š CAT Newsletter #190 - 2023-10-01
CAT 190 - 2023-10-01
Hey CATs,
Welcome to issue 190 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
āļø From the blog
CAT volunteer profile:Ā Check out Elisa's story hereĀ & learn about her work and volunteering in her community, how she's practicing sustainable tech, what's happening in London, and what keeps her motivated. Thank you @Elisa for sharing your story and volunteering at CAT!
#ļøā£ Slack channel highlights
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#films-books-media: Alja shared aĀ video about planetary boundariesĀ with the disclaimer that it's both great food for thought but also a mini existential crisis. Watched it?Ā Share what you learned
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#greener-infra: Chris is looking for a few folks to fact-check aĀ sheetĀ calculating how many Apple handsets were obsoleted each year, and the CO2e that represents.Ā Reply in the thread
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#climate-justice: Emily shared a quote from the Mozilla Foundationās announcement for funding around AIās relationship with our current climate emergency. Would you apply? What ideas come to mind?Ā Share your thoughts
š Local happenings: CATs met up inĀ #local-austriaĀ andĀ #local-aotearoaĀ last week,Ā Benoit shared a French infra-related article inĀ #local-france, folks in theĀ #local-netherlandsĀ shared protest experiences, Roisin wants to see some folks getting active inĀ #local-ireland, and Lennart asked about the best frequency of regular CAT meetups inĀ #local-munich!
š Online CAT events for the rest of the year
ā¶ļø Tue, Oct 3 - Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania:Ā Watch Party: Workplace organising in the tech industry
ā¶ļø Thu, Nov 2 - Americas, Europe, Africa:Ā Watch Party: Workplace organising in the tech industry
š Tue, Nov 21 - Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania:Ā CAT 2023 ā year in review and celebrationĀ (share your 2023 project/win/actionĀ here)
š Thu, Dec 14 - Americas, Europe, Africa:Ā CAT 2023 ā year in review and celebrationĀ (share your 2023 project/win/actionĀ here)
A few upcoming local events were shared inĀ #local-vancouver,Ā #local-spain,Ā #local-ottawa,Ā #local-oregon,Ā #local-new-york,Ā #local-italy, andĀ #local-australia!
š© Community networking
Our next round ofĀ #cat-rouletteĀ matches will go out onĀ Fri, Oct 13! Join the channel, pick your region andĀ DonutĀ matches you with other channel members every other week! More info
š± A cutting from Branch
Labor: How tech worker organizing intersects with climate action
Worker-led initiatives and broader coalitions are challenging and transforming the tech industryās relationship with social and environmental justice issues. In doing so, they are building on longer histories of worker organizing. In this piece, we highlight a few examples of grassroots efforts for collective action and environmental justice in and beyond Silicon Valley.
š¬ CAT videos
CAT videos, geddit? 10-15 minute videos providing accessible explainers to climate related issues.
Vox: How to fight climate change with parking lots
President Biden set a goal for the US to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, leading to increased solar panel production. However, there's a new issue: finding suitable land. One solution is using parking lots, explored by solar photovoltaics researcher Joshua Pearce. He discusses the benefits and potential for widespread implementation in the US, following France's lead in retrofitting parking spaces with solar panels.
ā Looking for volunteers
š CAT online event volunteer ā¢ minimum 2hrs / month
Help organise and/or run our online events. You can sign up to do this for just a few months or stick around for longer.
šĀ CAT Submitted Events
Want an event listed here? Use this event listing form to submit the details so we can add it in the newsletter.
Wed Oct 04 2023 - Evergreen DeepTech Expo
]Wednesday, October 4th, Evergreen Climate Innovations will be hosting the DeepTech Expo! Join us to discover new impactful climate technologies, network with innovators, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders, and hear the latest on the regionās thriving innovation ecosystem.
