In less than 5 minutes you’ll get our take on 2 climate stories, a summary of interesting news and linked articles, and a climate meme. Let’s dive right in 👇:

Matcha's Gulp

UK's £300m steel industry grant: A drop in the bucket or a step forward?

The UK government is funding green makeovers for British Steel and Tata Steel UK by providing £300m worth of grants each to switch from coal-fired blast furnaces to cleaner energy sources on the condition that each company pledges investment and a guarantee that their plants will operate to 2030. However, this is one expensive makeover, and sources close to Tata say that the cost of switching to “green steel” is close to £3bn and the grant might not be enough to persuade them to make the investment. Looks like the UK might have to provide a little more “green” to incentivize the switch. The iron-y is £300m is only a bucket to put out the coal-fires.

Pay-off debt or invest in clean energy? Why not both. Cape Verde and Portugal turn debt into opportunity.

Portugal and Cape Verde have signed an innovative agreement that combines addressing climate change with resolving debt issues, talk about a win-win. Cape Verde, which is already facing the consequences of rising sea levels and biodiversity loss, will swap its debt for investments in an environmental and climate fund. The debt restructuring will enable Cape Verde to invest in energy transition and the fight against climate change, while also addressing its outstanding debt to Portugal. This is a breath of fresh air in the world of debt and climate change.

News Sip

• Bill Gates backs start-up tackling cow burps and farts: honestly, this is way cooler than buying Twitter. Sorry Elon.

• A few pieces of good news on climate change (and a reality check): emissions are levelling off, but we still need to do more to meet the Paris Agreement (see today’s meme).

• Africa has a major new carbon market initiative: this should attract investment across the continent with a focus on clean energy and sustainable economic development.

Today's Climate Meme

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