Reetu Gupta

Climate Capital Guidebook: The Biden-Harris Administration is releasing a new Climate Capital Guidebook to provide a simple, comprehensive map of capital programs across the federal government that are available to climate-related start-ups, small- and medium-sized businesses, and their investors. While larger, institutionally-backed climate companies may have the resources to identify and access federal funding opportunities, smaller enterprises may face greater challenges in navigating these federal programs. https://lnkd.in/eJ3QV4Fw #climatechange #climatetech

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If you are looking for a magical community space where you can... ✨ Connect with neighbors and build generative friendships ✨ Learn about local climate solutions in NYC (this one will be on food justice + circularity!) ✨ Take meaningful action with your new friends to combat your climate anxiety while making an actual difference Come to our Soapbox NYC's pop-up community night on Thursday at Rethink Food! You'll be treated to a delicious upcycled dinner and share this meal with people who care deeply about our shared future. Soapbox Project is building joyful spaces for you to transform your climate anxiety into meaningful change, and if you come to our pop-ups this year, you'll be able to shape this social experiment that asks... What if we had vibrant places for people to go where they can truly belong and build community around things that actually matter? If you're in NYC and in your loneliness + climate anxiety feels, come bring them and let's transform them together. Link in the comments! Tag your friends so they can grab the last of our 5 tickets!!

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Carbon Offsets, a Much-Criticized Climate Tool, Get Federal Guidelines: The Biden administration on Tuesday laid out for the first time [PDF] a set of broad government guidelines around the use of carbon offsets in an attempt to shore up confidence in a method for tackling global warming that has faced growing criticism. From a report: Companies and individuals spent $1.7 billion last year voluntarily buying carbon offsets, which are intended to cancel out the climate effects of activities like air travel by funding projects elsewhere, such as the planting of trees, that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but that wouldn't have happened without the extra money. Yet a growing number of studies and reports have found that many carbon offsets simply don't work. Some offsets help fund wind or solar projects that likely would have been built anyway. And it's often extremely difficult to measure the effectiveness of offsets intended to protect forests. As a result, some scientists and researchers have argued that carbon offsets are irredeemably flawed and should be abandoned altogether. Instead, they say, companies should just focus on directly cutting their own emissions. The Biden administration is now weighing in on this debate, saying that offsets can sometimes be an important tool for helping businesses and others reduce their emissions, as long as there are guardrails in place. The new federal guidelines are an attempt to define "high-integrity" offsets as those that deliver real and quantifiable emissions reductions that wouldn't have otherwise taken place. [...] The new federal guidelines also urge businesses to focus first on reducing emissions within their own supply chains as much as possible before buying carbon offsets. Some companies have complained that it is too difficult to control their sprawling network of outside suppliers and that they should be allowed to use carbon offsets to tackle pollution associated with, for instance, the cement or steel they use. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Hey folks: If you've listened to any of the 17 episodes of the Everyday Climate Champions podcast (https://lnkd.in/gcsd5iw7) and wondered "What is an easy way to support this?" - have I got an idea for you! You may have heard our brief (15-minute) interviews with Logan Evasco, Mira Hapsari, Anu Ramamurty, Marcia Pugsley, Shaandiin Cedar, Abbe Hoenscheid Clemons, Ravinder Sehgal, Sean Armstrong, Ambrose Carroll, Peri Plantenberg, Aditi Anand, Pete Kronowitt, Jennifer Silverstein, or many others. We're collecting brief notes of support from our listeners. Might you be able to write a few sentences about your experiences/takeaways from the podcast? A few things you might touch on: - Choice of local guests like me ("everyday people") - Choice of topics that interest me - Rotating team of different local hosts (adults and teens) - Episodes of only 15 minutes - Transcripts/blog posts are helpful - Show notes offer good resources - Production value (I enjoy the music, sound effects, and/or sound quality) - Frequency (currently about once a month) - Recommend it to others in my life Below are some examples of what we've gotten thus far: • "This podcast is one of the best examples of solutions-based locally focused climate content. It's rare to find such a great amalgam of best practices all in one program." • " I think this podcast will help me reorient my thinking…I tend to think climate action is done at the high policy level and I’m often frustrated. I think: 'what can I really do?'” • "I had an ‘aha’ moment! …That relatable, local story is what stood out." • "It gave me ideas and hope." Thanks *so much* for considering this! Just type in your comment below.

