Microsoft Is Also Launching a New $1 Billion 'Climate Innovation Fund' (geekwire.com) 24
As part of Microsoft's effort to reduce more atmospheric carbon than it emits, the company has announced a $1 billion "Climate Innovation Fund," reports GeekWire:
Microsoft said the new fund will leverage its balance sheet to loan money and take equity stakes in ventures to encourage the development of new environmental innovations. The money will be invested over the next four years. The company cited four criteria for investments, including sustainability initiatives, market impact, technological advances, and climate equity, addressing the tendency of climate change to disproportionately hurt people in developing countries.
"We deeply understand this is just a fraction of what is needed to solve this problem," said Amy Hood, the company's chief financial officer, outlining the plan at the event Thursday morning.... Microsoft said it is signing the United Nations' 1.5-degree Business Ambition Pledge, and said it will publicly track its progress in an annual Environmental Sustainability Report.
The article notes that Bill Gates "reviewed Microsoft's new initiative but wasn't involved in its creation." Gates has his own $1 billion Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund and has meanwhile also invested in mini nuclear reactors to address climate change.
And this spring he'll release a book titled "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need."
"We deeply understand this is just a fraction of what is needed to solve this problem," said Amy Hood, the company's chief financial officer, outlining the plan at the event Thursday morning.... Microsoft said it is signing the United Nations' 1.5-degree Business Ambition Pledge, and said it will publicly track its progress in an annual Environmental Sustainability Report.
The article notes that Bill Gates "reviewed Microsoft's new initiative but wasn't involved in its creation." Gates has his own $1 billion Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund and has meanwhile also invested in mini nuclear reactors to address climate change.
And this spring he'll release a book titled "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need."
Comment removed (Score:3, Funny)
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Is this something good? Spending a billion dollars to try to figure out how to capitalize on climate change?
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What makes you think what they decide to do about climate change won't be stunningly evil? History suggests that it will be.
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Less evil than Oracle is not an endorsement.
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If it facilitates climate remediation?
SURE it's a good thing.
Nobody out there is operating a charity.
And governments aren't going to just DECREE this shit into existence.
Nor is implementing communism.
So we need market-based solutions. Which have to be developed and paid for.
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Forced to act (Re:This is certainly good news) (Score:2)
I'm not an ardent fan of microsoft, but when a company does something good, when they don't have to, you have to give them credit.
Microsoft doesn't have to? Of course they do. They see the writing on the wall. There's been congressional hearings on how "big tech" has been producing so much CO2. Microsoft knew that if they didn't change their image willingly, while they still had some say in how the reductions would come, then they could face government regulations that they might not like.
There's also the competition from the likes of Apple and Google. Apple put a bunch of solar PV panels on the roof of it's new building, somethi
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So their plan to reduce carbon emissions (Score:2)
Is to provide $1B in angel funding and take stock in the early years of the greenwashing industry bubble.
So... pollute, invest, profit?
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Greenwashing rarely reduces the effects they are lauded to reduce. Plastic bags vs re-usable bags - reusable bags make a company a ton of money and require you to replace 20,000 regular plastic bags to get to the same impact, but everybody forgets to bring them so people are throwing them out and they're impossible to recycle and people are now buying those thin plastic bags anyway.
Same goes for paper straws - absolutely garbage product and impossible to compost because they're still plasticized, families n
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So if someone figures out a way to bring the CO2 levels down to where they were 200 years ago are they due no reward? Perhaps they should donate it all to Democratic socialist party (Dems.)
A suggestion, if you are stressed about climate change and someone gives loans or invests $1Billion in your cause do not complain.
Infected (Score:1)
Microsoft has the Corporate Cancer (https://www.amazon.com/Corporate-Cancer-Miracles-Millions-Company-ebook/dp/B081D58P1X). It won't be long before they are gone.
Most of my friends work there... (Score:2)
and all work on useless garbage like this. There is no drive to actually make good software. It's all useless virtue signaling.
More of this, please! (Score:2)
Shaming people into changing their ways will get only a small percentage of the change we need (especially if the shaming is done by condescending celebrities). This approach completely misunderstands human nature, at least in the short term.
Passing regulations and enacting treaties will get a larger percentage of the change we need, but still probably not enough. Worse, those routes are slow-moving, filled with unintended consequences, and require huge battles. Even if they can bring enough change in the e
Would be interesting to (Score:2)
Just my 2 cents
Fund raising (Score:2)