The Not-So Cold Open

Corporate America Demanding World Leaders to Phase Out Fossil Fuels ahead of COP 28

It’s really come this far huh, even capitalism is crying for climate help

Here’s the rundown:

• Over 130 major companies, including Volvo, Ikea, Unilever, Nestlé, and AstraZeneca, have signed a letter calling on governments to adopt a global plan to phase out fossil fuels without carbon capture technology during the upcoming COP 28. (More on COP in this week’s editorial)
• These companies represent nearly $1 trillion in global annual revenue and are committed to reducing their reliance on fossil fuels.
• They are urging governments to set policies that accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035, and emphasizing the need for global consensus on this issue.

You know its bad when even the corporate heavy hitters are begging for consensus on climate - and this highlights a major gap in climate talks. Climate change has been politicized, leaving it to discussion and validating the views of opposition even though it has been well documented within the scientific community for decades. Now, as corporates set their goals and ambitions for net-zero, they’re seeing the consequences of a lack of policy and governmental intervention, that would’ve provided more financial opportunity for their efforts.

The Together Towards Zero initiative is great and there are many other’s like it, but how long until we get strong policies from ALL governments that support climate efforts on a global scale? Will it happen at this years COP? Stay tuned for this week’s editorial on what is COP 28 and what happens behind the curtain.

Read more about this discovery here: MSN

Other Hot Headlines:

• Southwest Airlines Inks a 20-year Renewable Jet Fuel Deal in their Quest to Lower Emissions: Bloomberg
• Traffic in the Panama Canal is Being Throttled by Climate Change: Bloomberg

Climate Culture

Chef Jon Kung is the Wholesome Side of TikTok

I’m a sucker for this new age of digital chefs, especially those that understand the intersections of food, climate, and wellbeing

If I’m being honest, I don’t have a TikTok, nor do I ever think I’ll get one - but knowing that creators like Jon Kung exist with the wellbeing of his followers and the planet in mind, gives me some sort of relief that viewers are starting to see the importance of sustainability - even whilst doom-scrolling.

Chef Jon Kung began his digital journey like many others by cooking on video during the pandemic. Starting with easy cooking techniques and how-to use up what’s leftover in the fridge videos, he soon started to see significant growth in his platform. While also being an environmentalist at heart, Jon found his niche by tying together environmental impact/messaging and cooking beautiful dishes to further educate viewers on their climate impacts.

“Keeping an open mind to what constitutes a meal can help so many people live healthier lives while also benefitting the environment, because the farming industry is a big producer of greenhouse gas.”

An area he’s been specifically outspoken on is induction vs gas stoves. Induction allows us to decrease our use of gasses that can be harmful to both our health and the environment while also allowing for more precision while cooking and the usage of less energy. But enough from my view, I can barely boil pasta at home, check the link below for Jon Kung’s piece on Bloomberg.

Read Here for more on this story w/ Jon Kung

Better Living

What Happens When You Mix Apple & Tesla… You Get a Smart RV?

Keeping you sustainable while on the grid, and off the grid

There’s a pair of California startups looking to shake-up the RV market by giving it the good ol’ “Tesla Treatment”. Staffed by alumni from both Tesla and Apple, Lightship and Pebble (pictured above) have developed the first self-propelled, battery-and-solar- powered travel trailers to reinvent the EV age. Spurred on by a increased interest in nature-based-activities thanks to the pandemic and the boom in EVs thanks to climate change, the RV industry was ready to step it up.

The trailers don’t just look like beautiful spaceships though, as they’re equipped with powerful batteries and solar panels that make them operate as small mobile power plants. The tech makes them capable of operating off the grid for days or even powering stationary homes during blackouts or other disaster events. To put it into perspective here are some numbers:

• Lightship’s L1 Long Range trailer boasts an 80 kWh battery pack and a 3 kWh solar array integrated into the roof and expandable awnings
• That’s nearly the amount of solar energy you’d have on your average house and six Tesla Powerwalls

You may also be thinking, wow that’s probably heavy-as-hell to lug around - so much for your gas mileage and your whole climate crusade. Alright relax, and yes that’s a valid point, the trailer weighs in at around 7,500 pounds. Luckily though, the people at Pebble and Lightship have added integrated electric drive motors and a feature to help reduce drag while on highways, smoothening the process of getting these vehicles to act significantly lighter-on-their-feet and alleviating what would otherwise be even more frequent stops at the gas station.

Check it out for yourself: Pebble Lightship

A note from Chris:

Thanks for reading this week's issue of my newsletter, please feel free to comment any news, topics, or discussions you'd like to hear in upcoming emails. As well, please let me know how you're liking it, if it helps you, entertains you, or how I can improve! Any feedback helps.

Sincerely,

Chris