Ocean Treaty

After a decade of negotiations, nations have agreed to the High Seas Treaty, reserving more than 30% of the world’s oceans for protected areas by 2030. To date, just 1.2% of international waters are protected. The treaty will help safeguard marine life from climate impacts, overfishing and shipping traffic, and signals an end to using oceans as a global feeding and dumping commons.

Newly protected areas will limit fishing and exploration activities like deep-sea mining, which have long since been demonstrated to threaten marine life and create hazardous noise pollution. The International Seabed Authority has stated that any future deep-sea mining activity will be subject to strict environmental regulations and oversight.

One of the main issues during negotiations was the equitable sharing of marine genetic resources, an umbrella term for the many natural resources extracted from the oceans used for medical and consumer products. Richer nations have more resources and funding to explore the ocean, but poorer nations want to ensure any benefits are shared equally.

The treaty is a breakthrough in international environmental law, but now the hard part begins. The treaty will need to be formally ratified domestically by party countries before it can be implemented, and that process is expected to take years.

The timing of the High Seas Treaty couldn’t be better, as several new threats to the world’s oceans are rising alongside temperatures.

Sargassum

Chief among those emerging concerns is the ever-growing reach of Sargassum algal blooms.

Sargassum, a type of seaweed that grows in vast pelagic fields, is the world's biggest seaweed bloom, and is fed by human activities such as intensive soya farming in the Congo, the Amazon and the Mississippi, which dumps nitrogen and phosphorus into the ocean.

Sargassum has been causing catastrophic environmental and economic fallout in areas that have been affected by it, such as the Windward Islands in the Caribbean, where it harms coastal wildlife and fish and interferes with vital infrastructure, including water and power supplies. The thick, brown algae first came to popular attention when it started impinging on Instagram-ready tourism. Sargassum breaks down into hydrogen sulphide when it decays and can cause eye irritation in humans and may provoke pregnancy complications in women living on the coast.

Part of the problem in dealing with Sargassum is preserving its ecological merits. The sturdy algae provide a safe harbour and breeding ground for fish, turtles and other marine life, but its growth is metastasizing, due in large part to climate change. Increased sea surface temperatures, upwelling and changing currents have combined with nutrients caused by human activity, such as sewage and soya farming in the basins of the great rivers of North and South America and Africa.

Now the hunt is on for solutions. Composting sargassum or using it for biofuel are not practicable, as the heavy metals it contains, particularly arsenic, make it dangerous to feed to plants. Likewise, removing the heavy metals for industrial repurposing requires so much processing that it is not cost-effective.

The main climate benefit of sargassum is its affinity for carbon. Sargassum is among the most carbon-dense algae and if it can’t be harvested for other purposes, one solution may be to simply sink it to the bottom of the sea.

Iceland on Edge

Signs of the dreaded Arctic feedback loops are emerging in Greenland's coastal marine ecosystem.

As temperatures reach their highest levels in 1,000 years, Arctic sea ice is dwindling rapidly, with the oldest and thickest of it declining by 95% during three decades of global warming. Inuit communities are reporting that signs of endemic species such as narwhals and walruses are scarce, and are being replaced by animals typically found in more southerly waters.

One of the driving forces behind this shift is a significant decrease in summer sea ice arriving from the Beaufort Sea. As the ice regulates temperatures, reflects sunlight, and provides critical habitat and nursery grounds for animals, its absence creates the potential for cascading effects throughout entire ecosystems.

The regime shift has already caused the unprecedented numbers of dolphins, humpback, and fin whales along the east coast of Greenland. While these appearances might speak to the adaptability of those species, they place immense stress on endemic species like narwhal, which are moving north as the water warms and invaders arrive.

Human-centred industries are also adapting to the new normal in Iceland. Changes in species distributions, especially fish, could reshape commercial fisheries. Bluefin tuna, which had never been recorded off the eastern shore of Greenland prior to 2012, have been recorded every year since.

🌎 Climate Jobs

Check out some of the latest featured jobs below. If you don't see anything that speaks to you, you can always go to Climatebase to explore thousands of other opportunities.

Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc.

"Zinc8 Energy Solutions is developing a range of energy storage products based on a novel zinc-air flow battery technology. A substantial market for these products exists in utility, commercial, industrial, remote power generation and similar applications. With powerful backing and a committed nucleus Zinc8 is expanding its product development team to capitalize on this rare opportunity. ..."

