Weekly Roundup #10
On #COP26 #Sustainability #Fundraising #PlanA #ClimateScenarios
Hola a todos. What a week we just had, and what a week is just starting. The Conference of the Parties or COP26 is still going and there are already really good announcements worth celebrating (methane pledge, India committing to net zero -although by 2070), no more deforestation by 2030. Let’s see what this week brings on.
For you we have a great 🌲sustainability flywheel from McKinsey, 💸big raise ($10m_ announcement from our friend in Berlin at Plan A -kudos to our special guest of the podcast and CEO Lubomila Jordanova), great carbon capture summary, and the folks at Clim8 asked themselves, can we trust the bankers this time with their $100 term commitment to net zero?
Llevatelo!
📈 CHART OF THE WEEK - Our future lives and livelihoods: Sustainable and inclusive and growing
Plan A has raised $10 million in Series A funding 🎉
We're incredibly excited to bring on board HV Capital and Keen Venture Partners, alongside existing investors Demeter, and coparion, to enhance our platform's current functionalities as well as expand our reach into new markets.
Since the launch of Plan A, we have worked hard on making corporate sustainability a must-have attribute for any business. We are sure that our software can support any business to achieve results on decarbonisation and reporting that go beyond simple carbon compensation. Lubomila Jordanova.
If you missed our interview with the incredibly knowledgeable Lubomila who is quite active at COP 26 as we write this, give it a 🎵 listen or read the full interview here in 🧭Explorationists.
🌪 Climate crisis: do we need millions of machines sucking CO2 from the air?
Does the world need millions of machines sucking carbon dioxide directly out of the air to beat the climate crisis? There is a fast-growing number of companies that believe the answer is yes and that are deploying their first devices into the real world.
From turning CO2 into rock in Iceland, to capturing the breath of office workers, to “putting oil back underground”, their aim is to scale up rapidly and some have already sold their CO2 removal services to buyers including Bill Gates, Swiss Re, Shopify and Audi. Prices, however, are sky high – $600 (£440) per tonne and more. Given that humans emit about 36bn tonnes a year, that is problematic.
💸 Would this time around be different?
The headline-making financial announcements ($100T investment in ESG and net zero technologies) from the major banks and asset owners came with a bang. Will they deliver, in particular with regards to projects and infrastructure in developing countries? Link from the good guys at Clim8.
Well, the iShares MSCI World Paris-Aligned Climate UCITS ETF is invested, as of today, at 1.98% in the broad power sector (utilities and energy) and 1.63% in materials (are wind turbines made of bamboo? will future roads be gravel?). Information technology and Communication account for 33% of this ETF (including the usual suspects such as Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet and Meta in the top 10 holdings). Besides, according to Carbon4 Research, the broad tech sector (including internet, software, hardware, media and telecommunication) was only responsible for 3.6% of world GHG emissions in 2020 and emissions have increased at a pace of 6.2% a year over the past 7 years, which is far from impressive. So in a nutshell, 33% of the money invested in a Paris-aligned strategy is directed towards companies that in aggregate account for a growing, yet small share of global CO2 emissions. Is this how $130 trn is going to be spent? Research by Scientific Beta dove into the flaws of net-zero strategies, which mostly fail to invest where it matters, starting with clean energy.
🗺 MAP OF THE WEEK - What Europe will look like under different climate scenarios
It’s COP26, and this excellent climate journalistic and infographics endeavour from The Guardian clearly shows the perils of climate change and how it may manifest in Europe in terms of precipitation, droughts, wildfires, heatwaves, etc.
The time to act is now.
If you want to send us an idea or a tip, a #ClimateTech company that we should have a look at, or if you have any questions, please reach us at: davidcongeof@gmail.com or arraiz.p.daniel@gmail.com.
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