Peter Yolles

As we scale climate tech solutions, we need to carefully consider the impact to local communities. Thanks Evan Halper for a great front page article in today's The Washington Post that highlights this issue with a proposed CO2 storage plan in Montana. Injecting and storing CO2 in porous geological formations sounds scary, particularly given the negative side effects of fracking. I think the concerned ranchers in Montana are completely justified. But, we need to solve the climate crisis, and CO2 removal is an important part of the solution. This issue will continue as more and more first-of-a-kind (FOAK) projects break ground and expand. Early, frequent, and transparent community engagement is critical. #climatechange #climatesolutions #climateaction

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Check out some of out Climate Solutions Portfolio (CSP) registrants - the programs and solutions to decarbonize the making of our clothes... #climatesolutionsportfolio #fashionclimatefund #apparelimpactinstitute

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Exciting times ahead as Nika Eco pioneers climate data solutions with AI! By leveraging advanced technology. Nika Eco is transforming how we understand and address climate challenges through advanced carbon modeling. Their AI-driven platform provides actionable insights, helping businesses and governments make data-informed decisions to combat climate change effectively. https://lnkd.in/gW_69V3Z

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We need to distinguish between two different types of "neutrality". The first type of neutrality refers to freedom from personal/cultural biases. Proper science should be "neutral" in the sense of being reality-based and free from such biases (in particular confirmation bias). Therefore, science must remain an end in itself, it is not to be instrumentalized for private ends, not to be subordinated to unscientific ideologies, because when it does, it loses its independence, effectiveness and credibility - the distinction between proper science and pseudoscience becomes blurred. This is exactly what we saw happen with smoking-related health risks and what we are seeing now with climate skepticism. The second type of neutrality refers to the idea of genuine human progress and a thriving human civilization. Science is not supposed to be "neutral" in a sense of being free from foundational values such as human progress and survival. Science, technology and markets are societal concepts that are supposed to advance and promote civilizational progress and serve the common good, to promote - not diminish - the quality of life, freedom and justice, aesthetics and ethics; and the full realization of the human potential. The purpose of science is not simply limited to an unbiased search for truth, but its role also includes informing human societies how to best regulate technology and markets so that they promote societal welfare rather than destroy it. Normally, in a functioning society, scientists are not supposed to become activists, because the don't need to. When they discover that humanity is on an unsustainable, self-destructive development path, they normally would convey this critical insight to human societies, policy makers and civil society. It would then be the society's job to adequately respond to this information by adjusting its development trajectory so that it becomes less self-destructive and more sustainable. But when this response fails, e.g. because of fossil fuel capture and misinformation resulting in a widespread collective delusion, in pseudoscientific denial and utter lack of situational awareness, scientists find themselves in a terrible situation: They are among the few who can see an existential danger and humanity's insufficient response for what they really are. Because of society's refusal to take a serious warning seriously, they are forced to become activists for scientific truth. 

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Great to see the guardrails the White House has proposed around carbon offsets. This approach could help ensure that offsets make a meaningful and measurable reduction in emissions that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. I’m proud that at Juniper, we are committed to zeroing out our emissions not only from our own operations, but across our value chain.   https://lnkd.in/gE7xSZ2v

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Balancing private debt with equity, grants, and blended finance ensures more resilient support for project success

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🌍💡 Embracing Interoperability: The Evolution of Carbon Markets 💡🌍 The landscape of carbon markets is rapidly evolving, with a significant shift towards fungibility and interoperability. What does this mean? We (at the SoHo Global Climate Fund) spoke with leading climate fund manager, Charles Bedford of Carbon Growth Partners, to shed light on this important trend in the carbon markets. It's about creating seamless connections between compliance and voluntary markets, allowing for the exchange and recognition of carbon credits across borders and sectors. This trend marks a pivotal moment in our collective efforts towards combating climate change. By enabling carbon credits to be fungible and interoperable, we're fostering a more efficient and scalable approach to carbon pricing and emissions reduction strategies. Companies and organizations now have greater flexibility to participate in markets that align with their goals. #CarbonMarkets #ClimateAction #Fungibility #Interoperability #Sustainability #Innovation #GlobalImpact

