acquisitions to build out their own services, such as Amazon’s partnership with Affirm and Square’s acquisition of AfterPay. As competition heats up and the market expands, it becomes even more critical that the industry is regulated and brought in line with other credit products.
Will regulation burst this expanding bubble? Time will tell, but it seems safe to say that it won’t! During the pandemic, BNPL enabled significant strides towards financial inclusion, and its impact should not be underestimated. Yes, regulation will curb over-spending as stronger credit risk and affordability checks are implemented, but consumers will continue to use BNPL because of the convenience it provides.
TECHNOLOGICAL IMPACT OF BNPL REGULATION
Regulation will play a great part in shaping BNPL innovation and the emergence of new technologies and products, which will bring new opportunities and challenges. For businesses to compete and gain sustainable competitive advantage, they must have the right technology to power these products.
For example, to provide a seamless and secure customer experience while also increasing affordability checks to protect consumers and enable them to make informed purchasing decisions, payment fraud systems must have the ability to analyse data in real time and generate accurate credit risk predictions without sacrificing the merchant checkout experience. This will require powerful predictive risk analytics capabilities and machine learning algorithms to develop and test new credit and risk models. Open Banking can play an important part in sharing wage and income data to enable businesses to make more accurate lending decisions and develop bespoke credit offerings.
Consumer demands will accelerate the growth of instalment products as banks and fintechs develop new bespoke and customisable solutions. We are already seeing this with Barclaycard, Monzo and Revolut and even Visa, Mastercard and Amex instalment programs. Big BNPL providers, such as Klarna, AfterPay and Affirm, could use their significant amounts of consumer spend data to develop personalised financial services products and super apps to help consumers better manage their lives.
FINALLY …If regulation can strike a balance between consumer protection and innovation, where the risk of financial hardship is balanced against BNPL benefits, it would certainly have a positive impact on the consumer credit market and beyond. However, regulation will not happen overnight, as the industry will need time to implement compliance requirements and technology changes.What is clear though, is that BNPL innovation is continuing apace across industries, even to trading and cryptocurrency platforms, and there must be the right technology to power these innovations and the appropriate regulatory oversight to protect consumers.
Annmarie is a Payments leader with 25+ years of experience in Payments, Banking, and Fintech. Passionate about payments innovation, she specializes in payments processing, solution delivery, and consultancy. With an MBA in business and expertise in technology, she is a trusted advisor to clients, who appreciate her ‘big picture’ view…
In recent years, the consumption of digital content has experienced a surge in popularity. The main reason for this is the growing number of people who spend most of their time online. And with the widespread adoption of smartphones, tablets, & laptops, people have instant access to an abundance of digital content.
