May News You Can Use
What is the responsibility of climate scientists, innovators and advocates when our government is being dismantled in a quest for authoritarian control and enrichment of the few at the expense of current and future generations? We can't stop pursuing scientific research and innovation. We can't stop implementing solutions. But we also need three effective branches of government and the rule of law to be able to advance to a restorative new economy.
It is time to be creative, coordinated, and loud in pushing back against a destructive US budget. It is time to forge stronger relationships with our partners across the country and around the world. In a 1.5C world that is rapidly getting hotter, there is no time to lose. Read on for facts, inspiration and opportunities for action.
Events
Climate Leaders Monthly Meeting
Thursday, June 5, 4:00 - 5:00 PM PT
Join the Climate Leaders Meeting to exchange resources and inspiration with others who are working to create a vibrant and healthy future.
All leaders are welcome.
This is a monthly on-line event hosted by Minerva Ventures.
15-Minute Cities and Transit Oriented Development Webinar
Opportunities for Action
Two Opportunities To Support Climate and California’s Economy If You Live in CA:
The Climate Center has made it easy for you to speak out about The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act and stopping the giveaways for Big Oil through Cap and Trade.
The Best Way to Overcome Apathy Regarding Climate Change
A recently published study in the journal Nature Human Behavior suggest that the way to increase public urgency around climate change is to focus on clear, concrete shifts instead of slow-moving trends. These can include things like the number of skating days on a local lake, the loss of white Christmases or outdoor summer activities canceled because of wildfire smoke. Visual representations that portray binary distinctions instead of trends and scatter plots are much more likely to get individuals engaged, and thus have a chance at transforming the public discourse.
Domains for Climate Action
Food and Agriculture
Rice for a Hotter Future
In a research breakthrough that addresses the problem of feeding a growing population in a heat-stressed future, scientists have discovered a gene variant that enables rice plants to produce as much as 80% more grain, of a high quality, in a hotter environment.
Benefits of Regenerative Coffee Production
A recent report studying regenerative practices across nine coffee producing countries concluded that incomes of small farmers increased an average of 62% and coffee exports went up 30%. The study demonstrated the value of supporting smallholder farmers to adopt proven regenerative practices such as agroforestry or organic waste as fertilizer can yield business, environmental, and social returns.
Energy
Former Industrial Locations Make Excellent Sites for Solar Energy
Known contaminated sites, or brownfields, can be notoriously difficult to clean up and make useful. Solar energy often competes with other uses for scarce and valuable land. Locating solar installations on previously contaminated brownfields can solve a host of issues, especially in Michigan, home to 24,000 such sites. Read more about efforts underway to do just that.
A Sustainable Battery Made from Farm Waste
Unlike lithium-ion batteries, this new innovation from Ukrainian company SorbiForce relies on non-toxic, non-flammable, sustainable materials like carbon, water, and salt. Another distinguishing feature is it’s longevity. The ultraporous carbon materials actually improve with age, potentially extending the battery life to up to 30 years.
Finance
Will Climate Initiatives Survive the Current Business Climate?
Business Roundtable, a powerful lobbying group for corporate CEOs, is calling on policymakers to ban climate-related shareholder resolutions. They are also targeting two influential investor advisory firms for supporting climate proposals. In the current political environment, the risk is real, but not inevitable. Read more.
Circular Economy/Materials
REI Is Keeping 90% Of It’s Waste Out of Landfills
This is the first retailer to reach this milestone, with Target and Walmart at about 85% each. One key element of REI’s success was sending 2.5 million pounds of polyethylene plastic film to Trex to become decking. Another was keeping conveyor belts clean so that unwrapped items don’t get soiled. They have also prioritized recycled materials in their products: approximately 52 percent of the polyester and 45 percent of the nylon, and are using material made with low carbon yarn that LanzaTech makes from industrial waste gases, including carbon dioxide. Let’s go shopping!
Recycling Batteries With Near 100% Recovery in 15 Minutes
A new approach to recycling lithium-ion batteries developed by researchers in China has the potential to solve two of the biggest problems with the technology: scarcity of the metals, and the environmental damage incurred in previous attempts at recycling or disposing of them. The process uses tiny batteries to break down the metals in the battery, then extracts them using glycine, which is much safer for the environment than the chemicals previously used. In just 15 minutes this new process recovers 99.99% of the lithium, 96.8% of the nickel, 92.35% of the cobalt, and 90.59% of the manganese from the old battery.
