š CAT Newsletter 212 - 2023-03-24
Hey CATs,
Welcome to issue 212 of the ClimateAction.tech (CAT) Newsletter - your weekly summary of what's happening inside the CAT community, and in the wider world of climate and tech. New to CAT or looking to re-discover the community? Try outĀ our onboarding checklist.
Remember you can unsubscribe from this newsletter at any time - the link is at the bottom.
Stay safe & healthy š š š±
CAT Community News
š§ Knowledge base nosedive
Films, Books, Media: Log into the CAT knowledge base with your CAT Slack account to quickly browse climate-related reading/watching/listening recommendations. And help a fellow CAT learn something new by adding your own recommendations.
š CAT events
Thu, Mar 28 - CAT Group Discussion:Ā Sometimes it feels like every climate solution has a dozen obstacles or negative side effects or it's too small to make a difference. What's a climate advocate to do? In our next discussion group, we'll exploreĀ how different parts of the climate movement can work together and be more effective. Feel free to invite friends who are activists and advocates in other groups! Next Thursday, March 28, 2pm UTC / 10am ET :Ā RSVP on Meetup
Thu, Mar 28 - Munich [in person]:Ā See more in ourĀ #local-munichĀ channel
Fri, May 17 - Zurich [in person]:Ā Zurich hackathonĀ (for more info seeĀ Fiona's message on Slack)
Other local events are being planned inĀ #local-austriaĀ and were shared inĀ #local-san-francisco-bay-area,Ā #local-london,Ā #local-canada,Ā #local-east-asiaĀ andĀ #local-southeast-asia
š© Community networking
Get to know other CATs and make some friends in the community.Ā Every 2 weeks, we match 2-3 CATs so you can connect over a quick 30-minute call. Simply joinĀ #cat-roulette, pick your region and wait for a message fromĀ DonutĀ about your match! Our next round of matches will go out onĀ Fri, Mar 29. More info
Media, events, and news
šŗ CAT recommendations
š± A cutting from Branch
Open call for Branch Issue 8 (Spring 2024)
The open call for Branch magazine has closed! Remember though - there are still 7 issues worth on Branch website that have been created over the years, all ready for you to read. The site design is an open source wordpress theme, and pull requests are accepted. There a handful of issues open on the github repo for the Branch theme, so if you know your way around wordpress they may be of interest.
ā¶ļø CAT videos
10-15 minute videos providing accessible explainers to climate related issues.
Planet A: The truth about LNG
More and more gigantic tankers carrying LNG, liquefied natural gas, are crisscrossing the oceans ā and we're building infrastructure to trade ever larger amounts. But shouldn't we be moving AWAY from fossil fuels?
š¤Ā Podcasts
The latest climate-related podcast episodes. Don't forget, if you're looking around, there's a list of podcasts maintained by CATs
Outrage and Optimism 237: Our Story of Nature: From Rupture to Reconnection - Over to You!
This week, our hosts are rejoined by the incredible Isabel Cavelier Adarve. Tune in to hear them answer some of the brilliant questions listeners sent in following Christianaās and Isaās launch of their masterful recent mini-series, Our Story of Nature: From Rupture to Reconnection. Christiana, Isabel, Tom and Paul muse on an intriguing range of questions from āhow to teach citizens and governments about natureā to ācould bioliteracy transform thingsā? The hosts dive deep into philosophical questions about the role of religion, and more prosaic ones about supermarket
Catalyst with Shayle Khan: Digging into the SEC climate disclosure rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved new rules this month on what information companies must disclose about their greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, but notably dropped more stringent requirements that the commission initially proposed. Despite being halted by lawsuits, the rules are a significant win for climate transparency. In this episode, Shayle talks to Mallory Thomas, risk advisory partner at consulting and accounting firm Baker Tilly US, to learn what it means.
The Big Switch: Part 4 - The Great Battery Manufacturing Race
China has been the world's biggest battery manufacturer for over a decade. Chinese companies got in the game early, building an industry from scratch in the 2000s. By 2022, according to the IEA, China manufactured 76% of the world's batteries. But thatās changing. In this episode, weāre exploring the rapid buildout of factories to support the battery economy. Weāll tour a lithium-ion battery factory in upstate NY to see how batteries are made at scale. And we ask where a small US factory fits into a global battery market dominated by China.
