As COP26 comes to a close this week, we’ve heard a lot of bold pledges from leaders across the world to help reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and stop the worst impacts of climate change. This comes as companies across every sector are pledging to achieve net-zero and reduce their impact on the environment. However, delivering on those promises means taking action now. We can’t afford to look up in 2030 or 2050 and have fallen short of those climate goals. We have a long way to go to get our economy to net-zero, so if we’re to embark on this ambitious marathon, then we must start by taking our first steps.
Here are some practical steps to get into the action from our vantage point:
1. Cleaning up the U.S. Electricity Grid in the USA
A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated by an individual, service, and, place or product. In the U.S., the electric grid represents over 25% of all our emissions, right behind transportation. As we continue to rely on electricity to heat our homes, charge our electric vehicles, and power our appliances, our demand on the grid is only going to go up. If the U.S. South were a country, it would be the 6th largest polluter of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. The good news is that we have the technology to clean up the grid, as we plug more into it. Earlier this year, we broke ground on the first solar farm in the U.S. financed by corporate carbon offsets right here in our home state of Tennessee.
2. Investing in Solar Projects as an Economic Development Tool
We believe that solar can do more to boost the economic vitality of communities where we build. Clearloop partnered with environmental tech nonprofit WattTime to identify the places in America where solar projects could attain more carbon reduction per dollar by directly replacing dirty fossil fuel-generated electricity – a concept called emissionality. As we embrace emissionality, we’ve also discovered that the communities with the most opportunity to clean up the grid are also many of the same communities that have have been identified as Distressed by the Economic Innovation Group and could reap the economic benefits of new clean energy infrastructure. That is why as we scale, we’ll be focused on building solar projects that invest in communities like the Mississippi Delta and Appalachia, where sunny skies are abundant, land is plentiful and the dollars invested will go further to infuse more capital into local coffers, grow local talent, and make these communities beacons for renewed investments.
3. Looping Companies Big and Small in Direct Climate Action
An increasing number of companies across all industries want to take responsibility for their carbon footprint and invest in new clean energy projects to help offset their environmental impact. But, it’s hard, confusing, expensive, and there’s often lots of paperwork to figure out on how to do that and whether the impact is real. There is real power in leveraging more of the economy–all hands on deck– to beat back this climate crisis. That’s why we need more tools to provide companies a simple, tech-forward, transparent, and permanent way to clear the carbon. We built Clearloop as one of those tools here to simplify the process of climate action. With Clearloop companies to replace the dirty electricity polluting our air while amplifying their brands with a clear and tangible purpose: expanding access to clean energy in the places that need it the most right here at home.
Taking the first step on Climate Action can start Today
By intentionally investing in solar projects in American communities otherwise getting left behind – companies big and small can make a direct impact toward helping the U.S. achieve faster emission reductions and lift up communities getting left behind. If you would like to get involved and help clean up the grid with Clearloop, drop us a line!
