🌍 CAT Newsletter 246 - 2024-11-17
CAT 246 - 2024-11-17
Hey CATs,
Welcome to issue 246 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
🙋 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
✏️ From the blog
Read the recap of the 📚 learning session from the CAT Gen AI Exploratorium to get a sample of UX and sustainable AI design resources explorers shared as they started learning more about their chosen questions at the intersection of generative AI & climate action in tech. The recap also includes learning activity prompts you can try on your own or with your team, and all the info you need to join the Exploratorium journey.
🧠 Knowledge base deepdive
Greener Infra: Want to make more sustainable choices when it comes to your IT infrastructure? Log into the CAT knowledge base with your CAT Slack account to learn about ways of reducing impact, and explore resources on greener cloud providers, provisioning, programming languages & more. And help a fellow CAT green their stack by adding your recommendations.
📅 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 20 - Part 3 - 🐱 Practicing [online]
Wed, Nov 27 - Part 4 - 🌊 Reflecting [online]
The Exploratorium events are part of a funded CAT mini grant project run by @Alja Isaković. Learn more in #gen-ai-exploratorium or on the CAT blog.
Tue, Dec 10 - :tada: CAT 2024 – year in review and celebration [online] | Add to Google Calendar
🍩 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, Nov 29th. More info
Media, events, and news
😺 CAT recommendations
▶️ 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.
🎤 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: Big Take: COP29 Confronts Tensions Over Funding Clean Energy Transition
Climate leaders from around the world have convened in Baku, Azerbaijan for the UN’s biggest annual climate conference, COP29. And this year, it’s all about money.
In this episode of the Big Take, Bloomberg’s senior climate reporter and host of Zero Akshat Rathi calls in from COP29 to update host Sarah Holder on the unfolding negotiations and how America’s new president-elect changes the conversation.
Outrage And Optimism 273. COP29 Live: Bigger, Better, Bolder. Updating NDCs in Line with 1.5C
Recorded live from COP29 in the UK Pavilion in Baku, Bigger, Better, Bolder: Updating NDCs in Line with 1.5 Degrees captures an energetic dialogue on the crucial role of bold leadership in climate action. Moderated by Tom, this dynamic session dives into why governments must ambitiously update their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to meet the 1.5°C goal, recognizing this decade as a pivotal chance to shape a sustainable future.
The session concludes as Ana Toni, Brazil’s National Secretary for Climate Change, joins Ed Miliband in a live Q&A, discussing how partnerships between major powers, such as Brazil and the UK, can accelerate global climate progress before the mid-decade tipping point.
Green IO #48 - Greening the video game industry with Ben Abraham and Maria Wagner
3 billion gamers worldwide, billions of devices, terabytes of data streamed, the gaming industry comes with pretty big numbers starting with its $455 billion sales in 2023.
Is its environmental footprint as big? (Not) fun fact, not a single executive in this sector could answer the question.
A new non-profit initiative, the Sustainable Gaming Alliance, is trying to get these numbers right and to equip the industry with the right framework. Its Managing Director, Maria Wagner, and its Research and Standard lead, Dr Benjamin Abraham joined this Green IO episode to provide insight.
📅 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 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 Défense). 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.
📰 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.
Climate Tech VC: Trump 2.0 for climate tech #222
Hope you got some R&R after a wild week. (Amid all the chaos, we almost forgot it’s COP this week.) To help you make sense of it all, we’ve got a deep dive into the impact of the newly elected US government on climate tech.
Grist: Would you pay more for plane tickets to fund climate relief efforts?
At this year’s U.N. climate conference, world leaders are proposing a “global solidarity levy” on high-polluting industries. A small group of nations is advancing a proposal for a set of worldwide taxes on high-polluting industries, which could reap billions of dollars in steady money for recovery efforts in disaster-ravaged countries. The governments of France, Kenya, and Barbados are using COP29 as a springboard to develop what they call a “global solidarity levy,” which would impose half-percent taxes on sectors such as aviation and shipping.
Green Web Foundation: Introducing our grid-aware websites project
We’re kicking off a cutting-edge project to explore our idea for making grid-aware websites a commonplace tool in website developer toolkits, thanks to funding from SIDN Fonds. In this post we explain what we’re setting out to achieve and why, how we’re going to get there, who is helping us along the way and how the wider developer & digital sustainability community can get involved.
BBC News: Oil and gas are a 'gift of God', says COP29 host
The president of COP29’s host country has told the UN climate conference that oil and gas are a "gift of God". Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev criticised "Western fake news" about the country's emissions and said nations "should not be blamed" for having fossil fuel reserves. The country plans to expand gas production by up to a third over the next decade.
Shortly afterwards, UN chief António Guterres told the conference that doubling down on the use of fossil fuels was "absurd".
(Editor's note: Oil and gas exports make up 90% of Azerbaijab's export revenue)
Datacentre Dynamics: Lee Zeldin picked to lead Trump's EPA, says he will "make America the AI capital of the world"
Is it not already? President-elect Donald Trump has picked former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Zeldin said that he would "unleash US energy dominance, make America the AI capital of the world, [and] bring American auto jobs back home." He did not clarify what he meant by AI capital, with the leading generative AI companies, hyperscalers, and chip designers already US-based. The nominee will have to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled US Senate.
The Guardian: Thousands call for Valencia’s leader to resign over deadly floods response
Spaniards have taken to the streets of Valencia to demand the resignation of the regional president who led the emergency response to the recent catastrophic floods that killed more than 200 people. Floods that began on the night of 29 October have left 220 dead and nearly 80 people still missing.
The Valencian government has been criticised for not adequately preparing despite the State Meteorological Agency warning five days before the floods that there could be an unprecedented rainstorm.
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.
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.
Green Angel Ventures - Support and Development Engineer - £24,000 - £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 £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
Treeconomy - Data Engineer - £55-70K - Permanent - Flexible - remote ok
Treeconomy is a venture-backed earth-tech startup working at the dynamic intersection of technology, ecology, and finance.
We were founded to close the $700B annual nature funding gap, scaling impactful nature-based solutions to realise true win-win-wins for climate, biodiversity, and human livelihoods. We “use tech to help finance help nature”, harnessing remote sensing, machine learning, platform technology, and deep carbon markets expertise to bring much-needed traceability, transparency, trust -- and with it, money -- to truly impactful, carbon-removing nature restoration efforts.
Support our work
You can support us financially on Open Collective.