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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.

Is there a trade-off between economic growth and net zero?

Writer's picture: Andrea GonzalesAndrea Gonzales

The former imperial power known as the United Kingdom announced this morning that it will expand the number of runways at London's Heathrow airport from 2 to 3, investing in growth of commerce, along with investments in sustainable aviation fuel, offshore wind, and electric vehicle charging. For context, there are 4 runways at Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt, 6 at Schiphol in Amsterdam.


Not everyone is convinced, but the UK government says this is good news.


Trade offs?

“There is no trade-off between economic growth and net zero,” UK finance minister Rachel Reeves said this morning. “Quite the opposite. Net zero is the industrial opportunity of the 21st century, and Britain must lead the way.”


Maybe. But we're not talking about economic growth through geothermal energy and heat pumps. We're talking about 50% more airplane runways!

 

The mayor of London disagrees with Reeves.

“I remain opposed to a new runway at Heathrow airport because of the severe impact it will have on noise, air pollution and meeting our climate change targets," Mayor Sadiq Khan said.


Reeves claims climate requirements will be met, though. “Heathrow themselves are clear that their proposal for expansion will meet strict rules on noise, air quality and carbon emissions and we are already making great strides in transitioning to cleaner and greener aviation.”


Net zero, though, means, using the famous analogy of Donella Meadows, that the more water that flows from the faucet into the bathtub, the more the tub has to drain to hold steady. More emissions means still more decarbonization and carbon removal will be required, you're just making it harder.


Will the Heathrow expansion and decarbonization investment math work out - or will it push us further into climate collapse? High stakes. The UK government's statement doesn't link to any specific details, it just invokes "money in working peoples' pockets" and "acting in the national interest."


Ok, so that's that news! Let's zoom out and take a look around the world.


Let's go!


-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 187 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

Harvesting Blue Carbon

A seaweed farmer works one of the extensive seaweed farms that were part of Oceans 2050's Global Seaweed Project study, which examined 20 farms across five continents. As detailed in Nature Climate Change, these farms can sequester significant amounts of carbon dioxide while providing economic opportunities and food security for coastal communities. Over 99% of participating farmers are from developing countries, most of whom are women. As always, interesting comments from CleanTechnica readers at that link, too.


Today's Updates

Table of Contents

  • Agriculture (15 stories) - Marigold trap cropping revival, Denver Urban Gardens' food forests, Food Brewer and Kokomodo's lab-grown coffee/cocoa, Camelina phytomining for EV batteries, and Swedish rust-resistant wheat varieties lead agricultural innovations


  • Carbon (12 stories) - BBC, Microsoft outline net-zero plans as studies show 35% higher LA fire risk; Manulife raises $480M forest fund; Rubicon-Ecobase deal launches EU forest credits


  • Circular (4 stories) - Suay Sew Shop, BMEx marketplace, and Moment Energy lead circular initiatives in textile reuse, construction material exchange, and EV battery repurposing


  • Ecosystems (16 stories) - Antarctic ice calving patterns shift, Marshall Islands creates 48,000km² marine sanctuary, Ecuador expands Río Negro park, while global ocean warming accelerates and threatens Galician shellfish stocks


  • Efficiency (8 stories) - Major efficiency gains from New England's $55B program and Australia's home upgrades, while UK floating house and DC summit showcase adaptive building innovations


  • Finance (9 stories) - Major funding moves from Schroders, Colesco, and Structure Climate drive ESG growth, while WFP develops climate finance for refugees and new platforms emerge for green building incentives


  • Grid (13 stories) - Major grid partnerships emerge as Amazon shifts strategy, Cisco/Gridspertise modernize infrastructure, and storage projects advance with Ninedot, CIP, Transgrid, and esVolta leading multi-GW developments across US and Australia


  • Indigenous (9 stories) - U.S. prison systems profit from tribal lands while Indigenous fire networks expand training; African conservancies show success; Lake County tribes lead watershed restoration


  • Industry (19 stories) - DMEGC Solar's 12GW factory launch, Photowatt closure, Lightbridge-Oklo nuclear partnership, and European Hydrogen Backbone progress mark key industry shifts, while Mondragon Assembly and RENA Technologies advance solar manufacturing capabilities


  • Policy (50 stories) - Federal funding freezes target climate programs as Trump administration signals rollbacks; states and advocacy groups mount legal challenges while new policies emerge from EU, Australia, and US states


  • Renewables (15 stories) - Floating solar potential hits 22TW globally; Amazon's 97MW wind farm launches in Victoria; ManOrga-BayWa parking canopies expand in France; Huasun achieves 720W module milestone; UNSW breaks kesterite efficiency record


  • Transport (15 stories) - Port electrification summit in Long Beach, fleet conference in DC, Tesla NACS adoption, Bosch hydrogen investment, and flying car deal between Japanese maker and India's JetSetGo highlight transport sector shifts


Agriculture

Marigold trap cropping revival, Denver Urban Gardens' food forests, Food Brewer and Kokomodo's lab-grown coffee/cocoa, Camelina phytomining for EV batteries, and Swedish rust-resistant wheat varieties lead agricultural innovations



Carbon

BBC, Microsoft outline net-zero plans as studies show 35% higher LA fire risk; Manulife raises $480M forest fund; Rubicon-Ecobase deal launches EU forest credits



Circular

Suay Sew Shop, BMEx marketplace, and Moment Energy lead circular initiatives in textile reuse, construction material exchange, and EV battery repurposing



Ecosystems

Antarctic ice calving patterns shift, Marshall Islands creates 48,000km² marine sanctuary, Ecuador expands Río Negro park, while global ocean warming accelerates and threatens Galician shellfish stocks



Efficiency

Major efficiency gains from New England's $55B program and Australia's home upgrades, while UK floating house and DC summit showcase adaptive building innovations



Finance

Major funding moves from Schroders, Colesco, and Structure Climate drive ESG growth, while WFP develops climate finance for refugees and new platforms emerge for green building incentives



Grid

Major grid partnerships emerge as Amazon shifts strategy, Cisco/Gridspertise modernize infrastructure, and storage projects advance with Ninedot, CIP, Transgrid, and esVolta leading multi-GW developments across US and Australia



Indigenous

U.S. prison systems profit from tribal lands while Indigenous fire networks expand training; African conservancies show success; Lake County tribes lead watershed restoration



Industry

DMEGC Solar's 12GW factory launch, Photowatt closure, Lightbridge-Oklo nuclear partnership, and European Hydrogen Backbone progress mark key industry shifts, while Mondragon Assembly and RENA Technologies advance solar manufacturing capabilities



Policy

Federal funding freezes target climate programs as Trump administration signals rollbacks; states and advocacy groups mount legal challenges while new policies emerge from EU, Australia, and US states



Renewables

Floating solar potential hits 22TW globally; Amazon's 97MW wind farm launches in Victoria; ManOrga-BayWa parking canopies expand in France; Huasun achieves 720W module milestone; UNSW breaks kesterite efficiency record



Transport

Port electrification summit in Long Beach, fleet conference in DC, Tesla NACS adoption, Bosch hydrogen investment, and flying car deal between Japanese maker and India's JetSetGo highlight transport sector shifts


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