🌍 CAT Newsletter 239 - 2024-09-29
👉 Latest newsletter
CAT 239 - 2024-09-29
Hey CATs,
Welcome to issue 239 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 out our onboarding checklist.
Remember you can unsubscribe from this newsletter at any time - the link is at the bottom.
Stay safe & healthy 😌 💚 🐱
CAT Community News
✏️ From the blog
In our latest post we share highlights from Green IO London - where CATs spoke about climate & tech on stage, promoted the community at our shared booth, and got the chance to meet each other in person. Read our summary of what we learned about digital sustainability, AI, and taking climate action at work. If you attended the event, head to #local-london to share learnings & reflections!
🧠 Knowledge base deepdive
Climate courses, programs, and degrees: Are you looking to upskill or take a climate deep dive? Log into the CAT knowledge base with your CAT Slack account to explore this list of climate-related courses recommended by CAT members. If you see anything missing, add your contribution directly to the page and help a fellow CAT learn something new.
#️⃣ Slack channel highlights
#3-questions-and-ideas: L is asking for tips on one question to ask in a job interview at a biggish tech company, whose sustainability report was underwhelming. The goal is to show interest, and learn something useful. Share your idea in the thread
#culture-society: S shared a podcast episode about degrowth in this post, Have a listen and share your take-aways in the thread!
📅 CAT events
Tue, Oct 15 - London [in-person]: Code Green London x CAT Meetup (more info in #local-london)
Note: We are closing our MeetUp account (more on this decision in our notes from our Open Meeting in July). Where can you go to find upcoming CAT events? We'll continue to announce CAT events right here as well as in #4-cat-events. Also keep an eye on your #local channel to find any informal or formal events where you can meet fellow CATs.
🍩 Community networking
Every 2 weeks, we match 2-3 CATs so you can connect over a quick 30-minute call. Simply join #cat-roulette, pick your region and wait for a message from Donut about your match! Our next round of matches will go out on Fri, Oct 4th. More info
Media, events, and news
😺 CAT recommendations
🌱 A cutting from Branch issue 8
The perfect data paradox
"If you don't want to be a pioneer, these reasons for avoiding using imperfect data will serve you well. They are answers that are routinely used when lobbying, when answering customer demands for emissions data and when satisfying your investors.
But, if you hear them, or you're thinking about speaking them – remember that there are others who have already chosen solutions over avoidance, and there are many more lining up behind them. "
▶️ CAT videos
10-15 minute videos providing accessible explainers to climate related issues.
Planet A: How Singapore solved its looming water crisis ?
In Singapore, water supply impacted wars, the economy and people's health. Now, one of the most water-stressed countries is teaching the world how to handle water when there is hardly any.
🎤 Podcasts
The latest climate-related podcast episodes. Don't forget, if you're looking around, there's a list of podcasts maintained by CATs
Volts: A new way to retrofit old buildings ... from the outside
In this episode, I geek out with David Goldstein, founder of Hydronic Shell Technologies, about a novel building retrofit technology that wraps old multifamily structures in insulated panels with built-in HVAC systems. Goldstein's approach allows for energy-efficient upgrades without interior disruption, potentially solving a major challenge in building decarbonization.
Zero: Inside the race to open the world's first nuclear fusion power plant
Scientists have been trying to understand — and mimic — the way the sun produces energy for centuries. But recreating the energy-generating process of nuclear fusion here on Earth presents an array of technical challenges. Bob Mumgaard, CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, began working on some of those challenges as a doctoral student at MIT. Now backed by more than $2 billion, CFS is well on its way to making the long-held dream of nuclear fusion a reality. On this week's Zero, Mumgaard breaks down the science behind CFS's bagel-shaped tokamak reactor, and explains why he believes the nuclear fusion industry is just getting started.
Catalyst with Shayle Khan: Hunting for geologic hydrogen
Hydrogen has two big problems: cost and supply. As a low-carbon feedstock, it could decarbonize planes, industry, and power plants. It could even replace the oil in plastics and chemicals.
But the leading contenders for low-carbon hydrogen production — like using zero-carbon power for electrolysis and methane pyrolysis — just haven't cut it yet. So far, the price points are too high and the scale of production is too low to spur a hydrogen revolution.
But instead of synthesizing hydrogen, what if we pumped naturally-occurring hydrogen reservoirs out of the ground, instead of drilling for oil and natural gas?
Environment Variables: Making Testbeds for Carbon Aware Computing
Host Chris Adams is joined by special guest Philipp Wiesner, a research associate and PhD student at TU Berlin, to discuss how computing systems can better align energy consumption with clean energy availability. Contributing to Project Vessim, Philipp explains how researchers are now able to model different energy consumption scenarios, from solar and wind power integration to the complexities of modern grids despite the scarcity of available testing environments. They discuss federated learning and its role in carbon-aware designs, along with challenges in tracking real energy savings. Tune in to learn about the future of carbon-aware computing and the tools being developed to help software become more sustainable
Green IO #44 - Can the data center industry become circular? with Deborah Andrews
Fueled by the ongoing artificial intelligence boom, data centers are popping up around the world like mushrooms after a good rain raising serious sustainability concerns. Hence a pressing question: can the data center industry become circular? To get some answers, Gaël Duez welcomes a veteran in Circular Economy and Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment, Prof. Deborah Andrews, from London South Bank University, the founder and academic lead for CEDaCI.
