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Viewpoint: Impact Investors are not Funding the Patagonias of Tomorrow—and That’s a Problem
By creating a sense of shared identity, a “cool factor,” and sensitizing parka buyers to technocratic topics like supply chain transparency, Patagonia has transformed the conversation around environmentalism and made it a defining part of many people’s identity. That shift is incredibly hard to quantify and to value in dollars and cents .
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
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Why the Social Impact Sector Needs a ‘Bizarro Davos’: A Modest Proposal That Nobody Will Like
It’s that time of year again: Time to talk about the true meaning of Davos. But among all the hot takes and well-earned snark at the expense of insufferable elites, it’s worth asking if the rest of us are so different. Even those of us who work in the social impact sector don’t seem to object to high-brow conferences, and few regular folks seem willing to make the kinds of sacrifices that may be necessary to tackle the generational challenges we face. NextBillion editor James Militzer discusses this dynamic, and makes a sure-to-be-unpopular proposal.
- Categories
- Environment, Social Enterprise
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Stupid Stoves: Why Rebranding Won’t Solve the Clean Cooking Alliance’s Problems
In her recent interview with NextBillion, Clean Cooking Alliance CEO Dymphna van der Lans described the organization's ambitious new vision. But her words didn't sit well with Warm Heart Worldwide founder Michael Shafer, who raises a pointed question: After nearly 10 years of massive investment, hype and exposure, he asks, "Where is the Clean Cooking Alliance now? Getting rebranded and starting over!" Shafer argues that the Alliance's current efforts fail to address the major issues that have hampered it from the start – and proposes a different way forward – in this provocative post.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Why a PG&E Bankruptcy Could Change Climate Calculus
Ever since the 2017 wildfires in northern California’s wine country, the company has repeatedly warned that climate change is raising the risk of catastrophic fires in the state, as frequent drought and invasive, warm-weather pests decimate the state’s forests.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
- Region
- North America
- Tags
- climate change
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How emerging tech can counteract climate change
The private sector must increase its efforts and further collaborate on industry-wide solutions to help bridge the gap.
- Categories
- Environment, Technology
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An Island Crusader Takes On The Big Brands Behind Plastic Waste
In 2015, a paper in Science magazine shocked the world with extraordinary revelations about the extent of the plastic tide. Jenna Jambeck at the University of Georgia, an engineer and waste expert, calculated how much plastic waste was going into the ocean every year. She is the one who came up with the 8 million-ton figure.
- Categories
- Environment
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Sustainable Connectivity: How Biofuels Can Boost Mobile Access, Support Small Farmers – And Fight Climate Change
Mobile connectivity is sweeping through rural Africa and Asia – but it has a major drawback. It’s dependent on cellular towers that often rely either on diesel power, which has economic and ecological costs and limited availability, or solar panels, which require clear, sunny skies. Fortunately, another solution is emerging: bioenergy. John Garrity, Dennis Garrity and James Daniel at the Evergreening Global Alliance explore its positive impact on food security, grid infrastructure and global climate change.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Technology, Telecommunications
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India sees encouraging rise of green finance
With about 1.2 billion more people expected to live in Asian cities in 35 years, the cities have the potential to attract more than USD 20 trillion in climate-related investments in six key sectors by 2030, according to a recent report by International Finance Corporation.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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