6/6 If you’re serious about climate solutions and what it takes to make them real in the world, I strongly recommend this major new work. Thank you, Nick, for once more explaining something essential to us all.

press.lse.ac.uk/books/m/10.3...

5/6 Nick’s writing is clear, compelling, and brisk. As mentioned, it’s also free for download at LSE Press. Nick thought this important enough to share to students and everyone with no charge (if you want to buy a hardcopy, you certainly may).

a woman is sitting at a table with her hand on her chin and looking up . ALT: a woman is sitting at a table with her hand on her chin and looking up .

4/6
- Lower costs, learning by doing, induced innovation
- Increasing returns to scale in new technologies
- Improved resource efficiency
- Stronger systems productivity
- Improved health
- Increased share of investments

Nick notes that only point 6 is common to economic models

a close up of a person eating popcorn with the words oh this bout to get real behind them ALT: a close up of a person eating popcorn with the words oh this bout to get real behind them

3/5 The new book, “The Growth Story of the 21st Century” focuses on what’s now clear to many: the energy transition has real opportunities as well as costs, and that clean is cheaper than dirty in many markets for many applications. He notes six (6) key drivers:

2/5 Lord Stern is the world’s foremost climate & energy economist. His new book is the perfect complement to his 2005 masterwork, “The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review”, which makes the formal economic case that the cost of climate inaction is way higher than the cost of climate action

a man with his arms in the air and the word finally on the bottom right ALT: a man with his arms in the air and the word finally on the bottom right

1/5 I’ve only just begun the new book by Nicholas Stern (London school of Economics) on climate solutions and economics and I’m already bowled over by how awesome it is.

Spoiler alert: it’s free, available for download at the LSE Press (link at end)

Clear eyed & optimistic means we celebrate our wins.
Innovation, investment, infrastructure, market aligning policy, and workforce have delivered significant progress in the energy transition, with solar PV delivering major benefits.

New SubStack today.
substack.com/home/post/p-...

a man in a military uniform is sitting in a car and looking out the window . ALT: a man in a military uniform is sitting in a car and looking out the window .

2/2 Also, a salute to data-hawks everywhere, including Rhodium Group (Trevor Houser, John Larsen) and International Energy Agency (Tim Gould and Laszlo Varro)

By The Numbers To be clear eyed and optimistic, start with the “clear eyed” part.

1/2 Kicking off the week with the first of a set.
Helping folks stay clear eyed and optimistic

This week: “clear eyed” emphasis
Specifically, a brief stock take on 2025 regarding deep decarbonization & energy transition

carbonwrangler.substack.com/p/by-the-num...

Molecule ain’t electrons ain’t bits All are useful, if their differences are respected

Attention, children!

As we slalom into the holidays, please enjoy my latest offering.
It's not news, but it needs repeating still.

See all y'all in 2026.

carbonwrangler.substack.com/p/molecule-a...

Overshoot: Returning to 1.5°C Requires Net-negative Emissions Targets Global warming is set to rise above 1.5°C by the early 2030s. Returning to 1.5°C before the end of the 21st century would not prevent all harms...

I can't get enough of this excellent, brief paper by Oliver Geden & Andy Reisinger.

If you care about climate, incl. human & environmental impacts, then you must also care about serious commitments to removals.

Take 6 minutes & read this masterpiece.

www.swp-berlin.org/en/publicati...

Here's what I hope countries and companies commit to at COP30 in Brazil.
Plus: Arnold Schwartzenegger.

My latest Substack:

carbonwrangler.substack.com/p/do-the-reps

Pleased & proud to share this new piece on climate positive development in sub-Saharan Africa . It's one of a series of pieces pulled together by Climate Action Platform for Africa (CAP-A) and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. My piece is on p.32

Good work for everyone here

cap-a.org/wp-content/u...

Cartoonist for the win

The World is Large The action is outside of Europe and North America

Hey, daddy-oh!
Climate progress in the U.S. and Europe gotcha down?

Time to get out of your comfort zone and look at action around the great big world. You can start with my latest Substack.

substack.com/@carbonwrang...

#Decoalification is hard work.
Now we have more of it.

