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Daily Personalized Newsletter

Earth Catalyst gathers & hand-filters the most recent updates from over 1,000 green tech and sustainability organizations. Here are all of the updates; if you subscribe to our free newsletter, we'll send you 3 each weekday we think will be meaningful to you.

Affordable Energy vs Profits and Pollution

Writer: Marshall KirkpatrickMarshall Kirkpatrick

TotalEnergies says transition away from oil and gas is essential, but has to be affordable for consumers. Then why are they allegedly sending 86% of their profits back to shareholders instead of investing more in the transition? And why are they allegedly continuing to pollute the Republic of Congo after courts ruled they had to stop?

The CEO of TotalEnergies said in a McKinsey interview yesterday that in the "tightrope" transition he's charting between oil and gas today, and the fast-growing electric energy of the future "We won’t make this transition if we forget that the fundamental characteristic of energy is affordability, because it’s central to everybody’s lives and to economic development."


While interesting, that feels inconsistent with the new Friends of the Earth findings that Europe's largest polluting companies directed 75% of their $2.1 trillion in profits since 2010 to shareholders instead of clean energy investments. The report says Shell is at 97% and TotalEnergies at 86% of profits going to shareholders instead of transition.


And with this news, speaking of TotalEnergy: Satellite data and documents reveal TotalEnergies' Republic of Congo oil terminal continues polluting local waters and air despite cleanup claims and legal orders.


Let's report and measure these factors, shall we?

Bloomberg announced yesterday that its terminals now include climate risk and opportunity. That feels like it could be a powerful piece of the transition puzzle. Perhaps have a bigger impact on transition than thoughtful interviews in McKinsey Quarterly.


You want us to believe you take energy transition seriously? How about investing more of those profits into transition and stopping oil pollution you've been legally compelled to stop! Put it all on the Bloomberg Terminal!


Join me to discuss that Bloomberg Terminal news here on LinkedIn if you want to help me stir up some conversation about it.


And now we offer you the best updates from around the green tech and sustainability world today. Email subscribers get 3 just for you.


-Marshall Kirkpatrick

Earth Catalyst: We provide thought leadership support systems and bespoke consulting for green tech and sustainability organizations.

 
Today and every day, our system scans over 1,000 green tech and sustainability organizations for updates. Below, you'll find:

  • A Visual of the Day

  • A digest-style Table of Contents for 189 selected updates from around the green tech and sustainability world

  • (If you subscribe by email) 3 personalized selections just for you and your work


Did a friend forward you this newsletter? Welcome! You can subscribe here and get your own personal recommendations each day.

 


Visual of the Day

Fog to Fresh Water

A mesh screen in Chile's Atacama Desert captures fog droplets to create drinking water for the city of Alto Hospicio. Research shows each collector can make 36,500 liters of water per year, using nothing but gravity and fog – a vital solution for a desert city of 140,000 people.


That's cool.



Today's Updates

Table of Contents

  • Agriculture (3 stories) - Methane lab validates rice irrigation in Bangladesh; agrivoltaics ease solar-farm tensions; egg production outperforms chicken meat sustainability


  • Carbon (6 stories) - CarbonZero.Eco raises funds for biochar, CTRL-S tracks supply chains, while new calcium oxide capture method promises $100/ton removal amid Microsoft's AI emissions debate


  • Circular (5 stories) - Major recycling expansions as METYCLE raises $15M for AI metal sorting, Sage acquires Cascade for IT asset reuse, while xAI plans record ceramic bioreactor and Philly targets food waste reduction


  • Ecosystems (17 stories) - Record wildfires in Bolivia and Australia, light pollution threatening nocturnal species, funding cuts endangering Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains, while conservation efforts focus on pangolin habitats, vicuña impacts, and Hawaiian wildlife, amid growing water infrastructure and logging threats across multiple continents


  • Efficiency (10 stories) - Heat pump installations surge with 32% sales growth over gas, military commits $200M for geothermal, and Hyperlume's $12.5M microLED tech targets data center efficiency


