š CAT Newsletter 289 - 2025-10-12
Hey CATs,
Welcome to issue 289 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.
We're excited to announce the kickoff of our Responsible AI event series on October 29th! Sign up for the first workshop, Designing Responsibly in the Age of AI, on lu.ma. More details below.
There is also an opportunity to participate in setting software carbon intensity specifications with the Green Software Foundation. Links are in the Get Involved section.
Remember you can unsubscribe from this newsletter at any time - the link is at the bottom.
Stay curious ššš±
CAT Community News
āļø From the blog
Curious about what happened at the Green IO conference in London?Ā Read about our highlights on the blog. Special shout-out to M, C,Ā E, andĀ SĀ for writing, editing, and publishing this post!
#ļøā£ Channel highlights
Channel hostĀ C introduced our new monthly theme inĀ #3-questions-and-ideas. In line with our events programmeĀ that's kicking off later this month, the theme is:Ā Responsible AI. And to kick off the conversation, C is asking you:
ā¤ļø Help a CAT
Responding to our latestĀ 'Which climate goal(s) are you making progress on' prompt,Ā J shared that he's bringing carbon footprint related OKRs into his workplace and he'sĀ looking for someone to collaborateĀ - sharing challenges and exploring practical options to incrementally effect some change.Ā Chat with J
H is looking for help with finding the right tool for estimating the environmental impact from computing use at work, particularly as they increase their use of AI.Ā Help H out
C is looking for others who are exploring options for instrumenting the use of hosted AI services, and figuring out where in the supply chain you can sub in different providers.Ā Reply to C
š Local shares
Recent posts from local channels on Slack
#local-new-york: Lots of conversations around clean energy
#local-switzerland: An interesting event to join the discussion at a federal level for AI sustainability
#local-london: An offer for chats withĀ @HeatherB
#local-germany: The next Carbon Aware Computing event in Karlsruhe
#local-canada: A one day 'hackathon' with campaigning an storytelling goals aiming to mobilize folks in Toronto
#local-cambridgeshire: A cinema event showing a film about turning Walthamstow street into a solar power station
š Upcoming CAT events
Wed, Oct 29th -Ā Workshop: Designing Responsibly in the Age of AIĀ [online]
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, Oct 17th. More info.
Media, events, and news
šŗ CAT recommendations
š± A cutting from Branch
Branch issue 9: Sounds of the Grid
The energy grid is not an abstract system ā it's woven into the fabric of our material world. It reflects a constant negotiation between human demands and the limits of nature's capacity, a balance we're increasingly disturbing through avoidance or ignorance. Attunement is feeling that strain and letting that lived experience guide your actions. What do you hear when you listen to the grid?
ā¶ļø CAT videos
10-15 minute videos providing accessible explainers to climate related issues.
DW Planet A: Why people want to put nuclear reactors on ships
Most ships today run on sticky, dirty bunker oil. The industry is desperate for ways to change that ā but we might have overlooked the most obvious contender: nuclear energy. The military has long used reactors to power submarines and aircraft carriers. Could this also work for commercial ships?
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
Environment Variables: The Week in Green Software - Sustainability along the DevOps Lifecycle
Guest host Anne Currie is joined by software engineer and sustainability advocate Julian Gommlich to explore how green practices can be embedded throughout the DevOps lifecycle. They discuss how modern operational practices like continuous delivery, automation, and agile iteration naturally align with sustainability goals, helping teams build more efficient, resilient, and energy-aware systems. The conversation covers real-world examples, from migrating to newer, more efficient software versions to understanding the carbon impact of data centers, and highlights why adopting a DevOps mindset is crucial for driving both environmental and business value in today's rapidly changing digital landscape.
Outrage + Optimism: Inside COP, A New Economy Rising - from promises to progress
Will COP30 be the COP of 'implementation'? And what would that actually mean?
Beyond the famous negotiating halls, climate action is already happening. Businesses, investors and cities are driving real change, and the new green economy is rising in tandem with diplomacy.
So can BelƩm mark the moment when implementation promises turn into reality?
Green IO: #66 Data Centers and Water in the US - a Complex Story with Mohammad Islam and Shaolei Ren
"We're living under a water stressed world. Maybe not today, but a certain time of the year." This new reality stated by Dr Shaolei Ren questions both the resiliency and the water footprint of the data center industry.
In this episode we bring an academic perspective on these questions with two of the most renowned experts in the field, Dr Shaolei Ren and D' Mohammad Islam. They conducted an intensive survey in the US and shared many insights about the water consumption of data centers.
Zero, the Climate Race: Renewables promised to be cheap. Why aren't people feeling it?
The UK used to be a shining example of how to act on climate change. It created one of the world's first climate laws in 2008, which bound the government to reduce emissions on tight deadlines. That law used to have cross-party support, but that's no longer the case with politicians trying to make climate a wedge issue.
This week on Zero, Greg Jackson, chief executive officer of the UK's largest energy retailer, Octopus Energy, joins Akshat Rathi to discuss his plan to bring down bills and keep the public on the green side.
All Things Policy: AI and National Power
In this episode of All Things Policy, Ashwin Prasad and Adya Madhavan explore the connection between artificial intelligence and how it augments and changes different aspects of power.
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.
