To mark St. Patrick’s Day and the positive impact that Irish businesses are delivering across the world, Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Government’s trade and innovation agency, recently named the world's most active Venture Capital firm, today launched a new green innovation focused international campaign ‘Ready for a Green Future’. The campaign focuses on the climate agenda, and as the world emerges from Covid-19 there is a need to build back better, prioritising sustainability and tackling the many environmental challenges that we face to deliver a green recovery.Read more here: https://bit.ly/3bRd07l

Queensland is following the footsteps of South Australia in becoming a greener state. Under new legislation, single use plastics such as straws and cutlery, as well as polystyrene foam food containers and cups will be banned from the 1st of September 2021. The legislation has been endorsed by the Australian Marine Conservation Society, and will be critical in protecting the iconic Australian wildlife. This is an excellent push for the remaining Australian states to also take the positive action to ban plastics which are designed to be used once, and which lastingly destroy the environment.

If we are to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees, CO2 will need to be removed from the atmosphere.The Ocean Nourishment Corporation is working to enhance the natural process of photosynthesis by phytoplankton whereby they draw CO2 from the atmosphere. As more CO2 is drawn down, more carbon will be stored at the bottom of the ocean when the phytoplankton die. A carbon credit can be created for each additional tonne of CO2 stored.If 2.4 billion tonnes can be stored, then, at $50 per tonne,  this technique can create a market in excess of $100 billion.

Many animals improve soil health through extensive digging. These “ecosystem engineers” benefit not only soils, but plants and other organisms.In Australia, most of our digging animals are either extinct or threatened. But not so the Echidna, which is still relatively common across large areas of the continent. Echidnas dig pits, furrows and depressions in the soil while foraging for ants. So, by improving Echidna habitat, we can significantly improve soil health and boost climate action efforts. Dig this: a tiny echidna moves 8 trailer-loads of soil a year, helping tackle climate change (theconversation.com)

South Australia - 20 years ago relied totally on fossil fuel generated energy. Now in 2021 it has 60% renewables. "South Australia shows how good public policy can enable dramatic emissions reduction, even in a privately owned electricity system". It is a model that the rest of Australia and the world can learn from. "As the transition progressed, the state’s largest coal generator, at Port Augusta, was wound back and eventually closed. To help workers and the town adjust, the state government supported employment alternatives".https://theconversation.com/against-the-odds-south-australia-is-a-renewable-energy-powerhouse-how-on-earth-did-they-do-it-153789