GTG Links 51 – Sustainability awards, rain over the Sahara, climate policy and more extreme weather

Though most of the games industry has been focused on Gamescom the past fortnight, with little other news besides, and no new ESG disclosures to share (still waiting on a few of the big ones) this week's links might seem a bit light on. But the rest of the world has continued to see wild weather and storms, and I've got the biggest ones here for you. So a big of another scary news dumb... but there are some positives from the realm of effective climate policy. Read on!

Congratulations to Tencent on the receipt of the Gamescom sustainability award

Here's the moment from the opening night, though it's a pretty short segment.

The full press release with details of their efforts here.

Playing for the Planet

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In last year's Net Zero Snapshot, I applauded Tencent's double-digit reduction in absolute emissions. In this year's snapshot however (out soon-isssssh) they've reversed some of that good progress – but only to the tune of about 1.3%. While that's certainly going to have taken real effort, as it means their overall greenhouse gas emissions remain below 2021, it is still movement in the wrong direction. Hmm.

Former cloud sustainability expert on how the big public cloud companies actually performed in 2023: Amazon, Azure & Google

This is a really great analysis – clear-eyed, fair, but also attuned to the nuances in data centre operations and ESG reporting data. Really top-notch stuff if you want to see who is actually putting in the work.

Sustainability: How Did Amazon, Azure, Google Perform in 2023?

Now that the three biggest cloud providers have released their environmental data, the head of the Green Software Foundation’s Real Time Cloud project weighs in.

The New StackAdrian Cockcroft

Bloomberg green investigates the use of unbundled RECs in tech company footprints

And on that note – Bloomberg reporter Akshat Rathi investigates the growing gap between market-based and location-based Scope 2 emissions, reflecting a growing credibility challenge in reporting and honestly assessing the environmental impact of the big tech companies. Some of these issues are not as simple or clear-cut as ESG reporting might make them seem. Lots to pay close attention to here.

Chris Adams has a rundown of the challenges in evaluating AI impact for those working on/with these types of projects

Another great, highly technical post with heaps of crunchy links to resources and different methodologies for estimation.

How do I track the direct environmental impact of my own inference and training when working with AI? – Reads, Takes and Links

chris

“The sea level is rising… we’re just going to have to not give a shit about that. We got way bigger fish to fry”

I've been watching a lot of a certain YouTuber do these hi-power Civ 6 playthroughs, and stumbled across this extremely funny moment where the climate change mechanics in the late game have to take a backseat to his Scottish military conquest aspirations. As a commenter points out "Art imitates life".

Dating the Disruption

It's always risky to try and periodize future predictions of climate disasters and disruptions (even as we know for sure they are coming), but this piece seems pretty well thought out, mapping the major crisis points over the next decade and change. The accelerando happening in extreme weather beyond the bounds of 20th-century expectations is becoming impossible to ignore.

“Intensifying extreme weather events and an insurance crisis are likely to cause significant economic and political disruption in the U.S. sometime in the next 15 years.”

When will climate change turn life in the U.S. upside down? » Yale Climate Connections

Intensifying extreme weather events and an insurance crisis are likely to cause significant economic and political disruption in the U.S. sometime in the next 15 years.

Yale Climate ConnectionsJeff Masters

Wild Weather Corner

Cherry Trees tell of our warming climate

1000+ years of recorded blossoms tell the same story. We're well outside the normal fluctuations.

Have you ever seen two 1-in-1000-years floods in one day? You have now

I bless the rains down in Africa: weird rainfall over the Sahara

Unexpected Rainfall event starts in the Sahara Desert: A Rare Weather Phenomenon

A rare rainfall event is starting in the Sahara desert, signaling a potential change in the Earth’s weather system.

Severe Weather EuropeAndrej Flis

Heat-related deaths up by a huge amount in the US

Heat-related deaths have increased by 117% in the US since 1999 – report

More than 21,500 US deaths over last two decades were connected to heat, top medical journal finds

The GuardianAnna Betts

And the NOAA published its State of the Climate report

Glaciers are in retreat, Arctic and Antarctic ice is melting, and the oceans are staying hotter for far longer.

Marine heat waves are one of the most terrifying and least visible effects of climate. A lot of marine life has nowhere to go to cool off.

And we're still loading the dice for more, worse weather – global emissions are still not falling.

Including close to my home

It is still winter and we're seeing middle-of-summer temperatures in parts of Australia. These interior temperatures are causing damaging winds all along the much more populated south-eastern coast too, as all that hot air has to go somewhere. It's been a crazy week for it here in Melbourne. At times I've been nearly knocked off my bike by the wind, it's been so strong.

After the jump – more research on public ownership of energy projects, a giant Australian solar power export project, assessment of institutional limitations and the hope of 1.5º warming limits, a study of 1500+ climate policies and the billions of tons just a handful have reduced, carbon credits through industrial sabotage (!!), and sending cargo via sailing ship. And a little bit more... exclusive to GTG Supporters.