• Senior Embedded Engineer (Richmond, British Columbia)
• Production Supervisor (Richmond, British Columbia)
• Mechanical Assembly Technician (Richmond, British Columbia)
• Intermediate Test Engineer (Richmond, British Columbia)
• Intermediate Mechanical Engineer (Richmond, British Columbia)
• General (Vancouver, British Columbia)
• Electrical Test Technologist (Junior/Intermediate) (Vancouver, British Columbia)
• Director of Manufacturing - based in New York (Kingston , New York)

Atmos Financial, PBC

"Your deposits help shape the world in which we live. What type of world do you wish to create? Atmos uses 100% of deposits to finance climate-positive infrastructure like clean energy, electrification, and regenerative agriculture. ..."

• Customer Success Specialist (Remote (Berkeley, CA, USA))

AMPD.CAMP Inc

"Our mission is to create revolutionary products for the future of electric vehicles and infrastructure that will reduce reliance on fossil-fuel based energy generation. We’re building clean-tech solutions to contribute to a de-carbonized grid and solve for the shortfall in energy storage. We’re designing first-of-a-kind AI powered solutions built on proprietary technology to enable connecting, controlling and charging under- and un-used energy ..."

• Senior Electrical Engineer (Remote (Seattle, WA, USA))
• Head of software Engineering (Remote (Seattle, WA, USA))

ReCarbon

"ReCarbon is a low-cost and low-carbon fuels company . We use proprietary plasma* technology to transform carbon dioxide and methane – major greenhouse gas pollutants – into revenue-generating products, offering a better decarbonization solution for hard-to-abate industries.  ..."

• Prototype Engineer, Mechanical (Santa Clara/Fremont, CA)
• Controls Engineer (Santa Clara/Fremont, CA)
• Business Development Associate (Santa Clara, CA)
• Director of Business Development and Partnerships (Santa Clara, CA)

Crux Climate

"Crux is a stealth renewable energy fintech.  ..."

• Software engineer @ Renewable energy fintech (Remote)

Tenet

"Tenet’s integrated climate financing platform drives the mainstream adoption of sustainable technologies, first with electric vehicles. Tenet helps consumers power their lives more efficiently, while enabling financial institutions and companies to achieve their decarbonization goals. Electric vehicles are more expensive upfront but have lower ongoing fuel and maintenance costs - Tenet has built its flagship electric vehicle auto loan to lower ..."

• Technical Product Manager (Remote)
• Senior Software Engineer, Internal Services (Remote)
• Loan Originations Specialist (Remote (Hybrid in US, New York, New York Preferred))

Orion Resource Partners

"Orion Resouce Partners is an $8.0 billion* global asset management firm that specializes in institutional investment strategies in precious and base metals and minerals, many of which are currently leveraged to stimulus and infrastructure spend and the push to decarbonize. Headquartered in NYC and with offices in Denver, London, and Sydney, Orion includes a team of 65 professionals with backgrounds ..."

• Principal (United States)
• Investor (United States)

Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action

"Dayenu is building a movement of American Jews confronting the climate crisis with spiritual audacity and bold action. We believe that together, drawing from our Jewish tradition, experience, and faith, we have the power to create real and lasting change. ..."

• Deputy Director (Remote)

Ascend Analytics

"Ascend Analytics is an innovative software and consulting company at the forefront of the renewable energy transition. Our software solutions provide decision analytics for power traders, risk analysts, resource managers, developers and financiers. Ascend provides a collaborative work culture involving frequent interaction with clients, where individual initiative and creativity are highly valued. Interactions with senior management happen daily, and hard ..."

• Sales Coordinator (Boulder, CO)
• Senior Energy Analyst (Remote (Boulder, Co, Remote Within U.S.))
• Manager of Finance and Structuring (Boulder, CO)
• Director of Business Development - Energy Risk & Portfolio Management (Boulder, CO)
• Senior Energy Analyst (Boulder, CO)
• Energy Analyst (Boulder, CO)
• Energy Storage & Renewables Trading Analyst (Boulder, CO)
• Senior Energy Market Analyst (Remote (Boulder, Co, Remote))
• Python Software Engineer (Remote (Boulder, Co, Remote))
• Energy Analytics Developer - Optimization (Remote (Boulder, Co, Remote))
• Energy Analyst - Renewables and Storage (Boulder, CO)
• Junior Python Software Engineer (Boulder, CO)

NineDot Energy

"NineDot's name derives from the classic mathematical puzzle for sparking out-of-the-box solutions. As a leading community-scale, clean energy developer with a growing portfolio of projects across a range of technologies, NineDot Energy is creating innovative energy solutions that support a more resilient electric grid, deliver economic savings and reduce carbon emissions. We plan to develop, build and operate more than ..."