š CAT Workshop: Designing Responsibly in the Age of AI
Wednesday, October 29th | 16:00 - 17:30 GMT
Zoom š© RSVP https://luma.com/2cf0sfmc
Through stories, small-group reflection and hands-on exercises we'll examine and discuss how AI is showing up in our work, and what we can do to shape it with a bit more care, curiosity and conscience. You don't need to be an AI expert (in fact, that's the point). This session is open to the public, invite your colleagues! Led by CAT member Paolo Rizzi, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Principal at ustwo.
Tuesday Oct 14, 2025 - Carbon Aware Computing - tools, tools, tools
It is a key strategy in the energy transition - we use electricity when it is available (from renewable sources). This is a paradigm shift from demand-oriented use to supply-oriented use of electricity.
Thursday Oct 23, 2025 - Make It Count: Sustainability Comms Workshop
AimHi Earth would love to invite you and your team to join our free Sustainability Comms Workshop, a live and interactive 90-minute session to learn how you can make every sustainability conversation count, and put your new skills into practice šæ
Thursday Nov 13, 2025 - ecoCompute Conference 2025
Full Programm Released
The ecoCompute conference coming up in November 2025 has just released it's full two day program .
It will feature three tracks:
Software & Hardware
Data Centers / Infrastructure / Management
Community Track
as well as hands-on workshops.
š° News Highlights
The Conversation: Africa's data workers are being exploited by foreign tech firms ā 4 ways to protectĀ them
The world of data work is built on labour arbitrage ā exploiting the fact that workers earn less and have less protection in some countries than in others. Data workers in Africa often have a hard time. They face job insecurities ā including temporary contracts, low pay, arbitrary dismissal and worker surveillance ā and alarming physical and psychological health risks. The consequences of their work can include exhaustion, burnout, mental health strain, chronic stress, vertigo and weakening of eyesight.
UK AuthorITy: DEFRA team develops digital sustainability assessment
The digital sustainability team at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has developed a process for assessing the sustainability of a government digital service.
It said the process can support service teams and those who will be assessing them, and comes in response to the difficulties in identifying relevant sustainability actions.
The Observer: Ten UK data centres could cancel EV emissions gain
Plans to build 10 large data centres in the UK could effectively wipe out the carbon emissions saved by switching to electric cars in 2025, research has found. The findings have underlined the lack of transparent and reliable figures for expected emissions driven by data centre growth. The National Energy System Operator has doubled its 2022 estimate of data centres' projected future energy needs and expects them to use 71TWh by 2050, equivalent to the entire commercial sector's energy demands today.
The Washington Post: Nobel in chemistry goes to molecular breakthroughs with climate applications
The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded Wednesday to a trio of researchers for their work in developing porous molecular structures that can be used in addressing major global challenges, including water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Oceanographic: Green sea turtle saved from extinction in major conservation victory
In a stunning victory for marine conservation, the green turtle has been officially saved from the very brink of extinction, marking a significant turning point in the efforts to safeguard one of the ocean's most ancient navigators.
Smithsonian: A.I. Is on the Rise, and So Is the Environmental Impact of the Data Centers That Drive It
The demand for data centers is growing faster than our ability to mitigate their skyrocketing economic and environmental costs. And, the renewable energy sector is simply not growing fast enough to meet the needs of A.I. While some analyses position data centers to grow at a rate of as much as 33 percent a year, the World Economic Forum says that global renewable energy capacity grew by 15.1 percent in 2024.
The Guardian: Advocates raise alarm over Pfas pollution from datacenters amid AI boom
Datacentersā electricity demands have been accused of delaying the USās transition to clean energy and requiring fossil fuel plants to stay online, while their high level of water consumption has also raised alarm. Now public health advocates fear another environmental problem could be linked to them ā Pfas āforever chemicalā pollution.
šĀ PapersĀ WeĀ LoveĀ š
NPG Asia Materials: Colossal barocaloric effect in GdCl3-doped H2O for sustainable cooling
This study reports a colossal and reversible barocaloric effect (BCE) in doped H2O, where the large hysteresis caused by supercooling is solved and exceeding those of all other BCE materials and most of the harmful Freon in vapor compression refrigeration.
The super BCE performance and the ubiquitous, non-toxic characters make H2O attractive as barocaloric refrigerant for sustainable cooling, more importantly, it is inferred that H-bond engineering can be an attractive approach for designing novel caloric materials.
š¼ 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.
Vizzuality - Data Engineer - Depending on experience, a salary ranging from ā¬24,000 to ā¬30,000 Eur a year - Permanent - Totally remote
Do you want to help build a fairer and sustainable future? Are you currently looking for a new career opportunity in data engineering?
We are hiring a Data Engineer with experience in Python and geospatial data processing.
At Vizzuality, we commit to a fair and sustainable planet by creating tools that radically empower people to make positive changes. Weāre always looking for passionate people who strive to use their creativity and skills to make a difference in peopleās lives and help make the world a better place. Finally, we know how life goes and are open to exploring full-time and part-time contract options (with a minimum of 80% time dedication).
Thalo Labs - Director of Software Engineering and Machine Learning - $190,000-$240,000K - Permanent - Onsite only
Thalo Labs is looking for a Director of Software Engineering and Machine Learning to join us in our mission to change the landscape of HVAC Infrastructure and transform the built environment into a carbon sink!
Support our work
You can support us financially onĀ Open Collective.