Climate Change Solutions

Electric trucks like this giant will save Fortescue $300-400 million per year on avoided fuel costs alone. The decarbonisation of mining is happening right now – and it's being driven by economics. Liebherr's T264 battery electric haul truck stands higher than a double-storey house, weighs 176 tonnes and has a payload of 240 tonnes. It's not only electric, but also drives autonomously! Its 3.2 MWh battery can be charged in just 30 minutes by a 6 MW charger currently being developed by Fortescue, which will be one of the world's most powerful EV chargers. Fortescue has ordered 360 of these trucks as part of a $4 billion deal with Liebherr to electrify its iron ore operations. It has set itself a target of eliminating emissions from its Australian iron ore operations by 2030. Fuel is one of the largest operating costs in mining. Replacing diesel with electricity at this scale is transformational. Image credit: Liebherr

Looking for New Year's resolutions for 2026... look no further!!! The evidence is clear: most people want stronger climate action. What often holds us back is the feeling that if we cannot do everything, doing something barely matters. That is simply not true. Research from World Resources Institute shows that climate-friendly actions are not equal. Some choices deliver far more impact than others and what makes sense depends on where you live, how you work, what you can afford, and what is available to you. So what could climate action look like — realistically — for different people? 1️⃣ If you live in a city with public transport: ✅ Replace some car trips with walking, cycling or transit ✅ Work remotely when possible ✅ Fly less often, or choose direct flights when you do 2️⃣ If you rely on a car: ✅ Drive less where you can ✅ Shift to an EV or hybrid when replacing your car (not before) ✅ Combine trips instead of optimizing every detail 3️⃣ If food choices feel overwhelming: ✅ Reduce meat rather than eliminate it ✅ Try plant-based meals a few days a week ✅ Focus on what is sustainable for your household, not ideals 4️⃣ If you own or manage a home: ✅ Improve insulation when renovating anyway ✅ Switch to heat pumps or solar when systems need replacing ✅ Prioritize long-term savings over short-term perfection 5️⃣ If you have limited options: ✅ Support climate-smart policies ✅ Vote, engage, and amplify collective solutions ✅ Remember that systems change enables individual change — not the other way around A better resolution for 2026 Do what fits your life and focus on what actually matters. Climate progress happens when millions of people make realistic, imperfect, high-impact choices, while pushing leaders, companies and institutions to make those choices easier for everyone. That is the mindset I am carrying into 2026 — and I invite you to do the same. https://lnkd.in/ePEuUaTT

These interlocking bricks are a game changer for people living in disaster-prone areas! Build up Nepal are revolutionising house building with this low-carbon and affordable alternative to clay fired bricks. They are compressed, instead of fired, which reduces CO2 emissions by 75% and air pollution by 90%. They customise the formula of the bricks, based on the location they are building in, to use local materials, and they contain just 6-7% cement. So far they’ve built 11,000 houses in Nepal (including 124 schools and public buildings) with a goal of building 1 million in the next 10 years! On top of this, more than 43,000 people have benefitted from new homes, with 2,232 jobs created by 307 entrepreneurs. We need ideas like this shared around the globe to protect communities, and create affordable housing! This week they also reached the final stages of The Earthshot Prize too for their amazing endeavours!

🚨 A big UN report just launched: A powerful global resource for insurers, reinsurers & brokers navigating the net-zero transition. “Underwriting the Transition” is the first-ever guide specifically tailored to help insurance and reinsurance companies develop and disclose credible transition plans for their underwriting portfolios. Why it matters: While insurers have made climate commitments, clear frameworks for underwriting strategies have been lacking. This guide provides that. What’s inside: - A structured framework for transition planning - A checklist to assess credibility - Real-world examples from insurers, reinsurers & brokers - Practical insights on disclosure, strategy, and implementation By moving from ambition to action, this report helps the insurance sector lead the way in building a resilient, inclusive, and net-zero economy reaffirming its role as society’s risk manager. 🌍 This is the second deliverable in United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)'s FIT Transition Plan Project — following “Closing the Gap” launched at COP29 and it lays the groundwork for the next report on total balance sheet guidance linking underwriting and investment strategies, to be launched at COP30. Let's make COP30 a defining moment for insurance climate leadership. #TransitionPlan #Insurance #Reinsurance #Sustainability #NetZero #FIT #UNEP #EIOPA #JustTransition #Underwriting