Tue Oct 10 2023 - Kubernetes for Sustainability ā Energy Monitoring with Kepler
More and more building blocks are evolving Kubernetes into a platform for running climate-friendly and resource-efficient software. In this talk by Parul, we will learn how to use Kepler, to measure and monitor power consumption inside and outside Kubernetes clusters.
Wed Oct 11 2023 - Tech meets sustainable clothing - hybrid event
Join us for our hybrid event with great talks combining tech and sustainability. The event theme is tech meets clothing, with three brilliant speakers based in the South West - Tim Kindberg from Sust and Jen Wagner & Gary Lake from LAYBL.
Wed Oct 11 2023 - IEA: Government and Industry Exchange on Data Centres and Energy Efficiency
The IEAās Digital Demand-Driven Electricity Networks (3DEN) Initiative and the Energy Efficiency Hub are bringing together speakers from the firms like Google, Microsoft, NGOs like Green Web Foundation, and leaders in the public sector to discuss how to curb emissions from data centres.
Thu Oct 12 2023 - Sustainability in Tech
The inaugural Sustainability in Tech meetup in Melbourne. Join me for a discussion on Sustainable Practices in Tech and Software. Discover how you can make a positive difference and become part of the climate solution!
Check #external-events in the CAT slack for more.
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
Environment Variables: The Week in Green Software - Cleaner Energy with Molly Webb
TWiGS host Chris Adams is joined by guest Molly Webb from Energy Unlocked for another week in Green Software. In this episode, they cover a surprising move by Apple to come out publicly in support of Right to Repair, and the questions this raises, as well as news from W3Cās first draft of Wed Sustainability Guidelines, and recent stats from the Irish government that Datacentres in Ireland use as much metered power as all the cities in Ireland.
Zero: How to keep fossil fuels in the ground, from the boardroom
Brynn OāBrien, head of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility not only reads corporate climate plans, she crunches the numbers. When they donāt add up, she calls her friends who manage trillions of dollars in assets and they all ask to speak to the manager. In this episode, Bryn makes the case to host Akshat Rathi that it's possible to harness the forces of capitalism to be a solution for tackling climate change rather than continuing to worsen it. She explains where she's used the process successfully before, and lays out a playbook for others to adopt.
Outrage and Optimism: 215. Hungry For Alternatives
With the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunakās recent announcement that he plans to āroll backā Net Zero commitments, coupled with the disturbing rise of global populist politicians choosing to hack the climate crisis conversation, our hosts Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson, ask: why, and why now, are these leaders choosing to act against the scientific consensus and hit the brakes on progress? Tune in this week to hear the hostsā lively and insightful analysis on this worrying trend in global politics.
š° News Highlights
Gothamist: Why it rained so hard Friday: Ophelia returned to hit NYC with an Ida-level storm
The recent floods in New York city this week have attracted a lot of media coverage, but this explainer post from Gothamist, provides useful context, outlining how and why recent changes in the climate made the impacts so much more dramatic.
Axios: Feds urged by Biden to widen use of "social cost" on climate change
President Biden wants muscular federal use of a social cost of carbon, a key metric that estimates damages from each added ton of greenhouse gases emitted to inform federal policymaking. This might shake up big decisions, but it depends on how it's implemented, how fast, and who's in the Oval Office Note: The social cost of carbon was 41 USD under Obama, 1 USD under Trump, is 50 around USD now, and rumoured to be set as high as 190 USD in the coming months.
Reuters: Shell CEO comes under pressure from within on recent retreat from renewables
CEO Wael Sawan has come under pressure over his strategy from within the energy company after two employees issued a rare open letter urging him not to scale back investments in renewable energy, sparking an internal debate. The open letter, posted earlier this month on Shell's internal web and seen by Reuters this week, comes after Sawan outlined at an investor day in June plans to slow investment in renewables and low-carbon business as part of a strategy to boost returns.
