Cleantech – a solution to the red code of climate change

Cleantech could be one of the fastest ways to respond to the “red code for humanity” declared in the climate report released on August 10, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The climate crisis is “unequivocal”, and technology at this moment is the most valuable tool humanity has in fighting climate change.

As a result, cleantech is on the rise. Some years ago, fighting climate change was just propelled by activists groups and organizations; today it can no longer be ignored. It is a priority. The software development industry has, factually, the promising potential to make progress in expanding solutions applied to industries that should minimize their impact on climate – automotive, logistics, mobility, agriculture, food, or fashion.

Cleantech vs climate tech

The alarming results gathered by over 200 scientists, from over 195 countries, in the IPCC report show that the actions taken till now by countries’ leaders around the world, along with powerful businesses, need more commitment to the cause. Climate innovation is expected to be a strategy integrated now by default in a company’s future.

In 2002, a new term was popularized in the industry to embrace all the clean, green technologies that seemed to attract more and more investors – cleantech.

It can either represent a new technology or a new business model that increases efficiency and productivity while having a minimum impact on the environment. Clean energy production, cleaner transportation, recycling, and waste reduction, improvements in the supply chain – all sit under the cleantech umbrella.

Climate tech, on the other hand, addresses climate change as a specific objective. Any business model or technology which purpose is diminishing the impact and factors of the global greenhouse emissions enters this niche.

In other words, climate innovation might be an extension of a business but may transform a business model or create a disruptive one that can boost revenue.

Cleantech helps industries reach further.

More and more countries are trying to commit to a green, carbon-free future. Even so, data shows that we are only at the beginning of this path that should lead to long-term positive changes in climate, and implicitly a better life quality for humanity.

The good news is that what used to represent a narrow share of the market, as products and consumers, is expanding on a larger scale towards industries committed to “clean” choices employing cleantech – solar panels, electric cars, smart farming, etc.

Here are some of the major industries which made impactful changes with cleantech:

• Automotive and mobility – forecasts say that eight out of 10 vehicles bought worldwide by 2050 will be electric. Turning to EVs as the first choice for consumers could become one of the most impactful changes in climate. Currently, Tesla is the market leader, while General Motors will exclusively sell electric vehicles by 2035.

The disruption was the lithium batteries development: smaller, charge faster, and allow integration of more renewable tech.

• Sustainable agriculture – cleantech upgraded farming practices are synthetic-free fertilizers production, applications for weather forecasts or custom fertilization recommendation throughout the farming year, to minimize impacts of natural factors and maximize the production.

• AioT – nowadays, data is the most powerful resource for almost anything. Yet, collecting it through old methods is an immense effort. But with the rise of IoT and artificial intelligence, real-time data is gathered from multiple businesses and sources much easier, with a lower carbon print. It leads to more accurate reports and monitoring of emissions and helps in the process of reducing them.

Some time ago, cleantech choices were a challenge for companies and industries; the present has shown that businesses that made bold moves in this direction are resilient, brought value and revenue.

We’ll be taking a closer look at the clean technologies that have pushed industries further to more responsible choices in upcoming articles.

Stay close to find out more!