π CAT Newsletter 245 - 2024-11-10
CAT 245 - 2024-11-10
Hey CATs,
Welcome to issue 245 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 π π π±
CAT Community News
π Get involved
- 2min: Say thanks to a fellow CAT or praise their work in our new #kudos channel
- 5min: Donate to support our community via OpenCollective
- 10min: Add a slide to our CAT member PAWS presentation to share 2024 Projects, Actions, Wins, or Stuff you learned at CAT (PAWS!)
- 30min+: Apply for a CAT mini grant in 2025
βοΈ From the blog
If you missed the first live session of the CAT Gen AI Exploratorium, you can read the recap of the π¬ questioning session that started uncovering questions at the intersection of generative AI & climate action in tech. The recap blog post also includes questioning activity prompts you can try on your own or with your team, and all the info you need to join the Exploratorium journey.
π§ Knowledge base deepdive
Behavior & Psychology: Struggling with eco-anxiety, climate grief, or other climate-related emotions? Log into the CAT knowledge base with your CAT Slack account to explore actions & resources that can help you cope with challenging emotions evoked by the climate crisis. And help a fellow CAT learn something new by adding your own recommendations.
π CAT events
If you want to explore the intersection of climate action in tech and generative AI, you can attend the following community discussions as part of the CAT Generative AI Exploratorium:
Wed, Nov 13 - Part 2 - π Learning [online]
Wed, Nov 20 - Part 3 - π± Practicing [online]
Wed, Nov 27 - Part 4 - π Reflecting [online]
The Exploratorium events are part of a funded CAT mini grant project run by @Alja IsakoviΔ. Learn more in #gen-ai-exploratorium or on the CAT blog.
Tue, Dec 10 - :tada: CAT 2024 β year in review and celebration [online] | Add to Google Calendar
π© Community networking
Get ready! After our recent channel refresh from channel host @Brett Duboff, we're back next on Fri, Nov 15th with new matches! Simply join #cat-roulette, pick your region and wait for a message from Donut about your match! Every 2 weeks, we match 2-3 CATs so you can connect over a quick 30-minute call. More info
Media, events, and news
πΊ CAT recommendations
βΆοΈ CAT videos
10-15 minute videos providing accessible explainers to climate related issues.
Planet A: Why free public transport doesn't fix traffic (and what does)
If cars are bad for the climate, and public transport good, what makes people switch? From Jakarta to Tallinn, cities are trying to motivate people by eliminating fares. Let's check if that works.
π€ Podcasts
The latest climate-related podcast episodes. Don't forget, if you're looking around, there's a list of podcasts maintained by CATs
Zero: Trump is coming back. Now what?
Donald Trump's re-election as the US president drastically changes the climate and energy equationβin the US and around the world This week, Akshat Rathi speaks with California Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna about what Americans can do to sustain action on climate and clean energy. He also talks to Columbia University's Jason Bordoff about how much Trump could boost fossil fuels.
Outrage And Optimism 270. What Does This Trump Presidency Mean for Climate?
As the news of Donald Trump's 2024 US election victory makes headlines around the world, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson unpack Trump and Harris's campaign and discuss the implications of a Trump-led administration on US climate ambition, both domestically and internationally. Or as Tom puts it, "What the hell just happened in the US?"
Green IO #47b - The Microsoft Azure dilemma with Holly and William Alpine - When enabled emissions "offset" sustainability claims
They both went to this job interview to hone their skills, and got a dream job at Microsoft! \nYet several years later, Holly and Will Alpine decided to both resign. Why? On sustainability ground, and more specifically for the lack of support on the "enabled emissions" issues.
Holly and Will are now the Bonnie & Clyde of Azure and they provide us with an insider perspective, in a nuanced and well-documented way, on this "elephant in the room" in all big tech companies: are their sustainability claims offset by the so-called enabled emissions?
In the final part of this 2-part episode, great insights were shared on :
π€― What is enabled carbon and why it offsets by far all Microsoft achievements
π Devil is in the details from tailored solutions to "carbon-neutral" oil company not following standard definitions of "net-zero"
β¨ Can responsible AI principles really not mention anything about the environment?
βοΈ Why regulation will ultimately be needed
βοΈβ And β¦ the Pussy Riot!
π 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 Nov 13 2024 - Mastering PR and Public Speaking for Your Climate Startup
Two fantastic speakers, on how to get eyes on your work and grow your impact. Founder of Climate Connection, Juliette Devillard brings together individuals passionate about climate. Abi Smith from Harpswood PR, works with businesses making the world cleaner, fairer and better.
Wed Nov 20 2024 - DIGITAL IMPACT PITCH : Discover the impact of digital & AI on our lives and planet + how to act !