  • Finance (18 stories) - Bloomberg MARS, MSCI-Swiss Re climate tools launch as Shell, TotalEnergies face scrutiny over $2.1T profit allocation; Mizuho-GenZero, UK Transition Council, and Octopus Energy advance green finance initiatives


  • Grid (21 stories) - BYD's 15.1 GWh Saudi deal, Empire Wind NYC connection, Akaysha-Gunvor battery swap, virtual power plants gain traction, data center grid impacts, and Last Energy's UK nuclear plans reshape transmission landscape


  • Indigenous (7 stories) - First Nations water teams in BC, Amazon youth communicators, Maya Ch'orti' at COP16, Haida Gwaii title, Yurringa Energy expansion, Māori mountain rights, Masai carbon credits


  • Industry (13 stories) - Major expansions in US EV battery production and Asian ammonia markets, while LONGi's $137M solar venture and Australia's $1bn green iron fund reshape industrial manufacturing landscape


  • Policy (67 stories) - Legal battles over IRA tax credits, state-level climate initiatives, and Trump administration's NEPA rollbacks dominate policy landscape, while COP16 negotiations focus on Indigenous rights and fossil fuel phase-out


  • Renewables (16 stories) - Ocean Sun, Canopy Power, DAS Solar, Ignis Energy, and Heliene drive innovations in floating solar, N-type modules, geothermal, and US manufacturing, while global markets see major capacity gains


  • Transport (6 stories) - Dacia plans $19.4K European EV, Nikola files bankruptcy, global sales hit 17M units, STLA debuts autonomous tech, as NH faces charging hurdles and UK boosts EV training


Agriculture

Methane lab validates rice irrigation in Bangladesh; agrivoltaics ease solar-farm tensions; egg production outperforms chicken meat sustainability



Carbon

CarbonZero.Eco raises funds for biochar, CTRL-S tracks supply chains, while new calcium oxide capture method promises $100/ton removal amid Microsoft's AI emissions debate



Circular

Major recycling expansions as METYCLE raises $15M for AI metal sorting, Sage acquires Cascade for IT asset reuse, while xAI plans record ceramic bioreactor and Philly targets food waste reduction



Ecosystems

Record wildfires in Bolivia and Australia, light pollution threatening nocturnal species, funding cuts endangering Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains, while conservation efforts focus on pangolin habitats, vicuña impacts, and Hawaiian wildlife, amid growing water infrastructure and logging threats across multiple continents



Efficiency

Heat pump installations surge with 32% sales growth over gas, military commits $200M for geothermal, and Hyperlume's $12.5M microLED tech targets data center efficiency



Finance

Bloomberg MARS, MSCI-Swiss Re climate tools launch as Shell, TotalEnergies face scrutiny over $2.1T profit allocation; Mizuho-GenZero, UK Transition Council, and Octopus Energy advance green finance initiatives



Grid

BYD's 15.1 GWh Saudi deal, Empire Wind NYC connection, Akaysha-Gunvor battery swap, virtual power plants gain traction, data center grid impacts, and Last Energy's UK nuclear plans reshape transmission landscape



Indigenous

First Nations water teams in BC, Amazon youth communicators, Maya Ch'orti' at COP16, Haida Gwaii title, Yurringa Energy expansion, Māori mountain rights, Masai carbon credits



Industry

Major expansions in US EV battery production and Asian ammonia markets, while LONGi's $137M solar venture and Australia's $1bn green iron fund reshape industrial manufacturing landscape



Policy

Legal battles over IRA tax credits, state-level climate initiatives, and Trump administration's NEPA rollbacks dominate policy landscape, while COP16 negotiations focus on Indigenous rights and fossil fuel phase-out



Renewables

Ocean Sun, Canopy Power, DAS Solar, Ignis Energy, and Heliene drive innovations in floating solar, N-type modules, geothermal, and US manufacturing, while global markets see major capacity gains



Transport

Dacia plans $19.4K European EV, Nikola files bankruptcy, global sales hit 17M units, STLA debuts autonomous tech, as NH faces charging hurdles and UK boosts EV training



 
 
 

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