Cretech climate

How the pandemic foretells the climate crisis

When England drops nearly all its Covid-19 restrictions on July 19, it won’t be the end of the pandemic. It may not even be the beginning of the end. But it is a foreshadowing of an ending of sorts. One day, rich countries will emerge from Covid-19 while poor countries remain stuck in it. And this isn’t just the scenario for the pandemic. It is probably also a preview of the climate crisis. Both crises crept up on us in similar ways, notes David Fisman, a Canadian epidemiologist and member of O…

Al Gore: “Net zero can’t be a ‘get out of jail free’ card”

Hundreds of companies have recently pledged to reach “net zero” by the middle of the century, meaning that they’ll try to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to zero, and any remaining will be offset by planting trees, sucking carbon from the atmosphere, or other ways to capture CO2. But there’s a very real risk that some net zero goals could be greenwashing, says a new sustainability trends report from Generation Investment Management, the financial services and investment management fund co…

Most tech firms failing to embrace climate action, survey suggests

Silicon Valley giants may have rushed to adopt ambitious climate strategies in recent years, but they are not being emulated by their smaller peers in the technology sector.  That is the conclusion of a new survey of over 150 UK tech industry leaders, which found 59 per cent of tech businesses are not measuring their environmental impact, with new entrants to the market doing less than their larger, more established competitors to tackle their emissions. …

Goldacre Ventures opens applications for its RElab 2021 scale-up programme

(London, Thursday 10th June 2021): Goldacre Ventures (Goldacre), a VC firm based in London focusing on the Smart Built Environment, is excited to announce that applications are now open for its annual scale-up programme, RElab.   RElab 2021 will mark the third consecutive annual scale-up programme ran by RElab and will build on the success achieved over the two previous cohorts. The 2021 programme is supported by RElab’s growing ecosystem of industry partners, including Capreon;…

Revel turns to software to keep its e-moped fleet powered without straining NYC’s grid

Revel is turning to an app that gamifies energy use to keep its fleet of more than 3,000 electric mopeds charged without putting a strain on New York City’s power grid. Electricity is the key ingredient for the Brooklyn-based startup, which has more recently expanded beyond shared electric mopeds and into e-bike subscriptions, fast-charging infrastructure and even an all EV ride-hailing service. It’s not just about accessing power; managing when that power is tapped will …

Green-Tech Startups Are Getting Fresh Wave of Cash

A flood of investment into clean tech propelled onetime startups such as Tesla Inc. into the stratosphere. For most young companies in the sector, the past decade was a fight to raise the funds needed for takeoff.

That is changing amid a boom in green investing. The new wave of cash is helping startups get from laboratory to market.

California has embraced clean energy, so why is it still building natural gas infrastructure?

California, the fifth-largest economy in the world, continues to up its clean electricity game, most recently with state regulators’ groundbreaking mandate for 11.5 gigawatts of new non-fossil resources to come online by 2026 to help decarbonize the grid. But at the same time, regulators are allowing continued long-term investments in climate-unfriendly natural gas infrastructure, including ratepayer-funded gas connections to new homes and rebates for relatively efficient gas water heaters, fur…

Mighty Buildings lands $22M to create ‘sustainable and affordable’ 3D-printed homes

Oakland-based Mighty Buildings, which is on a quest to build homes using 3D printing, robotics and automation, has raised a $22 million extension to its Series B round of funding. The additional capital builds upon a $40 million raise the company announced earlier this year, bringing its total funding since its 2017 inception to $100 million. …

Motorola Solutions to Acquire Cloud-Based Mobile Access Control Provider Openpath

Openpath is a leader within the access control industry. Openpath’s solution makes businesses more secure with multi-factor authentication, enables a contactless entry experience and can be easily scaled and managed due to its cloud-based architecture. “Securing businesses around the world has never been more critical,” said Greg Brown, chairman and CEO, Motorola Solutions. “This acquisition enables us to combine the power of video security and access control together, providing unprecedented si…

Tampa serial entrepreneurs unveil latest startup with focus on real estate tech

A trio of Tampa Bay serial entrepreneurs have unveiled their latest venture: a smart home platform aiming to disrupt the apartment industry. “It’s been a lot of fun; it’s very different this time around where we each have success under our respective belts,” said Steve Fiske, co-founder and chief product officer of iApartments. “We’re able to go in and know exactly what to do.”…