Brief Author Note

NYC Climate Week is fast approaching at the end of the month! It’s going to be a crazy time before I start school in late September.

I’ll be attending the AI x Explorers Summit on the 21st and then another event on the 22nd. Maybe some more events if I have time before heading back to DC.

Definitely go through the schedule and plan accordingly, it’s going to be huge!

Chau,

Nate

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AI & Energy Efficiency: Why was DeepSeek a Defining Moment? (AI & Energy): Anne Currie, co-author of Building Green Software and veteran of the cloud industry, unpacks the defining role of DeepSeek in the energy efficiency debate. From OpenAI to open-source models, she explores what software developers can and cannot do to curb energy consumption while preparing for her Green IO London keynote.

From Cloud Waste to Engineering Empowerment (AI & Data Centers/Hardware): Sridhar Ayala of Adobe discusses scaling FinOps in ways that truly engage engineers. The conversation digs into how to cut cloud waste, boost efficiency, and align teams to reduce environmental impact—without slowing innovation or velocity.

The Mechanics of Data Center Flexibility (AI & Data Centers/Hardware): Varun Sivaram, CEO of Emerald AI, joins Shayle to examine how data centers can balance near-perfect uptime with the flexibility needed for a cleaner grid. Featuring insights from EPRI’s DCFlex demonstration, the episode highlights how AI can enable load shifting without compromising reliability.

CATALOG: A Camera Trap Language-Guided Contrastive Learning Model (AI & Ecology/Biodiversity): Santamaria et al. present CATALOG, a model that fuses foundation models with multi-modal contrastive learning to improve species recognition in camera-trap images. Tested under domain shifts like lighting, camouflage, and geography, CATALOG outperforms prior methods and offers a promising tool for biodiversity monitoring across diverse environments.

More Than Carbon: Cradle-to-Grave Environmental Impacts of GenAI Training on the Nvidia A100 GPU (AI & Data Centers/Hardware): Falk et al. deliver the first cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment of AI training on the Nvidia A100. Analyzing 16 environmental impact categories, the study finds the use phase drives climate and fossil resource burdens, while manufacturing dominates toxicity and mineral depletion. The findings underscore that AI’s footprint extends well beyond carbon and requires expanded policy frameworks.

Structured AI Decision-Making in Disaster Management (AI & Disaster Response): Dcruz et al. introduce a structured decision-making framework for autonomous AI in safety-critical scenarios. Tested in disaster management, the framework demonstrates up to 60.94% greater stability and 38.93% higher accuracy than judgment-based systems and human operators, pointing to safer, more reliable AI-driven decisions when human lives are at risk.

Data Centers: Planning Policy, Sustainability, and Resilience (AI & Infrastructure): A briefing from the UK House of Commons Library examines the rapid expansion of data centers and their implications for planning, sustainability, and national resilience. It outlines regulatory considerations, energy and water challenges, and the trade-offs policymakers face in balancing digital growth with environmental and infrastructure pressures.

Advancing AI's Potential for Climate Innovation (AI & Climate): Produced by Sustainable Ventures, this report highlights how AI can accelerate climate solutions across sectors, from renewable energy to agriculture. It stresses the need for targeted investment, supportive ecosystems, and stronger collaboration between startups, investors, and policymakers to unlock AI’s climate potential.

From Hype to Impact: Your Blueprint for Turning AI into Action (AI & Sustainability): The MBA Group provides a practical roadmap for organizations looking to move beyond AI hype. The report identifies barriers to adoption, strategies for aligning AI with sustainability goals, and actionable steps to scale AI projects that deliver measurable environmental and business impact.

The Cloud Native Attitude with Anne Currie & Sarah Wells (AI & Digital & Cloud Sustainability): Anne Currie and Sarah Wells unpack what it really means to be “cloud native” from breaking bottlenecks and adopting rapid change to aligning organizations around CI/CD. They highlight how cloud native approaches can drive sustainability, why Kubernetes remains central, and why transformation requires more than just a lift-and-shift strategy.