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In the latest Carbon Brief newsletter, the team highlights a recent study from #NatureClimateChange that reminds us of the six components of feasibility that could inhibit the world’s ability to limit #warming to #1.5C, according to the IPCC's special report on 1.5C. They are: 1) #Geophysical: What global emission pathways could be consistent with conditions of a 1.5°C warmer world? What are the physical potentials for adaptation? 2) #Environmental-#ecological: What are the #ecosystemservices and resources, including #geological storage capacity and related rate of needed #landusechange, available to promote transformations, and to what extent are they compatible with enhanced #resilience? 3) #Technological: What #technologies are available to support transformation? 4) #Economic: What economic conditions could support transformation? 5) #Socio-#cultural: What conditions could support transformations in #behaviour and lifestyles? To what extent are the transformations socially acceptable and consistent with #equity? 6) #Institutional: What institutional conditions are in place to support transformations, including multi-level #governance, institutional capacity, and #political support? In the analysis, it is noted that "The future warming pathways used by the IPCC suggest that holding warming to 1.5C is unlikely, but still possible, when considering the technological feasibility and project-level economic costs of reaching net-zero emissions. However, the new study, published in Nature Climate Change, warns that adding in political and institutional constraints on mitigation make limiting warming to 1.5C even more challenging. As #GigacornHunters, remember that investing in technology is job 1, but we must also ensure appropriate advocacy is part of the toolkit if we are to help secure a 1.5C or lower decarbonized future. #climatechange #decarbonization #policy #IPCC #government #legislation #regulation #markets #investment

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Mindful mountain biking is more than just a personal hobby for me—it aligns with my passion for transitioning into the realm of climate change solutions. Check out this insightful read on Nature's Heart-Shaped Wave to dive deeper into the connection between our actions and the environment. #climatechange #climatechangesolutions #climatepolicy #nativeplants #biodiversity #vote #nature https://lnkd.in/gQnsiYVJ

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Climate Capital Guidebook: The Biden-Harris Administration is releasing a new Climate Capital Guidebook to provide a simple, comprehensive map of capital programs across the federal government that are available to climate-related start-ups, small- and medium-sized businesses, and their investors. While larger, institutionally-backed climate companies may have the resources to identify and access federal funding opportunities, smaller enterprises may face greater challenges in navigating these federal programs. https://lnkd.in/eJ3QV4Fw #climatechange #climatetech

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Ian Elkins of Global Water Intelligence (GWI) reports on Echo River Capital's Impact Report, released today. “There’s a misconception that just investing in water generally is impactful, and I don’t think that’s necessarily true,” explained Peter Yolles, managing partner at Echo River Capital. “We’re tracking what the downstream effects are, and when we do a new investment, we think about whether it will contribute to the fund’s end goal of meaningful impact.” https://lnkd.in/gsZtCXqn (The story is behind a paywall, but you get three free articles per month by registering.). #impactinvesting #waterimpact #climateimpact #watertech #water

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It's been an exciting two weeks for climate action and carbon market integrity progress! The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) has just released its initial methodology assessments. These assessments are important to ensuring that carbon credits meet rigorous standards, promoting transparency, credibility and trust in the voluntary carbon market. https://lnkd.in/gqEmcNbq Additionally, the Biden administration unveiled its Principles for High-Integrity Voluntary Carbon Markets aiming to bolster the credibility of carbon offset initiatives in the fight against climate change. These principles emphasize robust measurement, verification and utilization, ensuring that every carbon credit represents a real and measurable climate benefit. https://lnkd.in/gcAZ94sN Integrity is critical to the functioning and expansion of the VCM, and initiatives like these demonstrate welcome progress.

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It takes 50 years to reabsorb deforestation emmissions! You often hear/read me drone on about the critical importance of avoidance carbon credits, particularly in the context of avoided deforestation. Steve Zwick elegantly summarised why those in the nature based solutions space insist on avoidance credits, citing this 2019 paper from Nature: One hectare of deforestation emits 355 tons of CO2 (all at once). One hectare of reforestation absorbs 6.7 tons of CO2 per year. In other words, it will take 50 years for newly planted trees to reabsorb the carbon released by every hectare deforested today. Reforestation is great, but stopping deforestation and degradation is critical. When you find yourself in a hole and want to get out: first, stop digging. https://lnkd.in/eyjqSEED

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I am not in Cali, Colombia, so I will likely not do the traditional "my takeaways" from the event. However, this is what is on my mind this week. It is encouraging to see an increased awareness of the value of water and nature. Now, the question becomes who pays and how to finance solutions. The Biodiversity Finance Factbook is worth reading. It outlines the level of investment that is needed. The estimates are approximately $208 B per year, with $1.15 T needed by 20230. A quote: " Approximately 55% of the global GDP is moderately to highly dependent on nature, but a vastly higher share relies on functioning ecosystems to some degree. Nature-related risks are costing companies and their investors billions of dollars, but many lack sophistication in their approach to managing these risks." The opportunity is now to answer how to increase and finance investments in nature at speed. More to follow on this. #biodiversity #nature #investing #water #climate Earth Finance, Inc. Water Foundry Garrett Kephart Maria Dahrieh Carolina García Arbeláez Michael Alexander James Dalton Rylan Dobson Stuart Orr Alexis Morgan Lauren Steavpack Darin Aldrich James Harvey Sonya Bengali Newsha Ajami, PhD Usha Rao-Monari Avent Bezuidenhoudt Job van Schelven Eliza Roberts