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California's new climate accountability bills will be a huge driver of climate transparency and action. If you are wondering whether your company will be affected, check out our team's report outlining the key details you should know! #sustainability #carbonemissions #sustainableagriculture

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It was so great to be 65 people and take action on climate. 💡 I learned something new - that without increased transmission capacity, it will be difficult to transition to a 100% clean power grid. Battery storage alone is not enough to adequately and efficiently balance a grid with significant solar and wind generation, we need to add total capacity and improve interregional transmission across the entire U.S. power grid.

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The latest article from our director David McEwen asks the question are we thinking about climate risk the wrong way? #climate #emissions #emissionsreduction #climaterisk #climateadaption #climateriskplanning

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Check out this latest article on our President & ED Aina A., her path to VertueLab and the Pacific Northwest, and the work that can be done to push the ecosystem forward. Read here: https://lnkd.in/gGhe5miQ

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Today a group of NGOs published a letter (although I have not been able to locate this letter) that strongly criticized "the use of carbon offsets by companies to lower their carbon emissions, saying that implementing those projects only delays climate action." (I have put the link the the excellent WSJ summary of the letter in the comments). So many things to say on this, but I'll try to keep it brief: 1) Like most opposition to the use of carbon credits within a net zero framework, the letter doesn't argue against carbon markets but rather a cartoon villain version of carbon markets that literally nobody believes in. For example, NO ONE believes that companies should be able to use carbon credits to "lower their emissions," but rather to COMPENSATE for those emissions they have not yet lowered. It is a penalty for failing to deliver, not a license to pollute. 2) The letter concedes that massive amounts of finance are needed, and then asserts that "large scale mechanisms such as 'polluter pays' fees" are the answer. There is of course no discussion of the fact that such schemes are not even on the table in most countries. But even if they were, how would we use those fees? How would we ensure the additionality, permanence, etc. of those public investments? What system would we use? It is mind boggling to me that these organizations can look at a rigorous but flawed system like the VCM and say, "You know what would be better than this? No system whatsoever." In completely failing to propose anything that even resembles a feasible alternative to the VCM, they do their readers a horrible injustice, because they imply there is an alternative where no such alternative feasibly exists. 3) Then these ostensible defenders of "science-based" climate policy just assert things, like "allowing companies to meet climate commitments with carbon credits is likely to slow down global emissions reductions." What is the science behind this? Where is the research that shows this? 4) What makes this so frustrating is that there are CLEARLY areas where we all agree and could make progress if we set aside ideology. The letter includes the line that credits are "an unreliable tool for fighting the climate crisis." I think we can all agree that the voluntary carbon market in its current form is indeed unreliable, and that that is a problem. So what if we devoted even 1/10th of the energy we devote to this ideological warfare to, instead, improving that tool? When you are building a house and your hammer breaks, you don't start using your forehead - you fix the hammer!

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I spoke with Jade Sasser about her new book, “Climate Anxiety and the Kid Question,” which explores the complex intersection of climate change and reproductive decisions. We discussed the importance of diversifying the conversation around climate emotions, understanding climate anxiety as a collective experience, the challenges faced by climate-concerned parents, and cultural pressures around having children. Sasser emphasizes the power of inclusive dialogue and emotional resilience as we navigate this uncertain future together. Her insights provide much-needed perspective on one of the most profound questions of our time. Read our full interview through the link in comments. #ClimateAnxiety #ReproductiveJustice #HopeInAction

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Sharing an outstanding new resource from The White House - "The Climate Capital Guidebook aggregates current federal funding opportunities—including grants, loans, loan guarantees, and cooperative agreements—for small- and medium-sized companies, both start-ups and established businesses, focusing on clean energy technologies and other climate solutions. This resource includes programs funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), as well as those funded by annual appropriations. The Guidebook also notes which programs are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which set the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Each program is accompanied by a summary of the eligible entities, eligible projects, average deal or award size, application timeline, contact information, and additional useful information."

