The Triple Bottom - 🌱 The Turbine Graveyard

EU countries agree world's first carbon border tariff 
The EU has agreed to introduce a carbon tax on imports of highly-polluting goods like steel, cement and fertilisers from 2026. 
Context: Many EU manufacturers have been paying for their carbon emissions since 2005 through the Emissions Trading System (ETS), which makes producers pay for emissions (Around €78 per metric ton of CO2) 
Why? As carbon prices rise EU producers are put at risk of “carbon leakage”— losing out to cheaper imports from countries with less strict climate regulation. 
Impact… a renewed impetus for producers globally to accelerate decarbonisation efforts… attention will need to be paid to ensure developing nations don’t get stranded with falling exports AND less money to invest into their green transitions.

Microsoft data centres to heat Finish homes and reduce emissions
Globally, 3% of all electricity used in the world goes to data centres. 98% of this electrical energy is lost as heat. Finish energy company, Fortum, have partnered with Microsoft to redistribute this waste heat to warm houses and businesses in Helsinki. Fortum will use underground hot water pipes to capture and distribute the excess heat to warm 60% of the surrounding area, with the location of the datacentres (powered by renewable energy) picked specifically to support the most efficient redistribution of the heat.
More than cutting carbon emissions: Russian oil and gas make up 27% of the total energy consumed in Finland, so this initiative will help Finland cut its reliance on Russia.

Shell could face lawsuits over climate transition plans 
Environmental lawyers, ClientEarth, are preparing legal action against Shell over the company’s climate transition plan, claiming that Shell’s net-zero targets are not reflected in their operating plans or budgets. It’s not the first time the quality of Shell’s climate transition plan has been challenged having faced a Dutch court order last year. Both examples demonstrate that energy companies will continue to face scrutiny on their transition away from fossil fuels.

GE produces world-first prototype of fully recyclable wind turbine blade 
Landfill, where wind turbine blades go to die… In the U.S. alone, 8,000 ageing blades (and growing) will be decomissioned each year. The fibreglass resin used to make blades lightweight and efficient has also made them difficult to dispose of.
RecycleBlades: A prototype of a world-first 100 per cent recyclable wind turbine blade has been produced in Spain, marking a milestone for the Zero wastE Blade ReseArch (ZEBRA) consortium “closing the loop” for wind power. The prototype turbine blade was made using thermoplastic resin and glass fabrics, all of which can be chemically recycled, where the resin is “depolymerized” – a process that separates the fibre from the resin and recovers the materials to be reused.

• The initiative to boost the market for carbon offsets is being scaled back following fierce debate as to whether the traded asset really does help avert global warming.

• Google is working with German airline company, Lufthansa, to lower carbon emissions and business costs by using AI technology to optimise the process of assigning individual aircraft to specific journeys.

• Through a partnership with Volvo, Starbucks is building an EV charging network with areas of low density of chargers across the states

• Bank of America (BofA) has released a study demonstrating that a lack of action on diversity and inclusion over the past 30 years has led to $70 trillion in foregone economic output, driven by less innovation, lower employee retention, and weaker revenue.

• Climate Action 100+ has released an Aviation Sector Strategy which outlines the urgent actions for the aviation sector to take to align with a 1.5°C scenario = increase the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), to maintain business travel at 2019 levels, to cap long-haul leisure flights of more than 6 hours at 2019 levels

• Seattle startup IUNU landed a $24 million Series B round that will fuel growth of its technology used in greenhouses to analyze the health of crops and manage production.

• GPS Renewables raises over $20M in Series B funding for its modular and automated biogas solution

• AcreTrader Raises Over $20M in Series B Funding for its marketplace that enables investing in farmland for the everyday investor

• Loveseat Raises $7M in Series A Funding for its Returned Home Goods Marketplace

• Copper Labs Raises $5.5M in Series A Funding to Help Utilities Take Control of Energy Demand and Accelerate Grid Modernization