?? The Grumpy Optimists #77

Happy Monday. ??

Welcome back to another episode of the Grumpy Optimist. This week we’re looking at the battle of the US vs the EU to support cleantech companies - the kind of battle we support here. Between the EU and the US, there will be close to $750 billion in subsidies to help rapid decarbonisation and reduce the ‘green premium’ from low-carbon products like heat pumps, cement and more. It’s genuinely an exciting time for science, development and decarbonisation.

In not-so-optimistic news, BP plan to boost fossil fuel production because they can’t stop printing cash, but whatever, shareholder returns matter more than the planet.

Dig in, get yourself a dose of optimism and go into the week realising that the world isn’t ending just yet, we’re doing more than we’ve ever done to reduce our impact and between all the smart people working on solutions, we’ll find a way.

Have a great day and an even better week.

?? Articles to read

?????The EU launches its green deal industrial plan to compete with the US Inflation Reduction Act.?The deal aims to make it easier to scale technology that supports a net zero economy, upskill workers and enhance the competitiveness of the EU for cleantech.

Why it matters. ???Last year the US implemented the Inflation Reduction Act -?a good summary here?- allocating $370 billion to decarbonisation. This has led to a number of companies looking to move their operations out of the EU to make the most of huge subsidies. The green deal from the EU shows the financial and political desire to scale climate technology and create the conditions for rapid decarbonisation.

???Big oil bets big on fossil fuels.?BP has said that they intend to focus more on oil and gas with record profits and returning capital to shareholders. There is nothing more than the meme below to illustrate this headline and this motive.

??How can football influence climate action??Last week was the Green Football Weekend in the UK aimed at promoting sustainability in sports and provoking conversations around climate change with supporters. However, it comes at a time when clubs are scrutinised for?excessive air travel. I believe that using sport as a communication tool for climate action is powerful and the more we see the two combine, the better.

???Regulation on log burners tighten.?A log fire can create an idyllic atmosphere in a British pub or old country house, but they could soon incur a ￡300 fine. Log and coal burners are the UK's largest source of small particle air pollution, which can enter our lungs and bloodstream. The regulation aims to limit the number of emissions that can be released and can even lead to a criminal record if it’s breached multiple times.

?????Biden restores national park protection in Alaska.?The Tongass National Forest stores a whopping 44% of all the CO2 in the US’s national forests and new legislation will block logging and road-building in an effort to preserve the national park.

????New satellite to spot CO2 super-emitters.?GHGSat, a Canadian company, will send a satellite into orbit later this year to track CO2 emissions. This data could be crucial to verify things such as carbon credits, as well as the emissions released by major corporations.

?????Word’s largest sovereign wealth fund warns companies to take climate seriously or get the axe.?Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's single largest investor, which on average owns 1.3% of over 9,000 companies, has threatened to vote against boards that are lax with their climate and social targets. While impressive, it's important to note that the revenue for the wealth fund came from profits on oil sales and licensing, so the fund is somewhat cleaning up its own mess. Still, it's a signal of intent, and the implications of this action could be far-reaching.

?????India announces $4.3 billion for clean energy.?The Indian government pledged to help grow its use of green electricity, hydrogen and farming. As the third largest emitting country in the world, it’s an important decision that is likely to have a significant impact. Still, more is required to decarbonise electricity use while balancing a growing population and lifting millions of people of poverty.

???Portugal powered by 88% renewables in January.?Portugal, already with one of the lowest emission grids in Europe, hit 88% renewables in January, surpassing their 2026 goal of 80%.

??Richest 10% are responsible for half of all emissions.?New research found that the top 1% of global emitters were responsible for nearly 25% of all emission growth in the last 30 years. Interestingly, the while the missions between countries are still apparent, the biggest growth is within countries creating a strong incentive for policies that target the most polluting in society.

Random but interesting

Potentially one of my favourite Twitter accounts, betterstreetsai, who shows ai-generated street transformations, imagining a world where we didn't design around cars. Cool if you ask me.

The Grumpy Optimists ??