In today’s edition:

⚡️ HBD IRA!

🚜 Fueling change in Kenya

🌳  Ecuador landmark ban on oil

⚡️ Energy (1-minute read)

The Inflation Reduction Act, one year on

What happened: On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, which is considered the largest investment ever made in clean energy and climate action.

In just 12 months, significant progress has been made:

🚜 AgriTech (1-minute read)

Fuelling change through Kenya’s kitchen

Something a little different today spotlighting some Agtech innovation…

Headline: The cooking fuel of choice in Kenya is charcoal - a driver of deforestation and air pollution. Koko Networks, a Kenyan-based company, is utilising international carbon markets to give over 1mn households cleaner and more sustainable cooking fuel.

Details: Koko provides customers with bioethanol made from sugarcane - a renewable resource which reduces deforestation and is linked to lower carbon emissions. Both the fuels and the specialised stoves they are burnt in can be purchased in vending machines in Kenyan cities. The machines are subsidised through audited carbon credits linked to a reduction in charcoal use.

Bigger picture: With backing from the likes of Microsoft, and already serving a third of homes in Nairobi, KoKo’s business model can be replicated in other tropical forest nations where charcoal is widely used for cooking. (See Full Story here)

🌳 Nature (1-minute read)

Ecuador votes to ban oil drilling in part of Amazon, and mining outside Quito

What happened: Ecuadorean referendums to ban oil drilling in a part of the Amazon and mining in a forest outside Quito easily passed. This sparked cheers from Indigenous leaders and environmentalists despite warnings from oil and mining groups about billions in lost income.

Details: The Yasuni vote - which gives state oil company Petroecuador a year to shutter production in the 43-ITT block - is set to result in the loss of about 12% of Ecuador's 480,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) crude oil output. Petroecuador did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has said a "yes" would cost Ecuador $13.8 billion in income over the next two decades (a 1.9% reduction in projected economic growth till 2026)

Why it matters for nature: A single hectare (2.5 acres) of the Yasuni has 650 species of trees, as well as hundreds of species of animals, according to the environment ministry.

Outstanding question: How will support for other industries emerge to shore up Ecuador's economy? (See Full Story here)

💭 Little Bytes

Quote: “The huge advantage of plant-based meat is that they’re [made using] new technologies, and they’ll keep improving and evolving with new technologies.” Laurent Stévenart, director of plant-based foods at Americana’s Nabati

Stat: China has ramped up its wind and solar manufacturing capabilities and it is on track to bring total wind and solar capacity to 1,200 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, up from 758 GW at the end of last year.

Watch: Scientists have created a battery alternative out of cement

🗞 In other news…

🎣 Gone Phishing

Three of these stories are true, one we've made up. Guess which:

Written by Colin and Ollie - Drop us a message!