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Solving the Problem of Renewable Energy Waste: A Circular Economy Approach to Sustainable Batteries
Despite its many benefits, the clean energy revolution has one notable downside: The battery-based storage systems that underpin localised renewable energy have a limited lifespan, contributing to a large and growing e-waste problem. In response, Aceleron set out to develop a more sustainable battery technology. The company's CEO, Amrit Chandan, discusses its impact.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
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Risk vs. Resilience: Insuring Sustainable African Cities in the Age of Climate Change
Though COVID-19 dominates the global conversation, climate change continues to have devastating effects. For instance, there were 53 climate-related disasters in Africa in 2018 alone – and these challenges are likely to get worse as the continent urbanizes. Kate Rinehart-Smit and Mia Thom at Cenfri suggest four interventions that can help insurers protect African cities and infrastructure against climate disasters.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance
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A Best Practice in the Making? How Dominica is Building the World’s First Climate Resilient Nation
In 2017, Hurricane Maria left unprecedented devastation in the Commonwealth of Dominica, with damages and losses amounting to 226% of the Caribbean nation's GDP. But according to Pepukaye Bardouille and Colin Scaife at the Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica, the country has responded with a plan that could serve as an important pilot case for developing resilience in the age of climate change.
- Categories
- Environment
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Saving Your Coffee and Avocado Toast: How Strategic Partnerships Can Build Smallholders’ Resilience to Climate Change
The climate crisis has spawned a new internet trend, as headlines like “America’s Favorite Fruit Could Go Extinct” spark panic in readers. And it’s true that the warming climate could affect the future supply of produce and other foods – but it's creating even more drastic problems for smallholder farmers. Camila Kauer Garcia at Fintrac explores initiatives that are helping farmers become more resilient to climate change, allowing consumers to confidently enjoy their favorite foods.
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- Agriculture, Environment
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Bottom-up Solutions to the Climate Emergency: Three Innovative, Eco-Inclusive Enterprises Take a Local Approach
We just reached the end of the hottest decade on record, and local communities – particularly in the Global South – are bearing the brunt of the impact. As climate change disrupts development efforts and worsens global food crises, population displacement and water scarcity, there's a growing need for more resilient communities. The SEED Awards highlight eco-inclusive enterprises that are addressing this challenge – authors at SEED discuss some promising examples.
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- Agriculture, Energy, Entrepreneurship, Environment
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Philanthropy is Shortchanging Climate Change: Here Are Three Ways It Can Boost Its Impact
Climate change is a hot topic in global development, but unfortunately, philanthropy hasn’t followed suit. Despite some notable gifts, climate lags behind other issues when it comes to charitable giving — less than 2% of philanthropic dollars went to climate-related issues in 2015. Nicole Systrom at Sutro Energy Group discusses the reasons for this inertia, and how philanthropists and foundations can turn things around.
- Categories
- Environment, Technology
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What Nigeria Can Teach the U.S. About a Green New Deal
Tackling a host of huge challenges – from climate change to economic inequality – the Green New Deal has provoked passion and resistance in equal measure. But as Damilola Ogunbiyi at Sustainable Energy for All asks, what if the solution is not to think big, but to think small? Instead of a vast new energy grid, what if the U.S. created efficient, resilient and job-creating decentralized grids – along the lines of what's currently happening in countries like Nigeria?
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
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Five Ways the Private Sector Can Align with the Sustainable Development Goals
How can the private sector advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and what’s the best way to measure the success of these efforts? Those questions were among the topics explored at the recent Sustainability and Development Conference at the University of Michigan. Yaquta Kanchwala Fatehi and Dana Gorodetsky at the William Davidson Institute attended the event, and they share some essential insights on the private sector’s role in supporting the SDGs.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Entrepreneurship, Environment, Impact Assessment