People said nobody would ever give up their car. Paris proved them wrong. 🚲🇫🇷 For years, we were told that cycling would always be a niche activity. The data now tells a different story. In central Paris: 🚲 Bikes account for 11.2% of trips 🚗 Cars have fallen to just 4.3% During rush hour, the gap gets even bigger: 🚲 Bikes: nearly 19% of journeys 🚗 Cars: just 6.6% And the biggest winner of all? 🚶 Walking, with more than half of all trips. This didn’t happen because people suddenly became more environmentally conscious. It happened because the city changed the system. Over the past decade, Paris: 🌳 Replaced parking spaces with trees and public spaces 🚴 Built more than 300 km of protected bike lanes 🌊 Turned major roads along the Seine into pedestrian areas The lesson is bigger than cycling. People rarely change because they’re told to. They change because infrastructure makes a better choice easier, safer, and more convenient. Behavior follows design. The climate conversation often focuses on individual responsibility. But maybe the bigger question is this 👇 What if the fastest way to change behavior is simply to redesign the environment around it? 📌PS: Found this helpful? Join 18,000+ founders and investors leveling up their game to fix this climate mess. 👉 Subscribe to my newsletter and get actionable insights delivered weekly! 🌍🚀 https://lnkd.in/ektv3C_s #UrbanPlanning #Sustainability #ClimateAction #ActiveMobility #Cycling #Cities #BehaviorDesign

Turning Heat into Comfort: Smart Innovation in Saudi Arabia ☀️➡️❄️ In Saudi Arabia’s scorching 50°C heat, a mosque has been transformed into a cool oasis with 250 smart umbrellas—a fusion of technology, design, and climate adaptation. 🔹 Heat-Resistant Materials – Fireproof, wind-flexible fabric reduces glare and keeps the space cool. 🔹 Built-in Cooling System – Each umbrella features 16 mist fans, creating a refreshing microclimate for visitors. 🔹 Seamless Aesthetics – Designed to fold away elegantly, enhancing both functionality and beauty. More than just shade, this project showcases how smart design can reshape environments and improve daily life. 🌍 💡 What other technologies can be adapted to combat extreme climates? Let’s discuss! 👇 #Innovation #SmartDesign #Technology #ClimateSolutions #SustainableFuture

NEW RESEARCH: Europe won’t regain competitiveness by chasing lower energy prices alone. It will do so by using energy better. In our new paper published today in PLOS Climate, we show that energy efficiency is not a marginal issue but a core structural driver of competitiveness. It directly supports decarbonisation, strengthens energy security, and improves productivity across the economy. Without the efficiency gains achieved since 2000, industrial energy demand today would be almost 40% higher. And cost-effective energy efficiency measures could reduce EU industrial energy demand by another quarter by 2030. Competitiveness is ultimately about productivity and efficient use of resources, not just prices — and energy efficiency sits at the heart of that. Many thanks to my co-authors Barbara Schlomann, Wolfgang Eichhammer, and Nils Borg for an excellent collaboration. Full paper here: https://lnkd.in/efTeVvHc

Climate Change Risk Assessments 🌎 Climate-related financial disclosure requirements are expanding across jurisdictions, increasing expectations for companies to assess and report on climate-related risks and opportunities. A structured climate change risk assessment (CCRA) is central to meeting these evolving regulatory demands. CCRAs evaluate both physical risks—such as extreme weather events, water stress, and sea level rise—and transition risks, including policy changes, carbon pricing, and shifts in market or technology landscapes. They also help identify potential opportunities linked to decarbonization, energy efficiency, and new revenue models. Scenario analysis is a core component. It enables companies to test strategic resilience under divergent climate pathways, including high-emissions futures and low-emissions transitions aligned with the Paris Agreement. Most regulatory frameworks now require both perspectives. Benefits of a robust CCRA include improved risk management, reduced exposure to disruptions, and strengthened alignment with investor expectations. Insights from these assessments can be embedded into enterprise risk systems, capital planning, and strategic roadmaps. Key challenges include short-term thinking in risk registers, limited access to forward-looking climate data, and misalignment between climate risk analysis and existing sustainability goals. These gaps can reduce the effectiveness of disclosures and slow organizational response. Recommended approaches include leveraging established scenarios (e.g. IPCC, IEA), integrating outputs into ERM systems, using frameworks like ISSB and TCFD for structure, and applying competitive benchmarking to validate assumptions. Cross-functional engagement improves practical relevance. As regulatory standards converge, CCRAs are becoming a baseline expectation. Those who develop structured, forward-looking assessments will be better positioned to adapt business models, manage uncertainty, and align with capital markets under increasing climate scrutiny. Source: Ramboll #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #climatechange #risk

