š CAT Newsletter 269 - 2025-05-25
CAT 269 - 2025-05-25
Hey CATs,
Welcome to issue 269 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
š New CAT Organizer!
In case you missed it last week, @Eugenus OptimusĀ (he/him) has joined the organizing team as the new Tech Organizer! š In this role Eugene will be responsible for coordinating and maintaining our tech infrastructure (Slack,Ā our website,Ā Outline, Google services,Ā this newsletter, etc.), ensuring CAT runs smoothly and securely. Please reach out toĀ @Eugenus OptimusĀ directly with any questions or ideas or drop them intoĀ #6-cat-community-feedback!
š Get involved as a CAT Slack volunteer
We're always looking for more folks to join our volunteer team and for Slack we're especially looking for:
š #introductions volunteersĀ to respond to new messages
šØ Ā ModeratorsĀ to handle spam or Code of Conduct issues across the Slack channels
#ļøā£ Channel hostsĀ to keep our channels welcoming, active, and safe: we're especially looking for help withĀ #2-greener-software,Ā #greener-webdev,Ā #greener-data-ai,Ā #3-questions-and-ideas,Ā andĀ #share-your-work
You canĀ find more open volunteer roles here.
#ļøā£ Slack channel highlights
#climate-careers: Volunteers OĀ and CĀ recently shared their climate career journeys - check them out in the channel
#culture-society:Ā M brought up a conversation on Effective Altruism (EA) which advocates for impartially calculating benefits and prioritizing causes to provide the greatest good, but there's some nuance to this movement ā join the conversationĀ in the thread
#greener-infra:Ā CĀ shared aĀ research report on the potential role of datacenters in balancing the grid
ā¤ļø Help a CAT
M asks inĀ #greener-design: Have you noticed any sustainable web design trends in 2025?Ā Share your thoughts
C recently played theĀ Financial Times Climate GameĀ and is wondering: What other games or interactive tools have helped you think differently about climate?Ā Share some games
MĀ is wondering: Does anyone know of any good analyses of the ISO 14001 Standard (a standard for Environmental Management Systems) and/or if there are other ISO standards that management in companies should be aware of?Ā Reply in the thread
š© Community networking
Every 2 weeks, we match 2-3 CATs so you can connect over a quick 30-minute call. Join #cat-roulette, pick your region and wait for a message from Donut. The next round of matches will go out on Fri, May 30th. More info.
Media, events, and news
šŗ CAT recommendations
ā¶ļø CAT videos
10-15 minute videos providing accessible explainers to climate related issues.
PBS Terra: Did Climate Skeptics Get THIS Right?
Is global warming just part of Earth's natural cycle? In this episode of Weathered, we break down why that's not the full story. From ice ages and Milankovitch cycles to the role of CO2 and fossil fuels, today's climate change is unlike anything in Earth's deep past. Learn why the speed of warming matters and how we can bring our temperature down.
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
Green IO: Avoided emissions thanks to Tech - the Vinted use case with Laetitia Bornes
Can a digital company be "carbon negative"? What should we think of these claims of "tons of carbon avoided" coming from 2nd hand platforms such as Vinted or Back Market? Dr Laetita Bornes conducted research on Vinted claims, investigating its data sources and the methodology used with her colleague David Ekchazer. Their findings were surprising, enlightening for the IT sector and nuanced!
Outrage + Optimism: When Business Is Political - Climate commitments in an age of backlash
Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson take the reins to explore how climate progress is increasingly being driven by - or being left to - businesses and non-profits. They unpack the mounting challenges facing climate-aligned companies, the promise and complexity of existing voluntary initiatives, and the role that the private sector can play in driving innovation, accountability, and ambition in the absence of strong national leadership.
Catalyst: What to make of Trump's deep-sea minerals push
In April, the Trump administration issued an executive order to accelerate the development of deep-sea minerals ā part of its broader push for "energy dominance." The world's oceans hold vast, untapped deposits of critical minerals like nickel, copper, manganese, and rare earth elements ā all essential to batteries and clean energy technologies. So what does this new executive order actually do?
House of Life: #005 - Wobbling the Web of Wyrd
This episode contemplates the Web of Wyrd ā a 1,000-year-old pagan concept of a cosmic web where every node (people, thoughts, objects) ripple with free will and fate. What other ancient knowledge might we have lost, mundane, technical or esoteric, and what might still be here for us to see if we open our eyes?
Zero - The Climate Race: How carbon removal pioneer Climeworks is tackling its first major layoffs
Scientists are clear that meeting climate goals means ending carbon pollution and drawing down excess CO2 from the air. That's why carbon-removal technologies have proliferated over the past decade. But with the US government slashing climate incentives and programs, some companies are being forced to cut costs. This week Akshat Rathi speaks with Jan Wurzbacher, co-founder of Climeworks, a startup that pulls carbon dioxide from the air, about its first major layoffs and what the future holds for the most expensive climate solution.\n
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.
