PIKE ORIGIN

Welcome to Origin Report #2

This report covers:

• Earth Appreciation Photo of the Month
• Article: The Great American Climate Opportunity
• Climate Tool Box

Earth Appreciation Photo of the Month

A brisk afternoon hike through mountains – Marlette Lake, Nevada

Understanding Climate Goals

So you want to accomplish your climate goals? Awesome! Let’s break down this opportunity. 

First we need to understand what do we mean by climate goals? To keep this simple, the foundations of climate goals can be broken into two buckets: Climate mitigation and climate adaptation. To make these foundations actionable it’s helpful to separate these into building and resilience.

Climate mitigation = A function of building 

Climate adaptation = A function of resilience

Building is a function of business. Development is a natural human phenomenon, business is commonly the means to development. This is the opportunity for American business to invest in emission reduction strategies, clean energy, and innovate ways to “do business better,” and lead the world in sustainable development. 

Resilience is a function of people. For long-term sustainability to be effective, we will need to create and promote lifestyles that are inclusive, consume less, and promote health of individuals and communities. Personally, I believe developing a climate balanced lifestyle is essential to living longer, happier, and more fulfilling lives. 

Now let’s break down “climate goals” into our buckets. 

Mitigation-Focused (Building):

Emission-related Climate Goals: 

Reaching Net-Zero – This goal focuses on organizations that can reach a carbon footprint equal to zero after accounting for emissions trading. The net-zero goals will require the maturation of the carbon market. This includes advances in trading platforms,  robust reporting, and third-party verified compliance. 

Energy Efficiency and the Clean Energy Transition – This goal is twofold, first decrease the demand for energy through high-efficiency buildings, industrial and manufacturing, and residential appliances. Second, build clean or renewable energy sources to power our lives. This is a particularly challenging goal due to a number of factors, but energy is at the heart of the climate challenge. 

Decarbonized Transportation – This goal is geared toward modernizing transportation (both public and private) that can be powered through renewable or clean energy. This goal is similar to energy and shares many business challenges. However, how humans move from one place to another will need to be re-imagined.

Consumption-related Goals:

Circular economy – This goal pertains to designing products with the full lifecycle in mind. It encourages the production of durable, reusable goods. These goods also focus on a “zero-waste” methodology where at the end of the usable product lifecycle, the product can be either fully recycled or used in alternative means. 

Waste reduction – This goal is of no surprise, generally this applies to reducing food waste, stopping single use goods (plastic, styrofoam, etc.), and reducing overall consumption of goods.

Resilience-Focused (People):

Culture, Equity, and Justice Goals:

Education – This goal is about advancing scientific knowledge about climate amongst young people and communities. This goal can be applied through schools and grassroot advocacy. 

Benefits to disadvantaged communities – This goal includes engaging with marginalized communities and elevating their voice regarding sustainable development projects. It also should advocate for equitable access to renewable and clean energy, public health services, and other advantages of sustainable development.

Nature-related Climate Goals:

Biodiversity – This goal refers to protecting the biological variety of organisms on the planet. This variety is essential to Earth’s ecosystems and humans deeply rely on these ecosystems for food, water, medicine, and a stable climate. 

Conservation and Wildlife Protection – This goal often is grouped with protecting biodiversity because they go hand in hand. Wild habitat on land and in water create balanced ecosystems which result in naturally occurring carbon sinks and promote biodiversity. However, as the human population continues to grow and the Earth warms, habitat loss is increasing at an alarming rate. Conservation efforts play an essential role in nature-based climate solutions.

Reforestation and Afforestation – Similarly, this goal has overlap with the other nature-related goals. Forests are some of the most productive ecosystems in terms of carbon sequestration and biodiversity. Rebuilding forests and adjacent land can contribute to restoring degraded ecosystems and create an opportunity for well managed agroforestry operations. 

The Climate Toolbox

Shared language: Definition of Climate Solution

Standards: The Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets is an independent governing body of the voluntary carbon market. The carbon market is an essential service for combating climate change as it allows for financial tools and incentives to trade carbon and is necessary for net-zero carbon emissions to be achieved. 

Tool: Climate Check is a tool that creates a risk assessment on real estate. If you are an investor or are looking to buy real estate, you can enter in your address for a risk assessment on the property.

Until next time…

Cheers,

Chris