The Digital Impact Pitch is a 60 to 90 minute interactive conference which aims to help you discover what is hidden behind our daily use of multiple digital objects and technology in general.
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 3 2024 - GreenIO Conference Paris
Green IO and apidays have partnered to gather 500+ responsible technologists on the 3rd, 4th and 5th December 2024 in Paris (CNIT - La DΓ©fense). They will get the latest insights from thought leaders in Tech Sustainability and hands-on feedback from practitioners scaling Green IT. Green IO Paris provides the perfect blend between various expertises (green software, sustainable design, green cloud, responsible AI, etc.) and various angles (practitioners, experts, academics, etc.).
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!
Sat Dec 14 2024 - Event Submission EOIs > Climate Action Week Sydney
Climate Action Week Sydney empowers individuals, organisations and groups to independently host events while leveraging our mission, platform, and brand. From industry to government, schools to community leaders, and entrepreneurs to investors.
π° News Highlights
Carbon Brief: Experts - What does a Trump presidency mean for climate action?
The Republican candidate Donald Trump has been elected as the 47th US president, beating his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris in a "historic comeback".
Carbon Brief has asked a range of scientists, policy experts and campaigners from around the world what they think a Trump presidency could mean for climate action.
Ars Technica: Airborne microplastics aid in cloud formation
It turns out microplastics have an effect on the weather and climate. Microplastics in the air may affect weather and climate by producing clouds in conditions where they would not form otherwise.
Mongabay: Brazil renews plan to restore degraded land half the size of the UK
Brazil recently announced a plan to restore an area of degraded land about half the size of the U.K. by 2030, in a bid to combat climate change and biodiversity loss. The Planaveg 2.0 initiative, launched at the U.N. biodiversity summit, COP16, in Colombia on Oct. 28, aims to restore 12 million hectares (30 million acres), about half of Brazil's degraded land area.
The Guardian: Plastic pollution is changing entire Earth system, scientists find
Plastic pollution is changing the processes of the entire Earth system, exacerbating climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, and the use of freshwater and land, according to scientific analysis. Plastic must not be treated as a waste problem alone, the authors said, but as a product that poses harm to ecosystems and human health.
The authors gave their warning in the days before final talks begin in South Korea to agree a legally binding global treaty to cut plastic pollution. Progress towards a treaty on plastic pollution has been hindered by a row over the need to include cuts to the $712bn plastic production industry in the treaty.
Datacentre Dynamics: What now? Trump, data centers, and the next four years
Predicting the future is a fool's errand. Doing so based on the promises of a politician is even more fraught. Even if one were to trust that a nation's leader plans to stick to their manifesto, black swan events - from wars and pandemics to natural disasters - can dramatically alter the priorities of an administration.
But, with that in mind, let's try to unravel what we can expect to happen to the data center sector after the landslide election of Donald Trump
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 Β£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.
Vizzuality - Front End Engineer - β¬30,000 - β¬49,000 Euros year - Permanent - Totally remote
We're on the lookout for a talented Front-End Engineer! Join us on our mission and help us create data-driven tools for organizations tackling climate change, biodiversity loss, and social inequality.
What we're seeking - Proficiency in ReactJS/TypeScript (mid-level or senior) Experience with modern front-end frameworks (Next.js, Redux) Passion for solving complex challenges and delivering user-focused solutions
Green Angel Ventures - Support and Development Engineer - Β£24,000 - Β£28,000 - Permanent - Totally remote
Green Angel Ventures is the reference early stage investor for UK climate innovation. We specialise in the fight against climate change.
The Support and Development Engineer is responsible for maintaining and improving IT systems and processes, for helping build them to support future growth, and for supporting our staff members. The role is quite broad, and will change over time.
Elemental Impact - Entrepreneur in Residence: Community Impact (Contractor) - $150/hr - Contract - Flexible - remote ok
We are looking for someone who is deeply knowledgeable about the experience of building a responsible community engagement practice in or for a climate tech company or similar context within corporate, and who can be a diligent partner for our entrepreneurs!
Icebreaker One - Senior Account Manager - Up to Β£600/day, up to 3 days/wk until April 2025 with option to extend - Contract - Totally remote
IB1 is a non-profit with a mission to make data work harder to deliver net-zero outcomes. We convene stakeholders across sectors to develop systems of data governance called Trust Frameworks. These increase trust in decision-critical data in order for money and resources to be deployed more confidently to accelerate decarbonisation and boost biodiversity.
The Senior Account Manager is responsible for identifying, targeting and landing sales then implementing excellent customer service to clients and members to ensure exceptional delivery that builds long term relationships and secures repeated renewals
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