April 6th: A bright spring day in Germany, one that perfectly illustrates the need for battery storage systems. Like so many other sunny days, PV generation in Germany covered a large portion of the electricity demand for several hours in the middle of the day, thanks to the cloudless sky and millions of solar modules. But there is a darker side to the sunshine. Large amounts of daytime solar can overload the grid and cause severe electricity price fluctuations: on April 6th, intraday electricity prices dropped to -200€/MWh at their lowest point. In cases where more electricity is generated from solar energy than the grid can handle, grid operators regularly require solar installations to curtail their production. This means that energy that could otherwise be made available to consumers cannot be used. And when the sun goes down, most of the demand must quickly be met with flexible sources. This adds an extra layer of complexity: deciding which conventional power plants can be shut down during the day and switched on again in the evening is a careful balancing act. This is precisely the situation where battery energy storage systems (BESS) can bridge the gap, with several advantages: - By storing part of the solar energy at peak generation times and dispatching it later, BESS can help shift the curve to more closely align with evening demand. - Better management of volatile generation from renewables also helps keep prices stable. - Provided they are close to the overproducing solar systems, BESS contribute to grid stability by helping balance supply and demand. Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all technology. A secure and flexible energy system needs a diverse mix. But batteries are playing an increasing role, especially as they become more and more affordable. We at RWE are harnessing the benefits: we have 1.2 GW of installed BESS capacity worldwide, of which nine systems totalling 364 MW of capacity operate in Germany alone. We’re scaling fast, with new large-scale projects recently commissioned in Germany and the Netherlands. And we have just decided to build a BESS facility in Hamm with an installed capacity of 600 megawatts. So, let’s continue to make the most of those sunny days — by creating the right framework conditions to build up affordable and flexible support.

It’s high time to take geoengineering more seriously as a potential tool to mitigate climate change. 2023 was the hottest year on record, and 2024 is likely to top that. In the United States, Hurricane Helene caused over 200 deaths, and Hurricane Milton's death toll is at least two dozen. It’s well established that the hurricanes are growing stronger as global temperatures rise. While stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) — which sprays particles (aerosols) in the atmosphere to provide a small amount of shade from the sun — is far from a perfect solution, we should take it seriously as a possible tool for saving lives. A few months ago, my collaborators and I released a climate emulator, Planet Parasol http://planetparasol.ai , that you can play with to simulate different SAI scenarios to understand its possible impact. By using AI to model its impact and thereby advance our understanding of SAI, we’ll be better prepared to decide if this is a good step. The key idea of SAI, which is a form of climate geoengineering, is to spray reflective particles into the stratosphere to reflect a little more, say 1%, of the sunlight that otherwise would fall on Earth back into space. This small increase in reflected sunlight would be sufficient to mitigate much of the impact of human-induced warming. For example, in 1991, Mount Pinatubo ejected almost 20 tons of aerosols (sulfur dioxide) into the atmosphere and cooled down the planet by around 0.5 degrees Celsius over the following year. We should be able to induce cooling equivalent to, say, a fraction of Mount Pinatubo, via a fair, international process that’s backed by science. There are many criticisms of SAI, such as: - It could have unintended climate consequences, for example, disrupting local weather patterns and creating droughts or floods. - If it were started and then stopped suddenly, it could lead to sudden warming, known as “termination shock.” - Depending on the aerosol used (sulfur dioxide is a leading candidate), it could contribute to pollution and/or ozone depletion. - It might reduce urgency to decarbonize (an example of a “moral hazard”). In addition, many people have a visceral emotional reaction, as I once did before I understood the science more deeply, against “playing god” by daring to engineer the planet. All these downsides should be balanced against the reality that people are dying. I’m moved by meteorologist John Morales’ emotional account of the havoc caused by Hurricane Milton. The New York Times quoted him as saying, “It claims lives. It also wrecks lives.” https://lnkd.in/gamSF82R [Reached length limit. Full text: https://lnkd.in/gngQF_Pv ]