Microsoft President Brad Smith, Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood and CEO Satya Nadella preparing to announce Microsoft’s plan to be carbon negative by 2030.  (Photo by Brian Smale)

Microsoft plans to eliminate all the carbon emissions it has ever produced

Microsoft is pledging to eliminate its carbon emissions and invest $1 billion as part of a wider climate commitment, raising the stakes in the corporate race to show greater awareness of environmental concerns.

“By 2050, Microsoft plans to eliminate all emissions it has produced since its founding in 1975.” – Microsoft Corporation

The software company said Thursday that it would become “carbon negative” by 2030 —taking more carbon out of the air than its operations and those of its supply chain produce. This goes a step beyond promises made by some of its high-profile Silicon Valley rivals including Google, Apple and Amazon.  WSJ, Microsoft

Issue No. 10

Welcome to the latest issue of Carbon Creed! I decided to post this issue on the Martin Luther King Jr. U.S. Federal Holiday, which also gives me some time to recover from my mom’s memorial on Saturday. Thanks for all the kind thoughts and messages everyone!

Last week our top two articles were We Can’t Slow Climate Change Without the Energy Companies and Australia will lose to Climate Change.

My name is Walter McLeod, and I’m glad you’ve joined our community. We hope to hear from you as we navigate this weekly journey through the good, bad and ugly of carbon and climate. You can ping me anytime at mcleodwl@carboncreed.com.

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Now, LET’S GET TO IT!

INSIGHTS

(Photo: EE News)

Cory Booker leaves a nuclear gap in 2020 race

U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, who announced last Monday he is suspending his 2020 presidential campaign, was not one to hold back in his criticism of his Democratic counterparts’ skepticism of nuclear energy’s role in a low-carbon future.

“As much as we say the Republicans when it comes to climate change must listen to science, our party has the same obligation to listen to scientists,” Cory Booker, U.S. Senator (D-NJ)

In a deep dive interview with the Huffington Post in September 2019, Booker argued that if a president tried to shut down nuclear power, it would increase U.S. reliance on fossil fuels. “The data speaks for itself.”  

We’ll see if any of the remaining candidates has the guts to takes up the nuclear mantle. Axios, HuffPost

GOVERNMENTS

Davos braces for Trump-Thunberg showdown as climate change tops the agenda

It's the first time the two are attending the same event since the teenager famously stared down Trump at the UN last year. 

The World Economic Forum's 50th annual meeting begins on Monday, January 20th in Davos Switzerland.

Trump will deliver what the organizers describe as a special address on Tuesday, offering his brand of populism to attendees who represent governments, companies, central banks and multinational organizations.

Two hours later, Thunberg — Time Magazine's Person of the Year — will open a debate on how to avert a "climate apocalypse."

Davos 2020 by the numbers:

• About 3,000 participants from nearly 120 countries. One in four participants is a woman

• 53 heads of state and government

• Nearly 1,700 business leaders, including CEOs from 8 of the 10 most valuable companies in the world

• Over 350 sessions and workshops

• 88% of the cars used by the WEF are electric or hybrid

The annual event is taking place against the backdrop of the second hottest year on record and the worst bushfires in Australian history.  Deutsche Welle, NYTimes

CLEANTECH

(Photo: Joby Aviation)

Toyota makes a big bet on secretive flying taxi startup Joby Aviation

Joby Aviation, a California-based aerospace company that has been working on electric aircraft for over a decade, just closed its latest round of financing with $590 million in venture capital funding and a major new partner – Toyota Motors.

“We are building a new system for transportation to transform your daily life, at greater safety and, in time, at a similar cost to driving,” JoBen Bevirt, Joby Aviation Founder. 

Toyota will work with Joby to design and build a fleet of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft for use in a ride-hailing service. The Japanese auto giant was part of a previous Joby funding round that closed in 2018, helping the secretive startup raise $100 million. Obviously Toyota liked what it saw, because it stepped up to lead this latest round of fundraising, bringing Joby’s total raise to $720 million. Joby also recently announced a deal with Uber to deploy its air taxis on its ride-hailing network. TheVerge

RESOURCES

• The Keeling Curve a daily record of global atmospheric CO2 concentration.
  

• Congressional Policy Tracker a summary of current federal energy legislation.
  

• Click Clean your favorite apps and tech company clean power rankings.Z
  

• Advancing Inclusion Through Clean Energy Jobs a report by the Brookings Institute.

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Curated by Walter McLeod, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Carbon Creed and Managing Partner with Eco Capitol Energy.

- mcleodwl@carboncreed.com