Melanie Nakagawa’s Post

Last week I attended Breakthrough Energy Summit and was reminded that the road to net-zero carbon requires decisive action and investment.    10 gigatons of carbon dioxide will need to be removed annually by 2050 if the world is to meet the goal of keeping global warming within 1.5 degrees. Carbon reduction remains a priority and at the same time Microsoft is also accelerating our investment in carbon removal projects such as these below: * BTG Pactual Group offers one of the world’s largest CDR projects ever signed, planting 100M+ trees in low-income communities across Brazil: https://lnkd.in/gHx7Sp6p * In partnership with local farmers, Ponterra will plant more than six million trees from 75 native species on 10,000 hectares in Panama: https://lnkd.in/g-FYn9uD * re.green is working to restore more than 16,000 hectares of degraded pastureland, and planting at least 10.7 million trees in the Amazon and Atlantic forests of Brazil: https://lnkd.in/gGYkNqHX    Interested in learning more about how your company can get started on its carbon journey, check out our learnings three years into our own journey here: https://lnkd.in/ggUh86DU

Closing out an energizing week in London at Breakthrough Energy Summit and London Climate Action week! Amid all of the remarkable progress, three things stood out to me: 1. Innovators across industries are driving real, quantifiable climate progress. From companies like SOURCE Global bringing water to communities in water stressed basins to companies like H2 Green Steel working to decarbonize the steel industry, innovators and leaders are making some previously unimaginable solutions possible. 2. When science, experts, and AI come together, incredible things are possible. We need to continue to harness the power of AI to accelerate sustainability solutions and ensure we continue to advance it responsibly. From "discovery to development to deployment", breakthroughs at each stage can transform the global energy transition and we need to continue investing in each. Thank you Rodi Guidero for inspiring words! 3. Deep cross-sector collaboration is needed to scale solutions at the pace we need to meet the climate challenge. Finance, technology, and policy will continue to play an important role here and we can’t slow down. Thank you to Breakthrough Energy, Microsoft sustainability colleagues, and to the many friends, partners, and experts I had a chance to connect with this week. It was great to reconnect with friends from our days working to pass climate legislation to spending time with new ones leading corporate sustainability. Thank you for your relentless passion and commitment to advancing sustainability! #ClimateOptimism #LCAW #BESummit24 Vinod Khosla Russell Tham David Sandalow Priya Donti Jared Deutsch Amy Harder Brandon Middaugh Tyler Maltbie Darlene Campos Jennifer Lyons Kerry Constabile Kate Larsen Arvin Ganesan Trevor Houser Billy Pizer Mike Boots Ryan Panchadsaram

As summer begins to bring longer and warmer days, I am also reminded of the rising temperatures around the world and their sometimes-devastating impacts for communities facing extreme weather.   The World Meteorological Organization confirmed 2023 was the warmest year on record "by a huge margin," which left vulnerable communities around the world grappling with the aftermath of droughts, heatwaves, floods, and storms.     Microsoft-powered Aurora is uses AI to forecast extreme weather and protect people and the planet. Aurora is the first large-scale foundation model of the atmosphere, outperforms the gold standard of numerical weather prediction and demonstrates how AI can transform our ability to predict and mitigate extreme weather.     Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/g-8RZq6M

Over 600 million people in Africa do not have power, and CrossBoundary Group is aiming to bring power to 1 million people by 2025 with their “grid of the future.”    CrossBoundary Access believes that universal access to electricity is a critical first step towards ending poverty. In partnership with Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund, they provide clean, reliable, and affordable electricity through mini-grids that support households, community institutions, and businesses across the African continent.     Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gj_kYTsy 

In many parts of the world, there is a stark disparity in energy access which not only hampers economic development but also widens social inequalities.      At Microsoft, we are taking steps towards ensuring that communities globally can enjoy consistent and sustainable energy through some of the initiatives below:  1. Cajuina Wind Project, Brazil: Led by an all-women operations and management team, this Brazil based wind power project is a first of its kind.      2. Deerfoot Solar Project, Canada: As this project is majority-owned (51%) by local First Nations, Chiniki and Goodstoney communities, it generates economic returns for Indigenous communities and prosperity for future generations.     3. Skyward Community Solar Project, Oregon: Generating nearly 3.6 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy annually.      I remain inspired by the many partners we work with to ensure equitable energy access globally. 

The aviation industry accounts for around 2.5% of global carbon emissions. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is essential for the aviation industry to meet its 2050 net zero target.     The recently announced SkyNRG Project Runway which will not only allow airlines access to SAF, but also allow them to share the SAF price premium with corporates like Microsoft aiming to reduce our own Scope 3 carbon emissions. Microsoft is proud to be a founding member of this ambitious effort to support a global SAF market transformation that we see as essential to decarbonizing air travel.