Water/Natural Resources/Biodiversity
New Water Desalination Tech Cuts Energy Use, Waste, and Costs
New Mexico's Aqua Membrane has developed a 3D printed membrane for reverse osmosis that acts more like a river than a dam, allowing water to pass through more easily, cutting energy requirements by 30%. As demand for water increasingly outstrips supply, this is really good news for thirsty communities across the globe. The company received a Global Water Intelligence award for its technology in 2024. Read more.
Built Environment
Advantages of a Battery Powered House
From saving your groceries during a power-outage, to saving money on your electric bill by avoiding drawing power from the grid during peak times when the rates are higher, to providing load-flattening service to the entire grid, making the system more resilient, batteries in and around homes just make sense. And increasing, companies are providing innovative solutions to make them easy to use, like Back-Up by Biolite, which sits behind or on top of your fridge or other appliance and charges during off-peak hours. These and other solutions, coming soon to homes near you.
Transportation
New EV Battery Charges 320 Miles in 5 Minutes
CATL, the world’s largest EV battery manufacturer, says the new technology, in addition to fast charging, is also cheaper, lighter, and more resistant to cold, while providing greater driving range. The new batteries won’t be available in cars for at least a few years, but when they are they promise to make electric cars more competitive in price and performance with gasoline-powered models. They also announced an auxilliary battery that doesn’t use graphite, making it more energy dense and less costly. Read more.
Health
Climate Interventions:
Regeneration, Methane, Geoengineering, CCUS
The UK To Invest US$76 million in Geoengineering Research
The program of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency(ARIA), will fund 21 projects globally. Along with another investment of £10m (US$13.3 million) from the UK Research and Innovation body – means the UK is now one of the world’s biggest funders of solar geoengineering research. About half of the funds will be spent on “controlled, small-scale outdoor experiments,” a new development in this controversial domain. Read more.
Adaptation and Resilience
Mayors Work to Share Climate Adaptation Strategies
David Miller, former Toronto mayor and recognized global climate leader is Managing Director of the Center for City Climate Policy and Economy C40 Cities, a global network of mayors representing 96 of the world’s 100 largest cities. From planting one million trees per year (Addis Ababa), to regulations driving building decarbonization (New York), and hyper-localization efforts (Paris), cities are leading, and succeeding, in creating more livable, lower-carbon environments. More here.
Policy
America is Becoming Less Prepared for Disasters
A recent Washington Post editorial calls out the president for “destroying programs that help communities prepare for climate effects,” saying, “These decisions will weaken the economy and — more important — could cost lives.”
EPA’s GHG Calculator Remains Available, Thanks to OnePointFive
The administration took down one of the most accessible ways to learn how to estimate Scope 1, Scope 2, and select Scope 3 emissions for US-based operations. They may have removed it from it’s EPA home, but it remains available here.
Despite Administration Efforts the US Nature Assessment Survives
When the funding was cut, the scientists and others involved found new partners and created United by Nature, an initiative to provide evidence-based, nonpartisan insights into the changing state of nature across the country. The effort will include the first independent assessment, to be released in July 2026, of how nature in the United States is doing and how it supports our health, security, culture and economy. Read more.
The US Energy Sector is Faltering
Another piece from the Washington Post points out that in addition to the expected impacts on the clean energy sector, the fossil fuel sector is also struggling with challenges brought about by Trump’s agenda, including tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and oil supply concerns. This has caused price of U.S. oil has plunged to below the drilling profitability threshold of about $65 per barrel. “It is a stark reversal from last year, when the United States was rocketing ahead on clean energy projects, pushed by government, and oil industry executives were brimming with optimism amid record production.”
Despite a Changing US Policy, Climate Remains A Key Issue for CEOs
“I've had hundreds of conversations since the election. I've never spoken with a company that said, ‘You know what? We're going to let go of our net-zero target,’” said Nili Gilbert, vice chair at Carbon Direct, on a panel at the Milken Global Conference. Their concerns include the physical risks of climate change, as a result of both climate disclosure rules in Europe and the costs of recent climate disasters.
