Sustainability Weekly
Fridays are for…
Public and Private Sector Support, Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Nuclear Power, and more!
by Alli DiGiacomo
Happy Friday! This week features positive sustainability news from both the private and public sectors, both of which will be critical in the fight against the climate crisis.
If you're looking for something to do this weekend in NYC, you can’t miss the Open House New York Weekend, an annual festival that opens 270+ places across the five boroughs for behind-the-scenes tours and special access at skyscrapers, power plants, artist studios, and everything in between. Also happening is the annual Doggie Costume Contest at the Treats in the Streets halloween parade in the meatpacking district!
Keep reading for more of this week’s sustainability news…
T H I S W E E K ’ S T O P S T O R I E S
CEOS PUBLISH LETTER URGING MORE GOVERNMENT ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
More than 100 CEOs from some of the world’s biggest corporations have published a letter urging governments and the private sector to boost efforts to keep Paris Climate Agreement goals alive. The letter, signed by the heads of companies including Ikea, AstraZeneca, A.P. Moller-Maersk, Bain & Company, Iberdrola, Orsted, and Volvo Cars, calls for governments to:
Put forward aggressive and transparent new emission reduction plans
Scale up climate finance including expanding the use of carbon pricing and phasing out fossil-fuel subsidies
Eliminate permitting barriers for renewable projects
Enact policies to help create a market for and scale breakthrough technologies
This comes ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference 2024 (COP29) in November in Azerbaijan.
DOE ANNOUNCES LOANS FOR SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced its first two loans for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), an important step in decarbonizing the airline industry. The ~$3 billion in funding will go to two companies; Montana Renewables and Gevo. Montana Renewables makes biofuels from vegetable oils and discarded animal fats. They plan to expand their facilities and produce 315 million gallons of biofuels annually (8 times USA’s total SAF production in 2023).
Gevo makes biofuels from corn ethanol and plans to build a new refinery called Net-Zero 1 in South Dakota. Each year the facility would produce up to 60 million galls of SAF, and Gevo plans to capture the carbon produced and transport it to storage via the yet-to-be-constructed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline.
BIG TECH INVESTS IN NUCLEAR POWER
Amazon is investing $500M toward nuclear power to meet the rising energy demands of its data centers and AI initiatives. Google also unveiled plans to purchase nuclear power less than a month after Microsoft said it would reopen the Three Mile Island plant—home to the worst nuclear accident in US history—to fuel its AI efforts. Both companies are seeking reliable, carbon-free energy to supplement their existing solar and wind investments.
Nuclear power accounts for 19% of US electricity generation and comes from energy released when the nucleus of a heavy atom splits into lighter atoms. While expensive and potentially hazardous, nuclear power is a clean alternative to greenhouse gas-emitting energy sources. Data centers, driven by AI, are consuming massive amounts of electricity. The International Energy Agency predicts their global consumption could more than double by 2026.
Amazon and Google are investing in small modular reactors, which are cheaper and easier to build than traditional nuclear reactors and generate up to 300 megawatts of power or about one-third the amount of power of a traditional reactor. Currently, only two SMRs currently operate in the world, in China and Russia.
MORE IN SUSTAINABILITY NEWS
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that 6 gigawatts (GW) of distributed solar have been installed across New York, marking the early achievement of the State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act statutory goal a year ahead of schedule.
Grocery stores that donate expiring food, instead of price discounting or discarding, make higher profits.
Amazon and Google have plans for fueling their data centers: Nuclear power.
A startup has been given the green light to pilot a solar railway in Switzerland, where solar panels will be rolled out “like carpet” on the tracks.
A revolutionary new children’s hospital just opened in Zurich, with architecture designed to “help the healing process,” with walls designed to scribble on and chalet-style patient “cottages”.
Social Impact Collective partners with Boston’s Mayor to add green roofs atop 30 bus shelters that include drought-resistant plants, provide shade, improve air quality, add new green space, and increase stormwater retention.
90% of IVF-bread coral colonies in the U.S., Mexico, and the Caribbean survived a record heat event last year, compared to 25% of older corals.
The Supreme Court allowed the EPA to move forward with its rule restricting climate pollution from power plants, meaning that one of the Biden administration’s key climate policies can stay in place.
The University of California, San Diego, is the first major public university to require all its undergraduate students to complete a climate change course.