Economist: Ctrl + Shift + Green - The role of IT leaders in navigating net zero
Amidst a global climate crisis, companies are responding to growing calls from regulators, investors, clients and the public to align with crucial net-zero targets. This research aims to shed light on the role of IT leaders in Europe, given the carbon footprint of enterprise technology, and this report delves into how the broader shift to net zero is impacting IT corporate leaders and explores their core challenges on the path to net zero.
Electrek: Volvo Cars announces it will phase out diesel engine production next year
Volvoās last diesel-powered car will roll out next year as the Swedish automaker looks toward an all-electric future. As one of the first legacy automakers to do so, Volvo is rapidly transitioning its lineup with a full slate of EVs. Diesel-powered vehicles accounted for the majority of Volvoās sales in 2019. Last year, just 8.9% of Volvoās sales were from diesel, while fully electric or hybrid vehicles represented the majority.
Euronews: France will launch a ā¬49 rail pass after the success of the āDeutschlandticketā
France is set to launch a low-cost rail pass next summer. The new ā¬49 pass will offer passengers unlimited travel on TER regional services and intercity trains. It follows on the success of Germanyās popular ā¬49 public transport ticket.
Carbon Brief: In-depth Q&A: Can ācarbon offsetsā help to tackle climateĀ change?
In this in-depth Q&A, Carbon Brief explains what offsets are, how they are being used by businesses and nations, and why they can be a problematic climate solution. The article also explores the ways carbon offsets could be improved and reformed.
š¼Ā 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.
Alder & Co. - MID-SENIOR COPYWRITER - $70k-$90k depending on experience - Contract-to-hire - Totally remote
Alder is a woman- and minority-owned strategic brand marketing agency focused exclusively on climate tech. By joining Alder as a copywriter, you'll help our clients scale their impact and propel your career in marketing for mission-driven companies and learn from the best in our industry.
AimHi Earth - Engineering Lead - Climate EdTech - Ā£65,000 - Permanent - Totally remote
We combine technology and digital experience design to deliver scalable online experiences that rapidly shift mindsets and behaviours, upskilling and empowering people to take ownership and transform complex systems. We are seeking an ingenious, diligent and imaginative Engineering Lead to join us as a co-traveller on our own mission to protect the natural systems of Planet Earth. Youāll be joining us at an exciting and formative time, as weāre finalising a significant fundraise. Given the right qualities, we hope for this role to evolve into a CTO position with us.
Ecosia - Platform Engineer - ā¬62,000 to ā¬76,000 - Permanent - Flexible - remote ok
We are looking for a Platform Engineer (all genders) with expertise in cloud-native application development and in developer experience best practices to join us remotely or in our Berlin office. As an engineer on our remote-first (comfortable working within and adjacent to the CET time zone) Platform team, you will improve & scale Ecosiaās cloud infrastructure and make development frictionless and operationally safe.
Elemental Excelerator - Director of Innovation (Industry & Water) - $97,400 - $163,500 USD - Permanent - Flexible - remote ok
For this position, we are looking for an individual who can help develop a set of investment themes, recruit companies, design projects, manage deliverables and reporting, provide thought partnerships on portfolio company strategy, and work with the other Directors of Innovation across sectors and organization functions. This role will focus on Elementalās companies across the industry, drinking water and wastewater portfolios, and will report to the Managing Director, Portfolio.
Icebreaker One - Core - Project Support - cĀ£28k - Permanent - Totally remote
Non-profit Icebreaker Oneās mission is to make data work harder to deliver net-zero outcomes. This role will support the delivery of projects through working closely with the Programme Director, Senior Project Manager and Account Manager. It involves liaising and collaborating with other members of Icebreaker One to help ensure the successful delivery of IB1ās research and development projects.
Icebreaker One - Project Manager (Strategic Innovation Projects) - Up to Ā£500/day - Contract: 2 days/wk, ASAP - March 2024 - Totally remote
Non-profit Icebreaker Oneās mission is to make data work harder to deliver net-zero outcomes. This role will liaise and collaborate to help set up and run our wider project management work as well as ensure the successful delivery of our R&D services.