CAT Newsletter 283 - 2025-08-31
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CAT 283 - 2025-08-31
Hey CATs,
Welcome to issue 283 of the ClimateAction.tech (CAT) Newsletter - your weekly summary of what's happening inside the CAT Slack community (join here and check out our onboarding checklist), and in the wider world of climate and tech.
Remember you can unsubscribe from this newsletter at any time - the link is at the bottom.
Stay curious 😌💚🐱
CAT Community News
🙋 Help the community grow and thrive
2min: React to our recent LinkedIn posts (Action Guides | CAT member spotlight on Digital Independence | Clifton Reddy's Climate Career) or even better - repost them!
5min: Donate a one-off amount or set up a recurring donation for CAT on Open Collective
10min: Say hi to a new member in #5-introductions and help them find their way in the community
30min: Introduce your workplace or community to CAT by presenting the CAT lightning deck or including CAT in your own presentation
CAT organiser @HeatherB also announced over in #greener-ai that we're planning a Responsible AI programme of events starting in October! React to her post if you'd like to be involved
#️⃣ Slack channel highlights
#culture-society: M shared an inspiring quote about solar power
#green-teams: C found and shared the Employee Climate Action Network which supports employee-led climate action
#3-questions-and-ideas: B is looking for CATs working in small organisation and wondering how you're reducing / monitoring emissions
#greener-infra: C is asking whether anyone has come across any disclosures using a new standard for embodied carbon disclosure for servers
Local events were shared in #local-australia #local-chicago and #local-san-francisco-bay-area
🍩 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, September 5th. More info.
Media, events, and news
😺 CAT recommendations
🌱 A cutting from Branch
Branch issue 9: Design Constraints in Grid-Aware Web Development
With the latest issue Branch magazine out, it's time to bring back a cutting of Branch, where each week we feature a single piece from the magazine by and for people who dream of a just and sustainable internet for all.
Our pick from issue 9 this week is Design Constraints in Grid-Aware Web Development by Grace Everts. The piece discusses her recent user study to answer two primary questions:
How does a user's preferences change if they know emissions information?
Which specific changes do users tolerate best?
▶️ CAT videos
10-15 minute videos providing accessible explainers to climate related issues.
PBS Terra: Economists and Scientists DEEPLY DISAGREE About the Cost of Climate Change
Climate scientists warn of climate disaster. But economists? Many say the economic hit from global warming will be negligible. But a new study shows the cost could be way worse than we once thought. In this episode, we reveal exactly how much poorer we will be in 2100, break down why previous models got it wrong, what this study means for our future, and the "goldilocks" path to decarbonization.
🎤 Podcasts
The latest climate-related podcast episodes. Don't forget, if you're looking around, there's a list of podcasts maintained by CATs
Code Green: Behind the Scenes
In this bonus episode of the Code Green podcast, team members Dona, Meredith & Tammanna reflect on the season. They discuss the project's origins & their experiences of curating the podcast & newsletter. They emphasise the importance of situated understanding, participatory methods, & addressing the underexplored lens of abandoned technology infrastructure. Looking ahead, they express interest in exploring critical minerals & AI in India, & the intersection of AI & conservation.
Energ'Ethic: The Access-Washing Dilemma
What if the key to a sustainable future lies in the hands of the most vulnerable? Join host Marine Cornelis in this enlightening episode of Energ'Ethic - Climate Justice and Energy Transition, as she sits down with William Brent, a passionate climate solution advocate and entrepreneur, whose journey from media and entertainment to championing energy justice is nothing short of inspiring. Driven by his experiences in China, Brent reveals how he became a fervent advocate for energy access, focusing on renewable energy solutions tailored for the Global South.
CXO Bytes: Sustainability at Scale in the GenAI Era with Dr. Katia Chaban
Host Sanjay Podder speaks with Dr. Katia Chaban about uniting IT and sustainability through circular economy practices. Dr. Chaban shares her journey into sustainable IT, the importance of addressing e-waste and embodied carbon, and the growing challenges posed by AI. She highlights how circular thinking, training, and cross-industry collaboration can help CXOs and technology leaders embed sustainability into IT strategies while reducing costs and environmental impact.
Catalyst: The mechanics of data center flexibility
Adding flexibility to data center loads could ease strain on the grid and reduce the need for costly new generation. And, according to one study, shaving off just a few megawatts during peak hours could also unlock unused capacity —as many as 98 gigawatts in the U.S — if those facilities reduced load by just 0.5% each year.
