Charging An Electric Vehicle In 10 Minutes, Making Construction Greener And Becoming Nature-Positive

This week’s Current Climate, which every Saturday brings you the latest news about the business of sustainability. Sign up to get it in your inbox every week.

The World Wildlife Fund released its annual Living Planet report this week, and things aren’t looking good. The bottom line? Since the 1970s, most wildlife species are down to a third of their numbers half a century ago. Freshwater species have been particularly hit hard, with their numbers having declined 83% on average across species. The common culprits include climate change, pollution, non-native invasive species and overfishing, but the report also highlights changes to land and air management that are also impacting wildlife. Reversing the trend, the organization argues, begins with reversing trends in development.

“We need nature positive by 2030 – which, in simple terms, means more nature by the end of this decade than at its start,” said WWF International Director General Marco Lambertini in a statement. “More natural forests, more fish in the ocean and river systems, more pollinators in our farmlands, more biodiversity worldwide.”

The Big Read

Charging Ahead: Hong Kong’s Ampd Energy Is On A Global Expansion Drive To Make Construction Sites Greener

Brandon Ng, head of Hong Kong-based battery energy storage system maker Ampd Energy, has powered up for growth despite global headwinds.

Read more here.

Discoveries And Innovations

Cleantech startup Clarity Movement has developed a series of tiny sensors for air quality monitoring to replace traditional units, some of which are the size of an automobile.

Chicago-based software startup Rheaply has acquired an online marketplace for surplus construction materials like salvaged steel, recycled rebar and cast-off concrete.

In 2023, the Department of Energy will begin transforming the toxic waste stored in tanks at the Hanford, Wash. nuclear waste site into a more storable glass form.