š CAT Newsletter #209 - 2024-03-03
CAT 209 - 2023-03-03
Hey CATs,
Welcome to issue 209 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
1ļøā£ We had our open organising meeting on Wednesday and we wrote up a summaryĀ here. You can see theĀ full meeting notes in Outline.
2ļøā£ We shared insights from our bi-annual member surveyĀ here.
3ļøā£ We need your help! We're looking for volunteers who can help withĀ content / wiki editing,Ā Slack moderation, orĀ putting together these weekly community news. The volunteering commitment for these can range from 30mins-2h per week. Reach out toĀ @SandraĀ for more.
š Monthly CAT Thank You
š For adding knowledge toĀ Outline:Ā @melissaĀ @Chris PointonĀ @Muriki ManitejaĀ @Clare Tomassian (she/her)Ā @ElisaĀ @mrchrisadamsĀ @Hannah
š° For supporting us financially onĀ Open Collective:Ā @Nic WistreichĀ @Michael NapperĀ @Aydin Mir MohammadiĀ @Ben DoddĀ @PoppeĀ @Thibaud ColasĀ @Mike Gifford (CivicActions)Ā @fershadĀ @ToddĀ @Chris PointonĀ @James CrowleyĀ @Jeff BurkaĀ @asimĀ @HeatherBĀ and all you lovely anonymous CATs
ā¤ļø Ā ForĀ volunteeringĀ within the community:Ā @SiĆ“nĀ @Brett DuboffĀ @ElisaĀ @Åukasz MastalerzĀ @Claire ThornewillĀ @Owen RogersĀ @Tom KennesĀ Ā @AĆÆdaĀ @Caroline SchneiderĀ @Nat DarkeĀ @Clare Tomassian (she/her)Ā @MobolajiĀ @Ben TongueĀ @DanĀ @Angely LizcanoĀ @GaĆ«l DuezĀ @PoppeĀ @Evan HahnĀ @Alja IsakoviÄĀ @Bee FlahertyĀ @Mary MaĀ @Marlo
And a special shout-out to volunteersĀ @HannahĀ who's celebrating herĀ 4-year volunteering anniversaryĀ andĀ @roundcrisisĀ who's celebrating herĀ 3-year volunteering anniversary!
Want to get to know the volunteers?Ā Check out the volunteer profiles on our blog
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: Are we running out of oil?
People used to be really worried about peak oil ā what happened? And does it matter if we run out?
Editor's Note: for a 7 minute long video this is really well researched and slick synthesis of mamy of the really interesting mid-transition issues, as demand for fossil fuels peaks in various parts of the world.
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 234. Farmer Protests:
This week, our hosts discuss the global farmers' protests, what's behind them, how they are being co-opted by right leaning populist parties as an 'anti-net zero' rhetoric and what needs to be done to support both farmers and the planet to thrive. Given how essential food production and distribution is to our survival, this is an issue that needs our full attention and global cooperation!
Catalyst with Shayle Khan: Building a CDR portfolio
The carbon removal market could reach $400 billion to $1.6 trillion by 2050, according to McKinsey. But it's got a long way to go. For now, brave buyers have to wade into the wilds and see what works. So what does that look like ā and what have they learned so far? In this episode, Shayle talks to Stacy Kauk, head of sustainability at Shopify, which paid $55 million for 85,000 tons of removal in 2023. Kauk says that very few of those credits have been delivered yet, but the company, along with a few other early entrants like Stripe, H&M, and Microsoft, are investing in a varied field of technologies to develop the market.
The Big Switch: Part 1: Are Batteries the New Oil?
In this episode, we explore the stakes of the battery-based transition. We'll open up a lithium-ion battery, investigate what's inside it, and ask whether critical minerals will look anything like oil. This is the first episode of a five-part series exploring the lithium-ion battery supply chain. In the next four episodes, we'll cover each step of the process, from mining to recycling.