The problem: data centers promise near-perfect reliability, often "five nines" (99.999% uptime) in service-level agreements with customers. That leaves little room to adjust something as critical to reliability as power. But times are changing. The data center market is reckoning with the constraints of the power grid and growing concern about pushing up electricity prices to pay for new generation.
Outrage + Optimism: Listening to the Living World - Can AI help us hear the planet?
What if we could not only listen to the rest of nature, but actually understand it?
From decoding whale songs to giving nature a legal voice, the possibilities are tantalising - and they may not be as far-fetched as they sound. That's why the Earth Species Project (ESP) is racing to use artificial intelligence to translate the communication of other species before they fall silent.
How can this cutting edge technology analyse data that would take human researchers a lifetime? And how might findings feed into emerging ideas about ecocentric governance and earth law? We hear from ESP's Aza Raskin (Co-founder), Jane Lawton (Managing Director) and Olivier Pietquin (Chief Scientist) about this extraordinary mission, and the tools they're using to achieve the previously unimaginable.
📅 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 Sep 02, 2025 - Portfolio Tips and Tricks: Climate Career Switcher
In this session, we will be doing a live portfolio redesign for a member of our community, Ely, who is hoping to apply their copywriting / social media marketing skills to jobs in the sustainability space.
Tuesday Sep 02, 2025 - Portfolio Tips and Tricks
In this session, we will be doing a live portfolio redesign for a member of our community. The purpose of this session is to show you (not tell you) how to craft a beautiful portfolio that lands with employers and to connect you with others who face similar challenges to you.
Wednesday Sep 03, 2025 - A PM's Perspective: From supply chain risk PM to Climate Tech Founder
In this month's "Product Manager's Perspective," we're talking to Hemanth Setty (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hsetty/), Founder and CEO of Zero Circle (https://www.zerocircle.eco/), about moving from Fintech to Climate Tech and launching multiple companies at once.
Thursday Sep 04, 2025 - The Customer Traction Lab – A 3-Part Workshop Series
A hands-on series for climate and sustainability innovators to use behavioral science to spot and fix friction in the customer journey. Apply tactics to your own business and learn from peers. First session: Sept 4
Thursday Sep 04, 2025 - Sustainability Essentials for Professionals
AimHi Earth would love to invite you and your team to join our free Sustainability Essentials for Professionals session, a live and interactive 90-minute crash-course designed to boost clarity, confidence and momentum around sustainability 🌿
Monday Sep 08, 2025 - VC-Founder Climate Matchup
Announcing the 2025 Climate Tech VC-Founder Matchup, with meetings taking place online between Sept 8th (Monday) to Sept 12th (Friday). Read more - https://sosv.com/announcing-sosvs-vc-founder-climate-tech-matchup-sept-8-12/
Tuesday Sep 09, 2025 - Doubling Your Startup's Runway: Survival Strategies for a Tough Funding Climate
💰 Facing startup funding challenges in 2025's tough climate? Sept 9, 4pm CEST Join Cornelius Schmahl & Matt Ward for battle-tested runway extension strategies. .
Learn cash conservation, alt funding & emergency fundraising tactics.
FREE!
Tuesday Sep 09, 2025 - Portfolio Tips and Tricks
In this session, we will be doing a live portfolio redesign for a member of our community. The purpose of this session is to show you (not tell you) how to craft a beautiful portfolio that lands with employers and to connect you with others who face similar challenges to you.
Tuesday Sep 09, 2025 - Doubling Your Startup's Runway: Survival Strategies for a Tough Funding Climate
Doubling Your Startup's Runway Join Cornelius Schmahl & Matt Ward on Sept 9 (4pm CEST) for survival strategies to extend runway in 2025’s tough funding climate. https://circle.4ward.earth/c/events/doubling-startup-runway
Wednesday Sep 17, 2025 - Agilists4Planet Conference - Grounded in Hope
Are you curious about how you could contribute to a brighter future for humanity? Come join us to get inspired by real-world stories, learn about impactful ways to use your skills, and solve problems together.
Thursday Sep 18, 2025 - Agilists4Planet Conference - Grounded in Hope
Are you curious about how you could contribute to a brighter future for humanity? Come join us to get inspired by real-world stories, learn about impactful ways to use your skills, and solve problems together.
Wednesday Sep 24, 2025 - Green IO London 2025
Green IO and apidays London have partnered to gather 350+ responsible technologists to answer a simple question requiring complex answers:
"Good for the Planet, Good for Business?"
Hosted by Apidays, this takes place on September 23 to 24, 2025 in etc.venues, 155 Bishopsgate.