Update in my latest Substack.

carbonwrangler.substack.com/p/decoalific...

a man with long hair and a beard is giving a thumbs up and saying `` many thanks '' . ALT: a man with long hair and a beard is giving a thumbs up and saying `` many thanks '' .

5/
5. Data concerning data centers’ environmental impacts are poor, esp. data concerning GHG emissions & water use.

Huge thanks to our coordinating lead author David Sandalow plus C. McCormick, A. Kucukelbir, R. Aines, E. Massanet, A. Abrahamson, V. Sivaram, A. Yuan, M. Wu, A. Coskun, & S. Jain.

a cartoon globe with a tree growing out of it and the words love your mother lower your carbon footprint ALT: a cartoon globe with a tree growing out of it and the words love your mother lower your carbon footprint

4/
3. Smart siting is key to reducing the energy, water and carbon emissions impacts of data centers.

4. Data center water use is tiny globally in relation to other sectors but can be very significant locally.

a woman says it 's sustainable while holding a bag ALT: a woman says it 's sustainable while holding a bag

The five key messages, summarized:

1. With a data center construction boom underway globally, the months and years ahead will be critical for data center sustainability.

2. The energy and environmental impacts of data centers vary dramatically depending on their siting, design, management & more.

2/ what is a data center; power use and emissions; water use; building materials & embodied emissions; cooling technology, community engagement; and more.

Each chapter ends with specific recommendations on the subject. All recommendations are summarized at the top of the report.

1/ I could not be more pleased and proud to share a new Roadmap on Sustainable Data Centers.
Link to the full report: www.icef.go.jp/roadmap/

Drafted for ICEF and supported by NEDO, this 300 page report touches on all issues of data center sustainability. Topics include -

What a Chicago immigration raid says about Trumpism The worst excesses seem designed to produce content

Horrific. Appalling. Un-American. Almost certainly illegal.
Also - made for TV.

The Economist argues the Chicago Raid is more about social media content than crime or immigration.

Jesus wept.

www.economist.com/united-state...

survey results for public worries in the US listed in order of most concern. From Yale https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/top-public-worries-in-the-u-s/?utm_source=Yale+Program+on+Climate+Change+Communication&utm_campaign=736f1581fd-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_09_10_05_57&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-736f1581fd-1410357131

I think a lot about why we are not making more progress on climate. This graph from the Yale Program on Climate Change is telling - there are just too many more urgent problems. And I can't really argue with this outcome.

climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications...

Maslow and the roadmap to post-grievance world Reimagining human needs in an Era of Abundance

Don't think of Maslow's famous Hierarcy of Need as to limit action, but instead as a roadmap for how to help all people along the Hierarchy.

Reimagine ways to improve the human condition and the natural world through ASCE.

My latest Substack. Enjoy!

carbonwrangler.substack.com/p/maslow-and...

I'm back! After a blistering travel schedule and life complexities, I offer a quick update on decoalification.

Watch this space - a new one coming Wednesday.
Enjoy!

carbonwrangler.substack.com/p/decoalific...

U.S. government says IRS is sharing tax data with ICE The U.S. government acknowledged in federal court for the first time that the Internal Revenue Service is sharing taxpayer data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Worse than we thought
qz.com/irs-ice-tax-...

Do the Work, Spend the Money Less rhetoric. More action and finance

Light reading for the weekend.

Happy 4th!

Punchline: the title says it all.

Do the work, spend the money.

carbonwrangler.substack.com/p/do-the-wor...

2/2 Punchline: 15 nations in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America have today or are finalizing SAF policy.

Policy literacy and awareness is a competitive advantage in this landscape.

Beyond the transatlantic core: Emerging SAF mandates in global markets | Carbon Direct Emerging SAF markets are driving demand growth. Learn where new mandates are forming and how SAF producers can act now to gain a global competitive edge.

1/2 Hot off the presses! Emerging SAF policy outside the EU and UK. New blog by the Carbon Direct team, featuring Hannah Williams and Shannon Keane.

Don't miss your flight. Check it out now.

www.carbon-direct.com/insights/bey...

Beyond LCOE: A Systems-Oriented Perspective for Evaluating Electricity Decarbonization Pathways This report explains why Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) fails to reflect the full complexity of electricity systems.

www.catf.us/resource/bey...