Environment Variables: Nowcasting and Using Computers to Reduce Emissions
In this episode of Environment Variables, host Chris Adams is joined by Rachel Tipton, a full stack developer at Open Climate Fix, to delve into the intersection of AI, green software, and electricity infrastructure. Rachel emphasizes the increasing demand for electricity due to factors like server centers, EVs, and electrification efforts. They explore the concept of carbon awareness and its implications for software development, shedding light on the complexities of optimizing energy consumption and reducing carbon emissions. Through Rachel's journey into coding and her work at Open Climate Fix, listeners gain insights into the critical role of technology in decarbonizing the electricity grid and mitigating climate change.
ļø
š Submitted events
Want an event listed here? Use this event listing form to submit the details so we can add it in the newsletter.
Mon Mar 25 2024 - Climate Career Week
5 days. 20+ online events. All to help you work in climate. All free.
Discover how your career can help solve climate change through five days of free virtual workshops, panels, networking events, and more.
See the whole schedule from March 25-29th at ClimateCareerWeek.org
Tue Mar 26 2024 - London Climate Meetup
šæ Working in climate or sustainability? š Meet and network others working in climate š¤ Mentor or share your experience and advise others š Looking for your next opportunity?
Come support and network with current & future climate professionals on their journeys š
Thu Apr 04 2024 - UK #GovClimate Show and Tell
This monthly show and tell is for people working in the UK public sector. It's low key and friendly - 2 to 3 speakers, 5 minutes each + short Q&As. It's for sharing progress, struggles, questions, half-finished-things. See you there!
Thu Apr 18 2024 - Green IO Singapore
The go-to conference where responsible technologists based in South-East Asia can get the latest insights from thought leaders in Tech Sustainability and hands-on feedback from practitioners scaling Green IT.
Thu Apr 25 2024 - Eco Compute 2024
Discover EcoCompute, the first engineering conference on sustainability in hardware & software! Join us in Munich on April 25-26 at the House of Communication. Immerse in cutting-edge talks, connect with industry leaders, explore practical solutions. https://www.eco-compute.io
Thu Apr 25 2024 - The Future of Renewable Energy: Tech Innovations Driving the Energy Transition (Panel & Happy Hour)
Meet with other Bay Area leaders and builders to talk about the emerging technologies driving our energy transition. This event is part of SF Climate Week, highlighting renewable energy and the digital products, services, and software underlying green solutions for our climate.
Fri May 17 2024 - Climate Solutions Intensive ā A two-day deep dive into strategy, scenarios, and systems thinking (California)
The course delves into climate solutions, impacts, and system structures. Gain clarity on high-leverage actions you or your team can take to address the climate and equity challenges, using En-ROADSāa global simulator Climate Interactive co-developed with MIT
š° News Highlights
Nature: Climate models can't explain 2023's huge heat anomaly ā we could be in uncharted territory
Taking into account all known factors, the planet warmed 0.2 Ā°C more last year than climate scientists expected. Director of NASAās Goddard Institute for Space Studies, on why more and better data are urgently needed.
Axios: Uber launches data feature for "emissions savings"
Uber just unveiled app features that give riders data on carbon dioxide emissions avoided, if they use electric vehicle and hybrid options.
Reuters Exclusive: Gulf oil giants Saudi Aramco, Adnoc set sights on lithium
Reuters on the news of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates' national oil companies plans to extract lithium from brine in their oilfields, in line with efforts to diversify their economies and profit from the shift to electric vehicles.
New York Times: Biden Administration Announces Rule Aimed at Expanding Electric Vehicles
The Biden administration on Wednesday issued one of the most significant climate regulations in the nationās history, a rule designed to ensure that the majority of new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the United States are all-electric or hybrids by 2032. Nearly three years in the making, the new tailpipe pollution limits from the Environmental Protection Agency would transform the American automobile market.
Datacenter dynamics: Emissions reporting scheme for European data centers approved
A new reporting scheme for European data centers that aims to help track their sustainability efforts has been adopted by the European Commission. It applies to all data centers larger than 500kW, and will require operators to report factors such as floor area, installed power, data volumes, energy consumption, PUE, temperature set points, waste heat utilization, water usage, and use of renewable energy.
ClimateActionTech: Sustainability, a surprisingly successful KPI: GreenOps survey results
The findings from the first project supported by the CAT mini-grant fund is live, in the form of research you can use to share about how a drive to incorporating an awareness of climate manifests in the work of technologists. For the nerds: The underlying questions and data are linked for your own analysis too.