📅 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 02 2024 - BBC Climate Creatives Conference 2024
Climate Creatives returns for its fourth annual conference in association with BBC Academy Fusion.
Sat Oct 05 2024 - Digital Collage Worksop
A 3-hour workshop to understand, as a team and in a fun way, the impact of digital technologies on the environment and how to reduce it. Space generously provided by The Signal Box in Cambridge
Tue Oct 08 2024 - How to make your money fossil free
Join Green Squirrel & Lisa Stanley from Good with Money to help us navigate the connections between our finances and the fossil fuel industry. You'll leave with impactful actions that you can put into practice right away.
Tue Oct 08 2024 - The Global Nature Positive Summit 2024
Global Nature Positive Summit aims to boost private sector investment to protect and repair our environment. With a focus on solutions to climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.
Thu Oct 10 2024 - Charities doing cool things in green tech (hybrid event)
A hybrid event as part of Bristol Tech Festival with talks from two charities doing cool things in green tech - Centre for Sustainable Energy and Friends of the Earth. Join us in person in Bristol, UK or online
Thu Oct 10 2024 - Digital Collage workshop
A 3-hour workshop to understand, as a team and in a fun way, the impact of digital technologies on the environment and how to reduce it. Space generously provided by Creekside Discovery Centre in Deptford
Fri Oct 11 2024 - Better Software
Italian Conference about Sustainable IT
Mon Oct 14 2024 - SxSW Sydney
From a grassroots start in Austin TX, 1987 to a new, second home in Sydney Australia. Tech Innovation with track focus on Energy, Climate & Sustainability
Wed Nov 27 2024 - Australian Climate Tech Connect & Awards 2024
One-of-a-kind opportunity to connect with investors, founders and industry leaders while celebrating the achievements of the Australian climate tech industry in 2024.
Tue Dec 10 2024 - The RIPE Green Tech Hackathon
Join the next RIPE NCC hackathon focused on Green Tech this December! This time, our goals are to develop tools, policies and protocols to reduce the environmental impact of Internet infrastructure. Apply now to join and help us organise this Sustain-a-thon!
📰 News Highlights
Carbon brief: How the UK became the first G7 country to phase out coal power
The UK's last coal-fired power plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, will close this month, ending a 142-year era of burning coal to generate electricity. The UK's coal-power phaseout is internationally significant. It is the first major economy – and first G7 member – to achieve this milestone. It also opened the world's first coal-fired power station in 1882, on London's Holborn Viaduct. From 1882 until Ratcliffe's closure, the UK's coal plants will have burned through 4.6bn tonnes of coal and emitted 10.4bn tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) – more than most countries have ever produced from all sources, Carbon Brief analysis shows.
We can fix it: Why leaders fail to lead by example on climate
Breaking carbon lock-in will require addressing three key elements: Better infrastructure, Policies that reward low-carbon living, Social norms that make low-carbon action desirable. If any element is missing, it hinders progress. This study reveals how leaders reinforce a high-carbon culture through upholding high-carbon norms. But there is a way out. In a forthcoming study, Westlake shows that "leading by example increases public willingness to adopt low-carbon behaviors [and thus, to accept effective climate policies], and increases leader credibility and approval."
Our world in Data: Low-carbon technologies need far less mining than fossil fuels
If we want to build a low-carbon economy, we'll need to mine a lot of different minerals. This raises the concern that a move to clean energy might drive a huge increase in global mining. Mining for coal is much more resource-intensive than renewables or nuclear power. When we run the numbers, we find that moving to renewables or nuclear power actually reduces the material requirements for electricity. Let's take a look at the data.
Bloomberg: Colombia Looks to Future Without Oil in $40 Billion Transition Plan
The Latin American nation has halted new exploration of oil and gas. Now it wants developed countries and multilateral development banks to help it move away from fossil fuels.
The Guardian: Revealed - how the fossil fuel industry helps spread anti-protest laws across the US
Fossil fuel lobbyists coordinated with lawmakers behind the scenes and across state lines to push and shape laws that are escalating a crackdown on peaceful protests against oil and gas expansion, a new Guardian investigation reveals. Records obtained by the Guardian show that lobbyists working for major North American oil and gas companies were key architects of recent anti-protest laws.
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. Remember: if you're looking for advice finding a role, check our #climate-careers channel.
Icebreaker One - Senior Project Manager - Up to £550/day - Contract - Totally remote
Icebreaker One is a non-profit that helps organisations across the economy share data more effectively to achieve their net-zero targets. Our programmes are collaborative efforts with a wide range of stakeholders to develop legal, technical and procedural solutions for trusted data sharing. We have been successful in winning new projects for the second half of 2024 and consequently need an experienced project manager to join our existing PM team to ensure our work is delivered on time and within scope.
4WARD's Global Climate Community - Climate "Local" Community Coordination Superstar - Unpaid Fellowship - Intern Fellowship - Totally remote
4WARD's has a part-time, unpaid fellowship to become a Climate Community Coordination Superstar to help plan, promote & support our 100s of local city meetup leaders.
Support our work
You can support us financially on Open Collective.