The Social Cost of Carbon No Longer Part of the Equation
As of May 5, 2025, The White House has directed federal agencies to stop factoring in the monetary costs of climate damages when crafting regulations and making other decisions — unless it is “plainly required in their governing statutes,” as part of an effort to “remove any barriers put in place by previous Administrations….”
The EU Commits to Renewables and to End Russian Gas Imports by 2027
The EU hopes to move away from Russian gas by "enhancing energy efficiency, accelerating the deployment of renewable energy and diversifying supplies", the European Commission said.
Climate News
21 of the Past 22 Months Were Above the 1.5°C Target
April 2025 was 1.51°C above the estimated 1850-1900 average used to define the pre-industrial level, yet another indicator of the urgent need for climate action.
Sea Level Rise Accelerating
The rate of annual sea level rise has more than doubled over the past 30 years, resulting in the global sea level increasing 4 inches since 1993. Scientists project that by 2050 it till rise around 6 inches globally, and as much as 10 to 12 inches in the US. In addition to increased flooding, sea level rise contributes to coastal erosion, chokes sewage systems and causes salty water to seep into underground freshwater supplies. In some areas 6 inches might mean more high tide flooding; in others, it could mean water covering streets and coastal land for months. Read more.
Brazil’s COP30 Presidency Calling On Grassroots Efforts
In an effort to influence governments to step up to the plate, Brazil is calling on grassroots organizations, individuals and corporations to do their part in lowering emissions and piloting solutions, as well as demonstrating to and perhaps applying pressure to governments to do the same. COP30 President André Aranha Corrêa do Lago said, “There is a huge space for a movement that truly shows to the governments that populations are concerned about climate change, they believe we have to make very significant changes and they want to contribute to that.”
The Scientific Case for Holding Carbon Polluters Accountable for Damages
A recent study published in Nature details “the scientific and legal implications of an ‘end-to-end’ attribution that links fossil fuel producers to specific damages from warming. Using scope 1 and 3 emissions data from major fossil fuel companies, peer-reviewed attribution methods and advances in empirical climate economics, we illustrate the trillions in economic losses attributable to the extreme heat caused by emissions from individual companies.” For example, their data analysis shows that Chevron, the highest emitter studied, “likely caused between US $791 billion and $3.6 trillion in heat-related losses over the period 1991–2020.” The authors are hoping their approach can be used to inform future litigation.
Minerva Ventures LLC believes:
MV and our team believe in the US Constitution and the importance of upholding the rule of law, including the rights of freedom of speech and assembly to ensure a vibrant democracy. We believe in the necessity for sound scientific research to guide policy and risk assessment. We believe that a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives makes our society more creative and resilient. Our culture, economy, and well-being depend on collaboration with people, nations, and institutions around the world. We will do all we can to defeat fascism and to build an inclusive society that works to restore healthy ecosystems, welcoming communities, and a safe and stable climate. Humanity faces challenges that we humans set into motion. It will take all of us working together to overcome those perils to build a better future.
About Minerva Ventures:
Are you concerned about climate change and seeking ways to take action? Business survival depends on addressing competitive challenges every day. Leaders attend to urgent business matters while counting on tomorrow’s weather and operating conditions to be similar to yesterday’s. What happens when underlying conditions change as climate consequences become more severe? It is hard to adjust to a disruptive future while you are focused on competing today.
Minerva advises clean tech companies on strategic and business development. We help you find customers, new markets, and new investors to build your momentum and success. Minerva helps established companies create strategies to identify and contend with climate risks to your business. Discover how you can protect your operations, assets, products, and services. Understand how climate risk will affect your suppliers, customers, and partners. Determine how you can strengthen your company to navigate change and seize opportunities as markets reconfigure in the face of the coming changes. Find innovative ways to change your operations, products, and services to help address climate change. Consider policy measures that your industry can pursue that will help address shared risks.
Minerva can help you find new solutions that will make your business more resilient and adaptable to change. Your company will be advancing climate solutions rather than just reacting to disruptions to your industry and markets.
Visit Minerva Ventures’ website at MinervaVentures.com!
Newsletter Editor: Dinyah Rein, Consultant, Minerva Ventures, LLC
Managing Partner: Marianna Grossman, Minerva Ventures, LLC
Copyright (C) 2024 Minerva Ventures. All rights reserved.
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