The survey got 2,680 responses from all corners of the globe, covering a diverse range of roles.Ā The results make fascinating reading, highlighting changing priorities, evolving motivations, and importantly showcasing how personal commitments and ethical beliefs are beginning to shape the future of IT.Ā
Jobs
Remember only jobs listing salary ranges are listed here - to get your job listed, you need to list a salary range. Folks can still look in the #jobs channel.
TransitionZero - Product Manager - Ā£ 44,286.17 - Ā£51,808.55 - Permanent - Onsite only
We are a climate analytics not-for-profit established in 2021. We're building easy to use energy transition modelling software to give governments, businesses and investors the tools to understand and decide how to transition to carbon free energy. The Product Manager will work collaboratively with the Head of Product on the product strategy and roadmap for our energy systems modelling software. A key aspect of the role will be to drive usage of and engagement with the product.
Twist - Senior Fullstack Dev - 75-90k - Permanent - Totally remote
Twist is a software company that is helping unlock financing sustainable assets and innovative business models. Think electric truck, heat pumps and batteries. Our role is to assist banks in effectively deploying debt capital towards these ventures. By compiling comprehensive risk and environmental data, we enable banks to accurately assess, monitor and simulate both the risk and impact of their investments. Read about our mission here.
We are looking for a Full Stack Developer to join our small team to help build the Twist platform. You'll be part of a core team that's responsible for the full software development life cycle, from conception to deployment. We need a candidate who is comfortable owning and running what they build. We're looking for someone whose comfortable with some or all of the technologies we use.
Marble - Founder in Residence, Geothermal Anywhere - 2.5-3K per month - Contract - Flexible - remote ok
Dive into the geothermal revolution and help unlock clean, sustainable energy for our planet. We're on the hunt for entrepreneurial engineers/scientists from geothermal, oil & gas, or similar sectors. If you're passionate about innovation and ready to explore cutting-edge approaches to power the net zero economy, we want you.
Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF) - One - $100-$130k commensurate w/experience - Permanent - Flexible - remote ok
SELF finances climate resiliency, renewable energy, clean transportation, and water conservation projects. SELF is leveraging technology to expand its Green Home Loan program across the United States.
Elemental Excelerator - Senior Director of Financial Planning and Analysis - $125,000 to $238,000 / year - Permanent - Flexible - remote ok
Elemental is seeking an experienced and forward-thinking financial planning and analysis professional to join our team. This new team member will be an innovative, collaborative, and communicative problem solver who understands the leverage to be gained from financial data in driving organizational results.This newly crafted role will develop and lead new financial processes and analyses in order to substantially scale our team and impact.
This position will report to the Chief Financial Officer. The role will be tasked with developing financial plans and reports that serve all of the various units within the organization including philanthropic fund development, government grant management, and the portfolio company investment operation.
ExpectAI - Full Stack Engineer & Data Scientist - Ā£35-45K, commensurate with experience - Permanent -
Join me in building ExpectAI's climate action platform that enables our customers to find and take profitable decarbonisation actions with confidence
Icebreaker One - Trust Framework Solutions Architect - Up to Ā£500/day - Contract - 3 days/wk until Dec 2024 - Totally remote
Icebreaker One is a UK-headquartered non-profit working to improve data sharing between organisations in order to accelerate the transition to net zero. Inspired by the explosion of financial service innovation brought about by Open Banking, we are applying the same model, known as a Trust Framework, to collaboratively design, govern and operate secure data sharing infrastructure across the economy. The Trust Framework Solutions Architect will help organisations from startups to PLCs understand and participate in these ecosystems from a technical perspective.
Building Atlas - Multiple - 45,000 - 85,000 GBP - Permanent -
We are Building Atlas. Our vision is a fully sustainable commercial real estate sector. 11% of global energy and process emissions ā ca. 3 Gt CO2/year ā come from the operation of commercial buildings. Almost all buildings existing today require electrification and efficiency upgrades in order to decarbonise.
Our mission is to drive the decarbonisation of commercial real estate through rapidly scaling building retrofits: the most sustainable building is the one that already exists. With a zero-touch approach, requiring nothing but the addresses of buildings and filling the data gaps with advanced machine learning, we help owners of commercial real estate portfolios: (1) find the best path to retrofitting their buildings; (2) avoid stranding risk and increase the value of their assets; (3) and get access to preferential financing and delivery partners to get the work done.
Support our work
You can support us financially onĀ Open Collective.