Chris Caldwell

I'm so tired of this sales pitch: "AI is using a lot of energy but it's also helping the climate". The AI that helps the climate is generally very different from the AI that uses a lot of energy (e.g. LLMs like ChatGPT). We can have the former without the latter.

What the Iberian blackout teaches us about energy resilience and misinformation | illuminem Spain-Portugal blackout exposes grid fragility, misinformation risks, and the urgent need for resilient energy infrastructure amid rising climate extremes and clean energy transitions

illuminem.com/illuminemvoi...

The blackout in Spain and Portugal wasn’t just a grid failure. It was a test of resilience, trust, and truth.

Resilience isn’t about avoiding disruption. It’s about building the physical and societal systems, grids and information alike, that help us thrive through it.

New on Illuminem 👇

Taken at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA this week. This picture tells many more than 1000 words.

Not that economic growth is everything, but emissions keep falling and the economy keeps growing, weren’t we supposed to be living in caves by now?

LA wildfire damages set to cost record $135bn Some of the most expensive properties in the US have been wiped out by the fires.

It’s not action, it’s inaction that will cost us the most. 🌍💸

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

💬 “Right here, right now, is where finance draws the line,” declared Mark Carney at COP26

The line they drew? It faded fast 📉

More than 160 financial institutions joined the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) in 2021, signaling commitment to climate action.

But just two years later, the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) an offshoot of GFANZ, has lost every major U.S. bank in a single month.

Public will not have to change lives ‘radically’ for climate goal, MPs promised Lifestyle change, such as diet and travel, are not in the scope of the 2035 goal

www.independent.co.uk/climate-chan...

LA is burning and our political baseline remains unchanged, climate policies are acceptable only if they demand zero sacrifice or lifestyle change

This is a profoundly irrational economic decision. The longer we wait, the greater the loss of opportunity and the higher the costs we’ll face

2024’s Record-Breaking Heat Brought the World to a Dangerous Threshold. Now What? Global temperatures last year crept past a key goal, raising questions about how much nations can stop the planet from heating up further.

“1.5C was never the difference between safety + ruin, between hope + despair. It was negotiated by govts trying to answer a big q: What’s the highest global temp increase — and associated level of dangers — societies should strive to avoid?”

Well said @zhonggg.bsky.social & @bradplumer.bsky.social

Threads had one job: not to be X. But in the end, it seems billionaires have more in common with each other than with the rest

When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can't eat money.

-Alanis Obomsawin

It has become an ever present fact of life that nothing is done about… gun control 2.0

If it could not be acquired by other means, would you support or oppose the U.S. using economic or military coercion to take control of the Panama Canal? | Daily Question If it could not be acquired by other means, would you support or oppose the U.S. using economic or military coercion to take control of the Panama Canal?

today.yougov.com/topics/polit...

% of Americans who would oppose using economic or military coercion to seize control of the panama canal

Dems: 68%
Rep: 33%

Source: Yougov

Fantastic addition. Burn out is a huge threat in those who care

Anyone know what happens if a NATO member is invaded by another NATO member? Terrifying that this is a genuine question…

The results: Power production costs have declined “by almost half”. And the clean energy sector has created 50,000 new jobs — the equivalent of 3% of the labour force. Further, Uruguay has become a net exporter of electricity.

'Energy independent' Uruguay runs on 100% renewables for 10 straight months Uruguay's rapid energy transformation has shielded electricity users from global shocks.

‘Energy independent’ Uruguay runs on 100% renewable electricity for 10 straight months

theprogressplaybook.com/2023/10/19/e...

A (successful) test of the state-by-state approach! A day-after-Christmas present for the planet from Albany, New York

A serious day-after-Christmas present in New York, where great activism means the Empire State will be sending the bill for climate damages off to Big Oil. The Climate Superfund Bill has been signed!!
open.substack.com/pub/billmcki...

More on the historic New York Climate Superfund Act

“Other states will follow what NY does because the staggering costs of climate change are not going away. Either the taxpayers pay for it or the oil companies pay for it.”

We can hope…

www.wamc.org/news/2024-12...

This seems likely to end badly

⚖️ The law targets companies responsible for over 1 billion tons of emissions

Repairing damage and adapting for extreme weather caused by climate change will cost New York more than $500 billion by 2050, Krueger said

Could this become a global standard for holding polluters accountable?

New York to fine fossil fuel companies $75 billion under new climate law New York state will fine fossil fuel companies a total of $75 billion over the next 25 years to pay for damage caused to the climate under a bill Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law on Thursday.

💥 New York makes history! “The companies most responsible for the climate crisis will be held accountable,” said Senator Krueger, co-sponsor of a new law

🛢️ Fossil fuel companies will be fined $75 billion over 25 years to fund climate damage repair

www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

National circular economy plan sets ambitious resource recovery target All industries in the economy would be subject to the plan, although how the framework's targets would be met is unclear.

To learn more

www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...

Why it matters:
The circular economy transforms how we consume, produce, and reuse. A model for the world? 🌏

Time will tell, execution is everything

🌍 Australia’s Circular Economy Framework ♻️

Australia’s new Circular Economy Framework aims to DOUBLE its circularity in 10 years.

What it means:
✅ Diverting 26M tonnes of waste annually
✅ Cutting material footprints by 10%
✅ Boosting resource recovery to 80%

Home Equals issue brief: Climate migration and informal settlements In a new issue brief, Habitat uncovers a massive and growing blind spot in the discourse around climate change-induced migration and adaptation efforts.

World leaders need to shift their focus. Climate migration isn’t just about borders, it’s about building resilience where it’s needed most

www.habitat.org/home-equals/...