Aspen Policy Academy

• Raylene Yung with support from Anjana Rajan

To avoid the worst effects of climate change, scientific consensus states that CO₂ emissions must decline 40 to 60 percent by 2030 to keep our planet from warming more than 1.5°C. To achieve these goals, the software industry, whose climate impact from cloud computing is often underestimated, must significantly change. Large companies like Google and Microsoft are taking action to reduce their carbon footprint. Yet most startups lack the resources to understand and factor climate impact into business decisions. This project recommends that investors engage with portfolio companies to help them understand their climate impact and make changes. It supplies startups with tools to understand the impact of cloud providers, measure their carbon footprint, and take action to clean up their software supply chains.

Click right to view various resources to understand how tech companies can combat climate change, including a policy brief and a website with interactive guides and plans to illustrate the solution.