Tuesday Jun 17, 2025 - Green Tech Forum Brussels
The event highlights innovative solutions in frugal AI, energy-efficient data centers, eco-friendly software development, green cloud computing, IT refurbishing, WEEE recycling, and more.
Saturday Jun 21, 2025 - London Climate Action Week
London Climate Action Week 2025:- 350+ Events, 45,000 attendees Themes; Building climate ambition on the road to COP30, Financing inclusive and resilient climate transition, Delivering a net zero and resilient London and UK, Mobilising Whole of Society Climate Action
Saturday Jun 21, 2025 - London Climate Action Week
London Climate Action Week mobilises Londonās unparalleled ecosystem of climate and non-climate organisations to accelerate global climate action and supports action in London to ensure it acts as a global climate leader.āÆāÆ9 days, 300+ Events, 45,000 attendees.
Thursday Jul 03, 2025 - Green IO Munich 2025
Apidays Munich and the Green IO podcast have partnered to bring you the first Green IO conference for the DACH region, packed with the latest insights from thought leaders in Tech Sustainability and hands-on feedback from practitioners scaling Green IT.
Sunday Jul 06, 2025 - Pacific Northwest Climate Week
Pacific Northwest Climate Week is a community-powered event series that unites individuals & organizations. Accelerates the fight against climate change. The week-long gathering brings together climate innovators, thought leaders, & enthusiasts from Seattle, Vancouver, & Portland
Sunday Aug 29, 2027 - Biodiversity Basics for Product Professionals
The products we build rely on and affect nature. This workshop will address: 1. What is biodiversity and why is it relevant for product professionals 2. What can you do & practical examples 3. Your takeaway: first biodiversity analysis along your product's value chain
š° News Highlights
Grist: Despite Backlash, More States Are Considering Laws to Make Big Oil Pay for Climate Change
As climate disasters strain state budgets, a growing number of lawmakers want fossil fuel companies to pay for damages caused by their greenhouse gas emissions. After Vermont and New York passed "climate Superfund" legislation, 11 states have introduced similar bills this year.
The New Stack: AI Consumes Lots of Energy. Can It Ever Be Sustainable?
Data centers are projected to consume more electricity than all U.S. heavy industry combined by 2030. AI's explosive growth demands sustainable practices.
GoodGoodGood: Endangered monkeys kept dyingā¦ Locals built them a bridge.
On Malaysia's Penang Island ā one of the most densely populated areas in the world ā researcher Jo Leen Yap knew she had to do something to save the langurs when, as a student, she noticed many langurs were attempting to cross busy roads by balancing on electrical wires.
Nature: Do look up - how science and international cooperation closed the ozone hole
Forty years ago this month, scientists reported that human activities had punctured Earth's protective ozone layer. What happened next offers a masterclass in international science-diplomacy.
Strategically Green: Jevon's Paradox is Doomerism
Right now, AI is driving energy use in data centers to unprecedented heights. In this article, Anne Currie argues for a world where AI can exist, without putting the planet in danger.
Green Software Foundation: Celebrating the ratification of the policy radar
In 2024, it became clear that many tech and sustainability professionals are facing growing challenges in keeping up with new environmental legislation. With limited visibility into forthcoming regulations, there is a real risk of missing opportunities to participate, adapt, and align with emerging policies on software sustainability and emissions reporting. This article explains the GSF's new policy radar, and how it can be useful to you and your team.
š Papers We Love š
Lancaster University: Green Prompting
Large Language Models (LLMs) have become
widely used across various domains spanning search engines, code generation, and text creation. However, a major concern associated with their adoption is the high cost of inference, impacting both their sustainability and financial feasibility. This paper studies how different prompt and response characteristics directly impact LLM inference energy cost.
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.
EACD Climat Solutions - Agriculture - Us 25 .000.00 - Contract - Onsite only
Soutainable action climateus
Verna - Product Manager - Circa Ā£50-80k (doe) + share options - Permanent - Flexible - remote ok
Verna builds software to help people manage land in the best way for the environment ā enhancing biodiversity and drawing down carbon, whilst making sustainable returns. We are looking for a Product Manager to develop and lead our product management approach. This role involves introducing best-in-class processes, systems and practices for product management, enabling us to deliver products and features that support and delight users in a consistent and timely fashion.
Green Coding Solutions GmbH - Green Software Developer - 70k-100k - Permanent or Freelance - Totally remote
We at Green Coding Solutions (Berlin, Germany) are hiring and looking for a Green Software Developer to join our team :rakete:
Key facts: - Small team dedicated to deliver specialized open source software solutions to help developers reduce carbon emissions of the digital world - Freelance, Part time or full time possible - No restriction days or hours per day - 70k-100k (EUR) for full-time equivalent depending on qualification - Fully remote but occasional need to be in Berlin for Meetups, conferences, client business (no more than 3 times per month) - Must be proficient in German (C1+)
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