Environment Variables: This Week In Green Software - Anne Currie and Asim Hussein
This week, Chris Adams is joined by Asim Hussain and Anne Currie to discuss the latest developments in Green Software and digital sustainability. They cover the Green Software Maturity Max, the newly announced tech carbon standard, newly published research on the growing energy demand of AI and datacentres and more.
See also the shownotes and transcript on github, where PR are gratefully accepted.
Greenio #33 - Is open source and sustainability a perfect match? with Oliver Cronk and Katie Davis
ļøIn this episode, Gael Duez unravels the intricate relationship between open source software and IT sustainability together with Oliver Cronk, the host of Architect Tomorrow podcast and Sustainable Technology practice lead at Scott Logic (UK), alongside his software engineer colleague Katie Davis.Ā
š”Discover how open source software (OSS) and hardware (OSH) are not just benefiting companies, but also driving global sustainability efforts.
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.
Wed Mar 06 2024 - Business & Open SDGs data - A Hack Day
Wikirate is celebrating Open Data Day at its Berlin offices on March 6, with a hackathon investigating how German companies contribute to SDGs. The event is open to everyone passionate about sustainability, including developers who can leverage Wikirate's API.
Thu Mar 07 2024 - Working in Sustainable Tech: Smart Energy for Homes
This month's free WiST call is exploring how innovative companies within the UK are providing energy and heating to homes in ways that are not only cost effective, but kind to our planet too.
With guests Thomas Farquhar from Heatio and Tim Wright from Carno
Check #external-events in the CAT slack for more.
Tue Mar 19 2024 - Scaphandre & Boavizta - A journey across the environmental materiality of digital services
This talk is about the state of the art of the environmental impacts assessment of digital services based on the open-source and open-data assets co-constructed over the last three years in open source communities, research networks and public and private organizations.
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/
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š° News Highlights
As an experiment, we're trying a new format for new highlights this week. We'll add a line explaining why the story is interesting, followed by a an intro of quote from the piece. Let us know if it helps!
NY Times: China's Electric Vehicles Are Going to Hit Detroit Like a Wrecking Ball
It happened very quickly, so fast that you might not have noticed it. Over the past few months, America's Big Three automakers ā Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the oddly named company that owns Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep ā landed in big trouble. Big Three found themselves outmaneuvered and missing their goals for electric vehicle sales at the same time that a crop of new affordable, electrified foreign cars appeared, ready to flood the global market. About a decade ago, America bailed out the Big Three and swore it wouldn't do that again. But the federal government is going to have to help the Big Three and the rest of the U.S. car market again very soon
Nature: Generative AI's environmental costs are soaring ā and mostly secret
Kate Crawford on the challenges of obtaining meaningful information about AI resource usage, new laws in the US being drafted in response, and the options available to mitigate the growing footprint of
World's first year-long breach of key 1.5C warming limit
For the first time, global warming has exceeded 1.5C across an entire year, according to the EU's climate service. World leaders promised in 2015 to try to limit the long-term temperature rise to 1.5C, which is seen as crucial to help avoid the most damaging impacts. This first year-long breach doesn't break that landmark Paris agreement, but it does bring the world closer to doing so in the long-term. Urgent action to cut carbon emissions can still slow warming, scientists say.
Latitude Media: Data center construction is rising to meet demand
In light of the rise of artificial intelligence, the demand for data center capacity soared in 2023. And ā much to the alarm of many who read the International Energy Agency's recent report on the subject ā its dramatic growth is only expected to continue.Ā Of the country's most popular markets, North Virginia had the most megawatts under construction, but Atlanta's growth was most dramatic; the region will more than double its current capacity with the construction underway in the latter half of the year. Editor's note: check the charts in this piece are particularly eye-watering.
DatacenterDynamics: latform.sh to give cloud users a discount for using greener data center
Platform.sh, a platform for building, running and scaling web applications, is offering customers a discount based on how "green" the data center they use is. Customers will have access to a three percent 'greener region discount' when using a data center that consumes electricity that is less than 100gCOāe/kWh.