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US Carbon Market Principles: A Critical Take 🔍 The new principles for voluntary carbon markets by the US Administration have been well received. But beyond the applause, what do these guidelines really mean? Where do they shine and where do they fall short? Here’s my take: Why it matters: 💠 The largest corporate buyers are in the US. 💠 Fortune 500: $46.4 trillion market cap, with 65% US-based—significant clout for driving climate action. Where it exceeds expectations: ✅ "High-Integrity" Markets: Strong focus on transparency and accountability to combat greenwashing. ✅ Comprehensive Approach: Emphasizes the need for both avoidance and removals, highlighting the urgency of scaling nature-based solutions and fostering tech innovation. ✅ Robust Verification: Calls for stringent verification to ensure credits represent real emission reductions. ✅ Inclusivity and Equity: Involves local communities and indigenous groups, ensuring benefits for those most affected by climate change. Where it falls short: ❔ Economic Impact: Optimistic about job creation and innovation but lacks specifics on implementation. ❔ Detail Deficiency: Strong on principles, but needs more on enforcement and monitoring. ❔ Global Leadership: Positions the US as a leader but lacks emphasis on international collaboration and setting global standards. Overall, the guidelines are strong on integrity and inclusivity but need more detail on enforcement and global cooperation. I’ll be posting more on where we go from here tomorrow. 👉🏼 Follow my profile for part 2 and more posts on carbon markets and natural capital investing. Read the full fact sheet from The White House below: https://lnkd.in/ghKfRV4A #voluntarycarbonmarkets #naturalcapital #carboncredits

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#Carbonremoval startups in direct air capture (#DAC), bioenergy carbon capture and storage (#BECCS), enhanced weathering, #afforestation/ #reforestation and soil carbon sequestration may find this data useful for your strategic planning. #sustainability #energytransition #IRA #CO2 #carbon #decarbonization #decarbonisation #carboncapture #ccs #ccus #directaircapture #carbonsequestration #carbonstorage

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Seriously addressing GHGs means seriously addressing methane emissions - and you can't tackle methane without focusing on food ________________________________________________ 🐘 CO2 is the elephant in the room, representing 75% of GHG emissions, but methane is often overlooked 🤯 This is despite methane (1) representing 16-20% of GHGs and (2) being 86 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year period This week, Sonalie and I dig into the Green Queen Media overview of how methane emissions are linked to the food system, and how it's actually a bit insane that food is ignored in emission reduction conversations When you dig into the contributors to methane tied to the food system, we see: 🐄 39% coming from livestock farming 🗑 19% coming from waste and landfills (to be fair, not all food) 🍚 9% coming from rice cultivation ⏰ One of the most alarming things that we hit on is that despite food representing the majority of methane emissions, many, including climate investors, don't even know this Most climate investors I've spoken with are well aware of this, but some have blinders on that are so strong that they don't think about sustainability beyond energy and transportation. And if that's the case for some focused on climate, then it's definitely a lot worse for the masses So, it was worthwhile to discuss this writeup Sonalie and her team created, because whenever I think certain things are well-understood, I'm often surprised at how little people know about the connection between food and climate ________________________________________________ This week, we also discuss: 🥛 Danone scrapping the Nutri Score Info label from its dairy and plant-based milks after a change to the algo gave some products a bad rating. A lot to unpack on this one, illustrating the difficulty around voluntary food labels 🌍 GFI Consultancy, strategic partner of The Good Food Institute highlighted 4 ways to propel China's alt protein market forward. Sonalie makes a great point about the necessity of keeping China engaged, and I highlight some difficulties I see (as an investor) as well as some orgs like Innovate UK and Protein Industries Canada who are showing how countries can work together in the space 📈 The positive was seeing a global climate change poll conducted by Ipsos UK of 22k people across 22 countries showing 60% of consumers said they'd support gov't policies encouraging meat reduction to lower GHGs. So the masses don't seem to be coming out with pitchforks at the idea of lowering meat consumption. That's a win!

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Check out my recent post on why President Trump is the forcing function for us to solve the “Missing Middle” and catch the industrial Tsunami of onshoring coming to the US!

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We just published a new podcast episode of #InOurHands with Nigel Sizer, a globally recognized authority on ecology and development policy, and executive director at Preventing Pandemics at the Source Initiative. We discuss everyone's least favorite but most important topic: the connection between pandemics and climate change. Listen or read to learn more (spoiler: deforestation and forest trade are some of the reasons, and we need to fix this). https://lnkd.in/gsvi_RDW

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