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🌳 ⚒ 🏦 When I joined VertueLab a year ago, one of my burning questions was: where are the gaps in our ecosystem? And how can we more impactful delivering on our mission to serve entrepreneurs solving for climate challenges? Unfortunately the data was scarce, and so we got to work. In this, the first of several reports we are producing on our region, we dive into founders and funders challenges with an eye to a #justtransition. Have a look and tell us what you think! Heather Andersen Carol Dahl Joe Connors Allison Arnold Miguel Sossa Kelly Lyons B. Paula S. Brian Bonlender #climatetech #climatecrisis #climatesolutions #CleanTech #GreenTech #ClimateInnovation #TechForGood #UnderrepresentedFounders #InclusiveInnovation #DiversityInTech #BIPOCFounders #FoundersOfColor #BIPOCInnovation #WomenFounders #WomenInTech #FemaleFounders #WomenWhoLead #TechFoundersOfColor #BlackTech #LatinxTech #AsianTech #ClimateTechFounders #GreenEntrepreneurs #EcoInnovators #ClimateTechInnovation #SustainableTech #EcoTech #PNWInnovation #PacificNorthwestTech #PNWTech #SeattleTech

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Tuesday, May 28, 2024 3:08 PM My team at RMI has been working to increase trust and transparency in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) for a number of years — and today that work is reinforced by the federal government’s announcement committing to seven principles for a high-integrity VCM.    To unlock the full potential of carbon markets, we need clear rules. Today’s announcement unveils a set of principles that acknowledge the need for a responsibly managed VCM; one that ensures that the climate impacts promised by carbon projects make a tangible difference in curbing climate change.     While this announcement marks a major governance milestone, the work to create a trusted, scalable VCM is just beginning. Which is why I'm equally excited about the work that RMI and our partners are developing to ensure all data about carbon credit performance – namely, their verified emissions, community, and ecosystem impact and benefits – can be more accessible, digested, and used to guide decisions   We’re excited to share more about these projects in the coming months!   https://lnkd.in/gjw_2trP

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Registration is now open for The SEC, California & Other Climate Disclosure Rules Webinar part of G&A's Pathfinder series. This segment will look at recent and important climate disclosure rules including the SEC’s final climate disclosure rules, California State's climate disclosure rules — such as SB 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, SB 261, and AB 1305 — and potential regional regulations from other states such as New York and Illinois. 🔗 https://ow.ly/6fW350RNKor

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V2G and microgrids are great together. Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology enhances energy deployment by allowing electric vehicles (EVs) to not only draw energy from the grid but also return it. This two-way energy exchange can help in balancing the grid and integrating renewable energy sources more effectively. #timeofusearbitrage

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The Marketplace Affordability Project Report (MAP-Report) is out! CHLPI Director of Health Care Access Elizabeth Kaplan participated in the Working Group that helped create the report! Here are some key findings: 1. #ACA reforms expanded coverage, especially for marginalized communities. Now we can build on that success by making sure enrollees can afford premiums and needed care. 2. Expensive cost-sharing can make it hard to afford services that prevent and manage chronic conditions. This disproportionately impacts marginalized communities and should be a priority for policymakers looking to build on the success of the ACA. 3. High deductibles can cause financial burdens for marketplace enrollees without large emergency savings, meaning that unanticipated medical expenses limit wealth building in marginalized communities. 4. Enhanced #PremiumTaxCredits have made more generous plans accessible to low-income enrollees, addressing barriers to care. Policymakers should make them permanent. Policymakers can build on the success of the ACA by supporting consumer assistance programs. Doing so is crucial for improving healthcare access and empowering individuals to make informed and cost-effective decisions. Thank you to everyone who worked to get this report out! Check out the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities blog on the report here: https://lnkd.in/eADkvzze #MAPReport Read the report here: https://lnkd.in/e-pgAzmd

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