⛰️ Enviro Futures #12
HolonIQ's Enviro Newsletter covers the latest developments in food systems, oceans and water, air quality, forestry and fishing, and wood and paper and highlights the week's top environment deals.
Happy Monday 👋
The UAE launched a comprehensive environmental initiative to promote sustainable agriculture, environmental protection, and green spaces. Greece is exploring renewable desalination projects, while political unrest in West Africa hinders climate action plans. Marine Fund Scotland awarded $18.3 million to support aquaculture innovation, including a salmon feeding trial and net cleaning technology. Rising sea temperatures in Asia are intensifying cyclones and cloudbursts. US wood pellet exports decreased in August. Entosystem, a Canadian insect protein and organic fertilizer producer, secured $58 million in funding.
🌱 Food Systems
🌱 UAE launches 'Plant the Emirates' environmental initiative. UAE launched the 'Plant the Emirates' program, which is expected to increase green spaces, promote environmental protection efforts, and encourage agriculture in the UAE.
🧪 UK regulators awarded $2M to develop a safety testing regime for lab-grown meat. The Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland were awarded $2M to develop criteria for ensuring cultivated meat products are safe to eat.
🌊 Oceans and Water
💧 Greece, Explores Renewable Desalination to Address Water Scarcity. Greece is considering renewable desalination projects to address water scarcity concerns, particularly on islands facing insufficient rainfall and strained aquifers.
💧 Water Crisis in Afghanistan. Afghanistan's water infrastructure was crippled due to three years of drought, a new regime, and the loss of skilled workers, leading to increased water prices and the spread of disease.
♻️ Environmental Services
🌪️ Political Instability Threatens Climate Action in West Africa's Sahel Region. Political tensions and military coups in West Africa are putting vital climate action at risk in the Sahel region, where temperatures are rising faster than anywhere else on Earth, threatening the region's unified climate strategy.
💷 UK Government's $28.8 Billion CCS Investment. The UK government announced a $28.8B investment into carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. This move aims to achieve net zero emissions, but critics argue it could prolong the country's reliance on fossil fuels.
💰 Climate Loss and Damage Fund Drying Up Ahead of COP29. The Climate Loss and Damage Fund, which received pledges of $650 million from rich countries last year, is running out of funds as new pledges have dried up ahead of the COP29 climate conference.
🛢️ BP and Equinor Receive $5.2B for Net Zero Teesside Project. Energy giants BP and Equinor are among the recipients of a $5.2B investment for the Net Zero Teesside project, which will be built in North East England.
💨 Air Quality
💨 Malaysia Proposes Emissions Trading Scheme in Draft Climate Change Bill. Malaysia has proposed a draft climate change bill that seeks to establish an emissions trading scheme. The bill aims to set emissions thresholds for organizations, starting with hard-to-abate sectors or large emitters and grants power to the environment ministry.
🌪️ Warming Fuels Cyclones, Cloudbursts Across Asia. The warming seas around the Asia Pacific region are fueling cyclones and cloudbursts with moisture, making Asia the hardest hit region by warming-related weather and water events.
🐟 Forestry and Fishing
🌳 Australia Hosts Inaugural Global Nature Positive Summit. Australia is hosting the inaugural Global Nature Positive Summit, a world-first event focused on addressing biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, which are among the biggest threats facing the world.
🎣 Marine Fund Scotland Grants Support Aquaculture Projects. Marine Fund Scotland announced grants totaling $18.3m to support projects in marine industries and coastal communities, including a trial for a new salmon feeding system for Cooke Scotland and a service station for cleaning fish farming nets.
🐟 $2m secured for fish health research by SAIC. The Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) has secured $2m to fund three projects aimed at addressing threats to farmed fish health from micro-jellyfish, harmful algal blooms, and proliferative kidney disease.
📓 Wood and Paper
🪵 US Wood Pellet Exports Decline in August. The USDA reported that US wood pellet exports fell to 775,856.9 metric tons in August, down from the previous month and August 2023.
💰 Environment Deals
🪱 Entosystem Raises $58 Million in Funding. Entosystem, a company that produces insect proteins and organic fertilizers, raised $58 million in funding.
🌱 Swiss agtech startup xFarm Technologies raises $39 Million Series C for AI-powered sustainable agriculture. Swiss agtech startup xFarm Technologies, which focuses on digitalization of the agri-food sector, has raised $39 million in Series C funding to make agriculture more sustainable with AI.
💨 1PointFive Secures $36 Million DOE Funding for Carbon Sequestration Hubs. 1PointFive, an organization involved in carbon sequestration, has received $36 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for its Bluebonnet and Magnolia Sequestration Hubs.
🍖 La Vie raises $27 Million in latest funding round to boost growth. La Vie, a plant-based meat manufacturer, raised $27 million in its latest funding round, bringing the total raised in the last three years to $54 million despite a drop in investments in the food tech sector.
🏭 Rotterdam's Paebbl Raises $25 Million Series A to Turn CO2 into Carbon-Storing Materials. Paebbl, a Rotterdam-based company raised $24.9 million in Series A funding to develop its technology for converting captured CO2 into permanent, carbon-storing materials.
Thank you for reading. Have a great week ahead!
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