• Analyst, Project Finance (Hybrid) (New York - Hybrid)
• Associate Engineering Manager (New York, NY)
• Project Development Associate (Hybrid) (New York - Hybrid)
• Director, Enterprise Sales and Customer Success (New York, NY)
• Director, Regulatory Affairs (Hybrid) (New York - Hybrid)
• Corporate Marketing Associate (New York - Hybrid)

Spoiler Alert

"Spoiler Alert is a Boston-based software company helping perishable CPG brands manage excess and slow-moving inventory. Working exclusively at the manufacturing plant or distribution center level, Spoiler Alert offers a best-in-class B2B sales platform that enables food & beverage brands to manage their liquidation processes across a private network of discount retailers and nonprofit channels - with a heavy focus ..."

• Business Analyst (Remote)
• Enterprise Sales Executive (Remote)
• Future Opportunity at Spoiler Alert (Remote)

Sunairio

"Climate modeling at the speed of energy markets ..."

• Director, Business Development (Remote (Baltimore, MD, USA))
• Senior Data Scientist, Climate (Remote (Baltimore, MD, USA))
• Senior Data Engineer (Remote (Baltimore, MD, USA))

King Energy

"King Energy is a well-funded, VC-backed renewable energy company that builds, owns, and operates solar infrastructure on multi-tenant properties. We encourage occasional travel a few days a year to our headquarters in Durango, Colorado and San Luis Obispo, California; and we have two annual offsites. But that’s it in terms of travel. We have all the good benefits, stock options, PTO, etc. ..."

• Accounts Payable Analyst (San Luis Obispo, CA, United States)
• Finance Manager (Bay Area, CA, United States)
• B2B Partner Renewable Energy Analyst (San Luis Obispo, CA, United States)
• Senior Account Executive (San Luis Obispo, CA, United States)
• Senior Account Executive (Durango, CO, United States)
• Solar Project Manager (California, CA, United States)

Artyc

"Artyc is on a mission to decarbonize cold chain logistics with refrigerant-free, reusable, active cooling containers. Refrigerants are quickly becoming the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and, in combination with the loss of agricultural, pharmaceutical, and medical goods in transit, are expected to have an impact of 160 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions across the next decade. Artyc ..."

• Manufacturing Project & Program Manager (Fremont, CA, USA)

AgriCapture

"AgriCapture is a mission-driven company that certifies Climate-Friendly practices on farms, ranchlands and grasslands and quantifies associated emissions reductions, enabling growers, ranchers and landowners to generate revenue for their sustainable management practices. By certifying agricultural products as Climate-Friendly and developing carbon credits, we serve corporations who are reducing and offsetting their GHG emissions while empowering consumers to consciously select Climate-Friendly ..."

• Senior Integration ETL Programmer (Nashville, TN, USA)
• Senior Technical Business Analyst (Nashville, TN, USA)
• Director of Technology (Nashville, TN, USA)
• Marketing Manager (Nashville, TN, USA)
• Partner Success Manager (Nashville, TN, USA)

AeroShield Materials Inc.

"AeroShield is making the next generation of energy-efficient windows possible by manufacturing the first ultra-clear, super-insulating aerogel sheets. Buildings are responsible for 40 percent of energy consumption in the United States, more than half of which goes toward heating and cooling. Windows are critical elements of comfort and productivity, but in the United States they cost $40 billion in heating and ..."

• Purchasing & Accounting Intern (Remote (Boston, MA, US))
• Business Development Manager (Remote (Boston, MA, US))

Powerhouse and Powerhouse Ventures

"Powerhouse is an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate. Powerhouse Ventures is a venture fund that backs seed-stage startups building innovative software to rapidly decarbonize our global energy and mobility systems. ..."

• Startup and Technology Scouting Intern (Remote (Oakland, CA, USA))
• Powerhouse Ventures Summer Intern (Remote (Oakland, CA, USA))

That's it for this week! Remember, you can always view thousands of more jobs on Climatebase.org.

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