🌱 The Grumpy Optimists #108

Happy Monday. 👋

Welcome back to another episode of your positive climate news from me, George, the Grumpy Optimist.

This week I’m choosing to brush over all the negativity of the UK going back to the 1970s and putting drivers first as if we haven’t built our national infrastructure around cars for the last 60 years. Instead, we’re looking at guerilla gardening, beavers being born in the UK for the first time in 400 years and wind turbines being turned into park benches. Let’s dig in, shall we?

👀 Articles to read

💡The 1.5°C goal is still in reach. Keeping temperatures below 1.5°C is still possible, but the gap for making it happen has narrowed, here’s everything we need to do to make sure we hit the target. A real optimistic attitude from the off this week.

• ⚡Accelerate Clean Energy Transition: Triple global renewable power capacity and ensure rapid adoption of clean energy technologies, including a significant rise in electric vehicle sales by 2030.
• 🔋Boost Energy Efficiency & Technology: Double the rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030 and invest in technology that promotes efficiency, such as heat pumps, whilst also fostering innovation in clean energy to lower technology costs.
• 🏦 Increase Investment in Emerging Economies: Elevate global clean energy investment from USD 1.8 trillion in 2023 to USD 4.5 trillion annually by the early 2030s, with a focus on supporting emerging and developing economies to ensure an inclusive transition.
• 📉 Reduce Fossil Fuel Use & Methane Emissions: Implement strategies to lower fossil fuel demand by 25% by 2030 and 80% by 2050, accompanied by a 75% reduction in energy sector methane emissions.
• 🤝 International Cooperation & Urgent Action: Strengthen international cooperation and commitment to emission reduction targets, with urgent and bold actions this decade to avoid dependence on costly and unproven carbon removal technologies in the future.

🇵🇹 Portugal marches ahead with renewables on the rise. Perhaps best known for incredible landscapes, pastel de nata and vibrant cities, Portugal is also increasingly becoming an example of implementing renewable energy. In 2019, 54% of the country’s energy was renewable, 18% higher than the EU average, this figure is now closer to 60%.

🚘 Nissan vows to be all-electric by 2030, despite UK delays. The car manufacturer will accelerate their plans towards full electrification of all vehicles sold in Europe by 2030. The move comes despite the UK pushing back targets to 2035 with Nissan’s CEO Makoto Uchida saying it’s the right thing to do. Two fingers to Sunak? Perhaps.

🦫 Wood you believe it, the first beaver born in London in 400 years. In 2022, after nearly 400 years of absence due to extinction from hunting, beavers were reintroduced in the capital by Enfield Council. The beavers help create natural wetland ecosystems and flood management.

🚌 Manchester gets locally controlled buses after 37 years. After years of privately owned and fragmented bus services, Manchester has taken back control of its bus services. Mayor Andy Burnham has pushed for the devolution of buses to make transport more reliable and cheaper. Single fares are capped at £2 with a weekly limit of £21. The more we make it easier for people to ditch the need to drive everywhere the better.

🌳 Why we should let Brits plant trees in public spaces. The think tank Create Streets (which has a great Twitter account) has proposed that individuals should be able to plant trees in public spaces, create small urban parks and reduce the socioeconomic disparity in access to green space in the UK. A cost-benefit analysis found that constructing small parks in urban areas yields a positive impact of £6,495 per person residing within 500 meters of the green space. This is a combination of lower depression rates, decreased mortality and crime rates alongside increased property values. Everyone should have access to nature, I fully endorse this idea.

🪴 Botanarchy, a guerrilla gardener taking action already. Based in Hackney, London, guerrilla gardener Ellen Miles hits the streets equipped with plants, compost, and seeds, aiming to enhance biodiversity and establish additional green spaces. Ellen has also tried to convince the local council to allocate more community green areas but they haven’t gained approval, yet. I for one endorse botanarchy and I hope you do too. You can also buy Ellen’s book here.

🚲 Toyota to sell e-cargo bikes in French dealerships. If you need a clear sign of the growing trend towards active travel then car dealerships offering cargo bikes for sale in their showrooms is probably the brightest sign you might get and now it’s happening. The cargo bikes will be sold in 170 of Toyota’s 300 dealerships in France, later expanding to all 300. For me, the coolest part of this is that Toyota is not only looking to market to families but also van-driving tradespeople who are looking to decarbonise their last-mile journeys and potentially avoid low emission charges and parking fees. UK, are you listening?

🍅 How one startup is making fruit and veg last longer by removing Ethylene. With 1/3 of all food going to waste before it gets the chance to decompose in your fridge, tackling the issue is crucial not just for the planet, but for people too. PureSpace, a South Korean startup aims to reduce food waste in trucks and storage facilities by filtering ethylene from the air. Ethylene is a plant hormone produced by fruit and veg like bananas, avocados and strawberries as they ripen, but in turn, they cause nearby produce to ripen quicker. The company aims to cut food waste and emissions. Oh and don’t worry, I had no idea what the word ethylene was before reading this article, I just knew that bananas are a menace to a fruit bowl.

🍃 Turning wind turbines into park benches. Scottish startup ReBlade turns old wind turbines that are often not recyclable into new products such as park benches and bus shelters. Pretty nifty!

♻️ Cool Company in Climate - Scrapp

This week I couldn’t find any good memes, but I do have a company I want to share with you all. For those of you who don’t know, I used to work in the waste industry and was endearingly called Binman Wade by my friends both for donning high-vis but also for continuously telling them what could and couldn’t go into the recycling bin. I wouldn’t need to with Scrapp .

I met co-founder Dan Marek a few years ago and thought the product and the idea of allowing you to scan your bar code and find out if you can recycle a product in your area to be genius. Dan and the team have launched a scanner for office buildings, helping improve recycling rates and prevent wish cycling. If you have a large office or know somebody who does, reach out to Dan or the team at Scrapp.

This week’s episode was written while listening to SZA and after a great breakfast. I hope you all have a great week. If you would leave a like, comment or any other interaction then I owe you a KitKat. Thanks and love.

George, the Grumpy Optimist 💚