Hey CATs,

Welcome to issue 326 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.

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Stay curious 😌💚🐱

CAT Community News

😻 Four ways to take CAT action

1. Small help - Give feedback on this newsletter
2. Medium help - Support CAT financially with a one-off or recurring donations
3. Large help - Apply for a volunteer role
4. Monumental help - Apply for our Tech organiser or Community organiser roles

💌 Improvements to the newsletter

CAT volunteers are gearing up to make changes to this newsletter and we'd love to get your input. Please share your thoughts by filling out our form (2mins).

🫴 CAT member offering

Kamal Kapadia (founder of skillup.earth) is offering CATs a 20% discount on their Oxford-certified 14-week programme on Climate Solutions and Strategies designed for folks who want to build expertise around climate decisions in technology, engineering, product, finance, and organizational strategy. Plus with a specialised track on Designing for Climate Impact in Tech & Engineering (software and hardware pathways). Use the code with the code CAT20 to apply the discount and the deadline for applications is August 17th.

📍 From the #local channels

#local-chicago: J reminded folks about the Chicago Climate Week - if you participated, share reflections in the channel

#local-netherlands: L is looking for speakers at their Leiden-based software meetup

#local-new-york: Y is looking for research participants on the topic of circular economy practices

#local-uk: C is looking for partners for a research bid - in particular energy or sustainability contacts at facilities like shopping centers, business parks or leisure parks

📅 CAT events (see all)

Wed, Sep 9 - CAT Book Club: Enshittification [online]

🍩 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, July 31st. More info

Media, events, and news

▶️ CAT videos

10-15 minute videos providing accessible explainers to climate related issues.

Planet A: The country secretly winning the solar race

With 25% of solar in the energy mix Hungary is one of the world leaders in solar energy generation worldwide. But where does this spike in solar come from in a country not known for its sustainability? We go inside one of the country's largest solar parks under construction to find out.

🎤 Podcasts

The latest climate-related podcast episodes. Don't forget, if you're looking around, there's a list of podcasts maintained by CATs - and there’s a full playlist of all the podcast episodes shared in this newsletter this year so far, on ListenNotes - catch up with last year’s here!

Catalyst: The commercial battery comeback

Commercial and industrial (C&I) battery storage has long been the missing middle of the energy storage market.  It’s been too complex and expensive to scale like residential systems, but too small to compete with utility-scale projects. That may finally be changing. 

In this episode, Shayle sits down with Tim Hade, senior vice president at Voltus and founder of Brightfield Infrastructure, to discuss why C&I storage has historically struggled, why the economics are shifting dramatically, and why the next wave of distributed energy could be driven by commercial customers rather than utilities.

Outrage + Optimism: Europe’s Summer of Fire - The New Normal?

Europe is burning. Wildfires are still alight in the hills outside Bordeaux and the countryside west of Madrid. More than 300,000 people across France and Spain have been forced from their homes, and both countries remain on high alert as they enter the fourth heatwave of the summer. As we publish this episode, new fires are breaking out across Greece and Turkey.

With the continent warming at more than twice the global average, a new frontline of the climate crisis has emerged. Meanwhile, nearly three in four UK newspaper articles about June's record heatwave made no mention of climate change, and into that gap come competing narratives: arson conspiracies, weather manipulation, "it was hotter in 1976". Are we being gaslit?

The AI Sustainabiliy Podcast: AI, Sustainability, and Banking - A Conversation with Natalie Sinha

In this episode, host Nina Benoit interviews Nathalie Sinha, a sustainable finance leader, writer, and public speaker to explore the intersection of AI, data centers, and sustainability.

They discuss how finance supports AI investments, the environmental impact of data centers, and the future of sustainable energy in tech infrastructure.

Consider This from NPR: When it comes to climate change, is there a point when adaptation isn't enough?

Wildfires are raging across large swaths of Europe, prompting hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. The fires are the latest weather event on a continent that has experienced a lot of heat this summer, which scientists say has created conditions that make wildfires more likely. But at what point is it too late to adapt to a changing climate?

EuroNews Tech Talks: How scientists detect and study marine microplastics

What impact do microplastics have on marine species? How can scientists identify marine microplastics? And why should we care? 

Euronews Tech Talks travelled to the Flanders Marine Institute in Ostend, on the Belgian coast, to answer these and more questions with researchers Ana Catarino, Nelle Meyers and Juliette Grandjean. 

Climate Curious: How the prisoner’s dilemma can reveal climate priorities

“Games can go into spaces where sometimes it's hard to have these conversations,” say game designers Nathan Harrison and Mel Frances, as they unpack how gaming and scenario roleplay can help us reveal our inner climate priorities! Nathan and Mel break down key moments of their ‘Future for Beginners’ game with Climate Curious host, and game participant, Maryam Pasha. From high stakes Prisoners Dilemma challenges to short-term win vs long-term resilience decision making under pressure, we find out how playing through systemic controls can build empathy, reveal our own psychological blindspots, and provoke deep and existential discussions Recorded at TED 2026.