Thursday Sep 25, 2025 - Ride the Change
Ride the Change is a community-led bike ride for people passionate about climate and nature. The shared 4 day adventure makes space for deep connection and conversations that matter, while also exploring rewilding sites of Kent & Sussex.
📰 News Highlights
SciTechDaily: Stunning New Moth Species Discovered After a Century of Confusion
A striking moth with vivid colors, long assumed to belong to a known species, has now been identified as entirely new. A striking moth with vivid colors, long assumed to belong to a known species, has now been identified as entirely new. The discovery was made by entomologist Dr. Peter Huemer of Innsbruck, Austria. Dr. Huemer dedicated the discovery to his wife, naming the moth after her on their 42nd wedding anniversary.
The Verge: Google says a typical AI text prompt only uses 5 drops of water — experts say that's misleading
Google shared a study of Gemini's environmental impact, but it omits some key data. Google's estimates are lower than previous research on water- and energy-intensive data centers that undergird generative AI models. That's due in part to improvements in efficiency that the company has made over the past year. But Google also left out key data points in its study, leading to an incomplete understanding of Gemini's environmental impact, experts tell The Verge.
Reasons to be Cheerful: 'Plastic Cup' Competitions Are Cleaning Up Rivers in Hungary
Afloat on DIY boats, teams of volunteers have removed over 450 tons of plastic waste from the Danube and its tributaries. Since its start in 2013, the Plastic Cup has inspired teams to build boats and rafts using floats made with hundreds of plastic bottles that they have fished out of the water. Afloat on these boats, teams embark on a mad treasure hunt, collecting waste wherever they find it.
Yucatán Magazine: Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize Unite to Protect Maya Forest
Three nations joined forces Friday to establish what will become the second-largest nature reserve in Latin America. Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize announced the creation of a massive tri-national protected area spanning 14 million acres (5.7 million hectares) across the heart of the ancient Maya forest.
UCL: New solar cells could power devices from indoor light
An international team led by UCL researchers has developed durable new solar cells capable of efficiently harvesting energy from indoor light, meaning devices such as keyboards, remote controls, alarms and sensors could soon be battery free. The researchers also tested the solar cells to see how well they resisted degradation over time.
Financial Times: Data centres look to tap UK gas pipelines to meet power demands
Official enquiries about grid connection suggest need for speedy energy access will support fossil fuel use. Data centres have always needed lots of electricity to run their processes, and air conditioning to cool down, but AI has increased the demand for more power. Developers looking to set up big data centres in Britain are exploring linking them to the country's main gas pipelines, as a boom in the industry triggers a rush for energy access.
💚 Papers We Love 💚
Martin Lafréchoux: Practical Retrofitting for Obsolete Devices
From this year's 'Computing within Limits' conference, Martin explores bridging the gap with old tech to create alternative interaction paradigms and workflows, including both software and hardware retrofitting techniques, using various examples: cameras, music players, dedicated writing instruments, video games.
💼 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.
People Powered Retrofit Coop - Software Developer - £39,000 - £43,500 (Full time) - Permanent - Flexible - remote ok
We're looking for an experienced software developer to join our team. You will play a key role in improving and evolving our modelling platform, which involves integrating elements of building physics so that trained assessors are able to generate various retrofit scenarios.
Ambitious Impact - Non-profit Entrepreneur — Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program - This is a fully funded training program with no fees. - Permanent -
Participants receive a stipend of approximately £1,900 per month, with flexibility for those who may need more (or less) support based on their personal circumstances. Post-Program Salary: After the program, founder salaries depend on the seed funding secured, generally ranging from £100,000 to £150,000. Most founders set their own salaries between £30,000 and £45,000, depending on individual financial needs.
Want to work on high-impact climate interventions? Launch your own charity through our fully funded Charity Entrepreneurship Incubation Program. In just two months, you’ll get training, funding, and mentorship to start an organisation tackling global inequalities at scale.
Too many charity jobs focus on fundraising over real impact. We help founders create field-leading nonprofits that solve major problems efficiently. Since launch, we’ve started 50+ organisations improving the lives of 1B+ animals and reaching 75M+ people.
Our research team invests 5,000+ hours annually identifying top solutions. Charities from our program have gained recognition from funders like the Gates Foundation, USAID, Open Philanthropy, and GiveWell. For example, Giving Green, founded in 2020 with $60K, has since raised $31.8M for high-impact climate nonprofits.
Program Dates:
Spring: Feb 9 – Apr 5, 2026
Summer: Aug – Sep, 2026
Apply by Sep 21, 2025 at charityentrepreneurship.com!
Support our work
You can support us financially on Open Collective.