What is AI's real carbon footprint? You won't find it in the sustainability reports of tech giants. That's because they claim it's mostly or entirely powered by renewables.

@ntashawhite & I dug deeper to find reality to be otherwise. Thanks to use of dodgy credits. Tech companies aren't the world's largest polluters, but they are the largest consumers of clean power. If the climate future is powered by carbon-free energy, then what tech companies do to meet their climate goals matters a great deal.

Full story bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Google is no longer claiming to be carbon neutral.

It has all sorts of implications for how companies go about making climate claims, buying carbon credits, and, generally, contributing to the climate fight.

🧵 Read the full story with all the nuance here bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

2020: Microsoft sets goal to be carbon negative by end of the decade.

2023: Microsoft's emissions are 30% higher than in 2020.

Main cause? The relentless push to meet AI demand, which requires carbon-intensive steel, cement, chips.

Story with @dinabass: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
It's not just a Microsoft problem. All tech giants chasing AI dreams are seeing rapid increase in electricity use.



Spot Slovenia: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

A thought to get 2024 started. Isn't it weird that the doomist narrative is spreading at a time when, on most metrics at a global level, it is in fact the best time to be alive in the 200,000 years that Homo sapiens have been on the planet? 🧵 That is indeed true on global averages, as @OurWorldInData and others have documented: life expectancy, child mortality, maternal deaths at child birth, access to energy, water, food and education, and even extreme poverty. See: lnkd.in/eNwewSdX

CNBC has dismantled its climate desk and will no longer have staff dedicated to covering climate change.

https://twitter.com/CatClifford/status/1726648212315091148

It is a sad day when a major news publication decides to cut jobs that provide essential coverage of a planetary crisis. The science is clear, the impacts are here, and many world leaders are taking it seriously. So why does a media publication not see a business case?

Why "look at China and India" argument on climate action fails.... Why rich countries must act first

What's the best commentary you've read about Rahul Gandhi's dismissal from the Indian parliament? thewire.in/politics/rahul…

As dust settles on #COP27, many unresolved questions remain. But one thing is clear: With a loss-and-damage fund to be created, the most imp piece for tackling climate change is in place.

It is now, more than ever, in the self-interest of rich countries to cut emissions. 🧵 The framework to deal with climate change is simple and it's all under the umbrella of loss and damage:

1. Avert: reduce emissions (mitigation)
2. Minimize: adapt to warming (adaptation)
3. Address: compensate for climate impacts (reparation)

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Big global companies have been been buying junk offsets to scrub emissions off their books and claim carbon neutral.

We analyzed 215,000 transactions and contacted dozens to understand why they fell for it.
bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-…

🧵 on investigation with @ntashawhite @pogkas Offsets are promissory notes that you can pay to scrub emissions off your books. The deal buys you a project that should avoid or remove those emissions.

However, it only works if the money you paid for the offset was the only way the project could have been built.

Multiple country representatives at #COP27 said that they are not happy with how the process has played out. A series of documents were passed through without interventions, including the political decision. Many issues were close but remain unresolved. But countries chose not to intervene because that could have risked the loss and damage deal, which all parties were happy with. #COP27

While you wait for negotiators to figure it out at #COP27? Here's weekend listening from the Zero podcast to catch up on how we got to now. 🧵

Ep 1 with @SaleemulHuq on understanding the main topic of discussion "loss and damage" bloomberg.com/news/articles/… Ep 2 with @LauraMillanL on how lack of weather data in Africa makes it difficult to adapt to a warming planet and harder still to demand compensation for climate damages bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Timmermans says EU "prepared to walk away" from COP27 talks.

Does not want "1.5C to die here today". Says there is an offer for a loss and damage fund, but needs to be met with clear emission reduction pledges.

Business end of #COP27 is getting serious. Getting a positive result at #COP27 is still possible, says Timmermans. But better no deal than a bad deal. Still EU is getting worried.

If don't fund reducing emissions, no amount of money on the planet can address the coming misery, says Timmermans.

A lot of the environmental impact we are feeling today are made worse by the climate crisis.

But at 1.2°C of warming over pre-industrial average, the majority of the impacts are made far worse by how humans have designed, built and operated our civilization. Unlivable heat in cities? Blame design and social inequalities.

See story from @LauraMillanL, @hellococomo & @_jsdiamond bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-…

Time for a thread about people leaving their jobs to fight climate change.

If you have a related story to share, please do so in replies.

🧵 Techies cnbc.com/2022/07/26/tec…

The air quality in north and west London is abysmal. @LondonFire is tackling multiple fires. All in parks, which probably were started by illegal barbecues. North east

https://twitter.com/LondonFire/status/1551173054402805761

This tweet thread to @mcuban has sparked some interesting conversations.

Here's a thread curating strands you may enjoy reading.

🧵

https://twitter.com/AkshatRathi/status/1512734346188398595

First here is @mcuban's 5-tweet thread making the case for why @KlimaDAO will get better, but that liquidity in offsets market comes first then improvement in quality of offsets.

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1512786209000599565

Thanks for the constructive engagement, Mark. I'm glad that you're tapping into a wide net of expertise for help with the issue of dodgy offsets.

Let me share some stories that @climate has published that show some of problems and perhaps point the way to better solutions.

🧵

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1512537855687602176

The problems that @ToucanProtocol @KlimaDAO etc are facing with the quality of offsets are things that many experts have butted heads for years.

The most recent attempt was a big task force with hundreds of top brains. June 2021:
bloomberg.com/news/features/… ht @Jess_Shankleman

Gather round. Let me tell you a tale of how clever marketing can help move trillions of dollars under the guise of saving the planet and its people.

🧵on the investigation for @BW with @CamSimpsonNews & Saijel Kishan

bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-… Dire warnings about climate change, social unrest, and inequality have helped create the fastest-growing segment of financial-services industry: ESG.

Non-financial metrics, covering environmental, social and governance issues, are sold as "better portfolios for a better world."

#COP26 warning: There's going to be a LOT of media attention. That's very good. But it also means you're going to get a LOT of takes on what it all means.

Going to get a head start and give you THE take.

Ok, not really, but here's a framework to put the takes in their place.🧵 For the uninitiated, which I suspect is >99% of the world, COP is an annual United Nations meeting (except in pandemic years) that creates the space for countries to work together to stabilize global temperatures, adapt to the warming that's inevitable and save the planet.

So what to make of the leaked documents that show fossil-fuel rich countries trying to change the language of UN science reports?

Such a scandal, right? Not so quick. But there are important takeaways. 🧵 unearthed.greenpeace.org/2021/10/21/lea… First of all, as the importance of climate change grows, it's great to see stories that dig into the procedural nitty gritty. It helps bring transparency to a complicated process that involves not just hundreds of scientists but also thousands of diplomats. So kudos on the story!