The Climate Question: Do climate protests ever work?

Climate activists have blocked highways, scaled oil rigs and even thrown soup at master artworks. But have protests ever made a difference?

The modern green movement started in the 1970s when Greenpeace sailed a fishing boat towards a nuclear test site in Alaska. It now encompasses everything from bake-ins and marches to Radiohead concerts. A small minority of activists even favour breaking the law to raise awareness about climate change. Some of them have superglued themselves to railings and blocked bridges.

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📅 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 Aug 04, 2026 - Make It Count: Sustainability Communication Workshop

Professionals from any sector can join Make it Count: Sustainability Communication Workshop.

Learn and put into practice the behavioural science behind making every sustainability conversation count!

Wednesday Aug 05, 2026 - ​Sustainable AI-Native Building

AI is accelerating climate solutions — but data centers contribute 0.5% of global CO2. Learn audit tools and prompts to reduce your AI footprint immediately. Led by Ida Wainschel Cools.

Monday Aug 10, 2026 - Pilots at BAT Info Session

Pilots at BAT provides climate tech companies with access to real-world infrastructure to test, refine, de-risk, and demonstrate their technologies at the Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT). Pilots at BAT Website: https://www.batworks.nyc/pilots-at-bat

📰 News Highlights

« Les mégafeux, comme celui en Gironde, ouvrent une dimension inconnue de l’histoire humaine de la vie sur Terre »

Apparus ces dernières années, des incendies incontrôlables frappent désormais la France. Un sursaut est nécessaire pour éviter qu’ils ne nous entraînent vers des périls plus graves encore, avertissent trois spécialistes du climat dans une tribune au « Monde ».

Uncontrollable fires—a recent phenomenon—are now striking France. A wake-up call is needed to prevent them from dragging us toward even graver perils, warn three climate experts in an op-ed for Le Monde.

Phys.org: Soil carbon effectively measured by new, efficient AI model

A new computer model is one of the first artificial intelligence tools to advance scientific discovery in agriculture and biogeochemistry and is 50 times more efficient than its predecessors, according to a study that offers a proof-of-principle for how AI might be used to shed light on obscure biological processes.

Business Standard: Inside India's AI boom

India's AI boom is fuelling a race to build data centres, expand electricity networks and strengthen digital infrastructure. Here's why these facilities matter, how they work and the challenges ahead.

LSE: Has the clean energy transition stalled and what should the UK government do?

Despite the gloomy news reports on backtracking from net zero targets while wildfires rage in parts of Europe, innovation, declining costs and growing deployment of renewables and batteries provide much to be positive about. The UK may face particular energy infrastructure challenges but Dimitri Zenghelis urges the Government and its new ministers to act on the facts, not the headlines.

The Guardian: US environmental groups urge EPA to reject new Pfas to cool datacenters

A coalition of 17 environmental groups is demanding the Environmental Protection Agency reject a new Pfas that chemical giant Chemours is attempting to fast-track for approval for use in cooling datacenters, and would almost certainly pollute regions around the facilities.

India.com: How AI tracked elephant herd and helped avert human-wildlife conflict

A clip shared by Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Parveen Kaswan highlights how artificial intelligence (AI) is helping forest officials track elephant movement and prevent human-elephant conflict

The Brockovich Report: The Data Center Water Secret

Erin Brockovich and Suzanne Boothby talk about the water not accounted for when it comes to AI data center water use, and why local media have had to sue to find out real numbers.

💚 Papers We Love 💚

HotCarbon: Towards Performance and Energy Aware Kubernetes Scheduler

As cloud services become increasingly latency-sensitive and data center energy usage rises, there is an urgent need to address both operational and embodied carbon cost. However, data centers often overprovision resources, resulting in resource under-utilization. These inefficiencies not only waste energy but also accelerate hardware refresh cycles, exacerbating embodied emissions. In paper presents PAX, a performance and energy aware Kubernetes scheduler that leverages machine learning techniques.

💼 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.

Sphere - Head of Engineering and Security - $185-$200k plus equity and full benefits - Permanent - Totally remote

At Sphere we make it easy for everyone to invest in a climate-friendly way, even in their 401(k)s. This person will lead the buildout of our AtmoSphere Portal, where customers can login to manage their investments and see the climate impact they're making with their money. The ideal candidate has experience leading engineering security at a financial firm, has a background in back end development, and is passionate about bringing climate solutions to everyone everywhere. Learn more and apply here: https://oursphere.org/about-us/head-of-engineering-security

Green Screen Coalition - Program Assistant (mid-leve) - 300 – 450 EUR per day – depending on relevant experience. - Contract - Totally remote

We’re looking for a mid-level program assistant to work alongside the program co-leads to support the planning, implementation, and evaluation of these programs. The work would support a global community of activists, researchers, technologists, and artists to build bridges, and collectively develop agendas that centre people and the planet. This role is best suited to someone who is critical of the current extractive systems and wants to provide operational support to enable the network to chart a different path.

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