11.22 Onstage now is Luis Alonso, a research scientist in the City Science group and Principal Investigator of the Andorra Living Lab Project.
When we talk about deep building retrofitting, we’re talking about increasing the thermal isolation, and improving exterior cladding, he says. This will reduce the amount of operational energy required.
11.20 Welcome back to the day’s second session, and the topic is how to create realistic ways for cities to adapt to the changing climate, while also creating new spaces and opportunities for people to thrive.
10.36 We’re now taking a short break, so we should be back in half an hour. Catch you in a bit!
10.30 “The internet is running out of data centers, and data centers are running out of electricity,” she says. When Google started its sustainability journey in 2007, it realized that cutting down on electricity use was the best way to cut its carbon footprint, she adds.
Businesses should feel accountability for their emissions and carbon footprint, she says. “I do think we have a responsibility, right? From a governance perspective, how do we participate in the changes that we want and we need, but also make sure that we create the incentives and the market signals for that?” she asks. “It’s also about how do we reduce the barriers of entry for other buyers to be able to join such efforts as well.”
10.20 Renewable energy sources are going to be a key piece of the puzzle for 24/7 electricity, says Texier. But we also know that to maximize those resources, we’re going to need the storage capacity at low cost, she adds, pointing out that we already know that wind and solar supply can be unpredictable. Like our other speakers, she notes how we’re going to need to reduce emissions, but we’re also going to need to remove emissions that are already in the atmosphere to make a real long-term difference in the future.
10.12 Two years ago, Google committed to achieving a goal of “24/7 carbon-free energy” by 2030. The company says this means “matching each hour of our electricity consumption with carbon-free electricity sources on every grid where we operate.” Read more about its plans to support emerging technologies that can provide carbon-free power around the clock.
10.10 Next up, Maud Texier, who is head of clean energy & carbon development at Google. She leads a team responsible for developing and scaling 24/7 carbon-free energy for Google’s global infrastructure worldwide with various initiatives including new technologies, clean energy supply, and policy efforts.
10.06 “In some ways, climate is more recession-proof because the government has basically written a $370 billion check for it,” says Ransohoff. Read our climate team James and Casey’s takes on the biggest technology wins in the breakthrough climate bill when it was announced back in July.
“I think that applies to some parts of climate, and doesn’t apply to others,” she adds. “But I think we are slowly moving to a world where there is more certainty, and that gives the private markets, investors, and entrepreneurs more certainty that if they build something, there will be customers and they will be able to make money.”