We Found the Hidden Cost of Data Centers. It's in Your Electric Bill (AI & Energy): This More Perfect Union investigation reveals how the boom in data centers by Amazon, Meta, and others is driving up utility costs nationwide. While tech giants profit, communities are left to absorb higher electricity bills, exposing a hidden and inequitable cost of digital infrastructure.

How AI Data Centers Eat the World (AI & Environmental Impact): In a collaboration between HighYield and SemiAnalysis, this deep-dive explores AI megaclusters, the hyperscaler race toward AGI, and the massive energy demands of AI data centers. The discussion lays bare how infrastructure growth is reshaping global power and environmental dynamics.

Orchard Robotics (AI & Agriculture): Based in North America, Orchard Robotics is building the “AI farmer” to automate U.S. farms and strengthen food security. Their approach focuses on using robotics and AI to modernize agriculture and reduce vulnerabilities in the food supply chain.

Deftpower (AI & Energy): Headquartered in Europe, Deftpower offers an AI-supported SaaS platform for EV charging. Their portal and customizable white-label app provide everything companies need to embed EV charging into core products, enabling seamless integration across industries.

Cedalio (AI & Energy): Based in Europe, Cedalio transforms utility bills into actionable energy insights. Their AI-powered platform automates data collection, visualizes consumption and costs per kWh, detects anomalies, and empowers organizations to make faster, smarter energy decisions.

Li10 (AI & Sustainability): Li10 helps organizations cut the carbon footprint of cloud computing through tools like the CO2 Monitor, Usage Report, and Governance suite. Their platform enables visibility into emissions and provides actionable steps to optimize cloud sustainability. (Free)

TESSERA (AI & Geospatial Analysis): Developed at the University of Cambridge, TESSERA is a foundation model designed to process time-series satellite imagery. It enables applications such as land classification and canopy height prediction by efficiently extracting temporal patterns from Earth observation data. (Free)

NatureLM Audio (AI & Ocean Conservation): Built by the Earth Species Project, NatureLM-audio is the first audio-language foundation model for bioacoustics. Trained on a wide dataset spanning animal sounds, speech, and music, it can classify species, detect calls, generate captions, and even identify life stages — setting new benchmarks in biodiversity monitoring. (Free)

LawAI Winter Research Fellowship (US) (Open to global applicants with focus on U.S. law & policy): The Institute for Law & AI (LawAI) is offering its first Winter Research Fellowship dedicated to U.S. law and AI policy. This paid program, open to law students, legal professionals, researchers, and academics worldwide, combines tailored research mentorship, career planning support, and networking opportunities to advance projects that align with LawAI’s mission of ensuring AI benefits society. Fellows will work full-time (remotely), typically for two to four months, under a flexible schedule and contribute to meaningful outputs like reports or law-review articles. The program runs January 26 to May 8, 2026. Weekly compensation is US $1,500, and travel expenses may be covered. Deadline: October 12, 2025

Cisco Global Impact Cash Grant Program (Open to nonprofit organizations globally): Cisco’s rolling grant program funds early-stage, tech-enabled nonprofit initiatives addressing social challenges, such as crisis response, access to education, economic empowerment, and climate impact, for underserved communities. Eligible NPOs/NGOs begin with a Letter of Inquiry (LOI); selected applicants are invited to submit full proposals. Grants may reach up to US $75,000, and applications are accepted year-round. Deadline: Year-round.

Giga Accelerator Programme (Open to global applicants): Under the Giga initiative, this virtual accelerator, anchored at the Giga Technology Centre in Barcelona, supports products that enhance inclusive and sustainable school connectivity worldwide. Participants gain access to funding (up to US $50,000 in non-dilutive grants), mentorship, technical guidance, and a global partner network. The programme concludes with an in-person Demo Day and opportunities to present at Mobile World Congress 2026. Deadline: September 21, 2025.

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That’s it for this week.

Thanks for reading the 16th issue of The Climate Code! It means a lot to me and we have more coming in the future, so definitely stick around! 💚 

Nate

P.S.

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