Adweek: Greenwashing Crackdown Begins on EU Brands Making Vague Eco Claims
European brands and companies will no longer be able to cite weak claims of carbon offsetting as regulations to battle greenwashing practices are tightened. The move could also be seen as a warning of things to come for U.S. companies.Ā U.K. regulator the Financial Conduct Authority published its proposed anti-greenwashing guidanceĀ at the end of last year, set to come into force May 31.
Household Money Saving: Free electricity from Octopus with Power-ups: How does it work?
Octopus Energy has introduced Power-ups, a way to get free electricity into your home. But who is eligible to join and how does it work? Editors note: this is a good explainer of the new free energy when the grid is very green scheme. For more details see the discussion in the CAT slack.
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.
TransitionZero - Product Owner - 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 Owner will work collaboratively with the Head of Product on our energy systems modelling software to collate, analyse, prioritise and translate requirements into user stories and detailed specifications for implementation by front-end and back-end development teams.
Icebreaker One - Senior Project Manager - Perseus - Up to Ā£550/day - Contract - 2.5 days/wk to December 2024 - Totally remote
There are more than 5.9 million Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, accounting for an estimated Ā£2.3 trillion in turnover. However, there is not yet a standard for SMEs to follow when reporting greenhouse gas emissions. Perseus is developing whole-of-market solutions to create rapidly scalable, low-effort, low-friction sustainability reporting. As part of this work, Bankers for Net Zero (B4NZ) and Icebreaker One are running Steering, Advisory and Working Groups in 2024 to inform the development of an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data ecosystem which accelerates the transition to net zero. The Senior Project Manager will play a key role in ensuring we meet our goal of a working pilot implementation by the end of 2024. Applications close 9am UK time, March 4.
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.
Elemental Excelerator - Senior Investment Analyst - $67,100 - $108,300 - Permanent - Flexible - remote ok
Elemental is looking for a highly organized, experienced, and mission-driven individual to join the Portfolio Team. The Senior Investment Analyst will play a crucial role in identifying, evaluating, and supporting investments in climate tech companies. The successful candidate will be responsible for conducting thorough due diligence, financial analysis, market research, and providing strategic insights to drive investment decisions that align with our mission and goals. For this position, we are looking for an individual with strong financial acumen and a demonstrated passion for working with climate companies who can support our due diligence efforts on startups working across the full stack of climate tech financing options, including venture capital, debt and equity financing, and project finance.
Global Witness - Senior Data Investigations Advisor - Ā£53,856 - Permanent -
Are you looking for an opportunity to put your data skills to use in the fight against climate change? The climate and human rights NGO Global Witness is looking for a new Senior Data Investigation Advisor to work closely with our Forests campaign.
Our Data Investigators have used a diverse range of tools and techniques, including data visualisation, data analysis, bots, and interactive storytelling, to highlight the role the role of corporations in worsening the climate crisis. The role will find engaging and robust ways of analysing and presenting the results from financial and deforestation data. Our Data Investigators have worked with the Forests team to produce reports such as Banks, Beef and the Brazilian Amazon, and tools such as our Brazil Big Beef Watch bot.
Technical University of Berlin - Research Software Engineer for Open Source PyPSA Energy System Modelling Tool - E13 TV-L (4188-6037 ā¬/month gross, depending on experience) - Contract - Flexible - remote ok
You will help develop Python for Power System Analysis (PyPSA), one of the leading open source energy modelling frameworks. PyPSA is used around the world by various research institutes, network operators, consultancies, governmental and non-governmental organisations to understand future energy infrastructure requirements for reaching climate neutrality.
The position is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) via its research software funding initiative. You will perform regular software maintenance tasks, improve the user-friendliness of the PyPSA toolbox, work towards enhanced test coverage and better validation of all functionality, develop new functionality to improve accessibility, extend training materials and documentation, review and integrate community contributions, support the user and developer communities, simplify and refactor parts of the code base, prepare new software releases, and organise annual user meetings.
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.
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