🌈 june 2024

Hi everyone,

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in Montreal to rebuild, recharge, and reconnect. In case you’ve missed it, please take a moment to read a few of my warm-up thoughts on the road to the retreat:  

• First in a series, on the Road to Montreal
• The Road to Montreal Part Two: Mission/Critical 
• The Road to Montreal Part Three: Finance and Fundraising 

Make sure to review the retreat website to get fully prepared! More to come before the end of the week.

Onward,  

Armond

If last month’s newsletter got lost in your inbox, you can find a copy here. And if you have any comments, questions, or feedback, please reach out to Kara Hunt.

HR, Development, Project Management, IT, and Operations News & Updates

Human Resources

For a full list of current CATF staff, take a look at our staff directory. You can find your coworkers’ information by last name, team, or vertical.

Present Your Work!

Please sign up to present on your work at an all-staff watercooler! These presentations can range from overviews of your team’s work to deep dives into a specific solution, to an explanation of the policy landscape in a specific region, or anything else you think may be interesting to staff. They do not need to be long or formal. It’s all about sharing your expertise and work with the CATF community! The link to sign up can be found in the CATF Team General channel under the “Forms” tab, and please feel free to sign up well in advance of your planned presentation date. Watch a recording from this month's watercooler here.

New Staff This Month

Staff Promotions

Development

new team member

The Development Team is thrilled to welcome Adam Wagner to CATF on Monday, June 24 as the new Director, Individual Giving. In his role, Adam will oversee all major donor cultivation and stewardship, and donor engagement strategies. Adam comes to CATF from Appalachian Voices and will join staff in Montreal for our retreat. 

Project Management

Please visit the Project Management Resources Hub for your project management templates and resources needs! You can also access the Hub at the top of the CATF Intranet home page.   

Accounting

Credit card reconciliation for June will be due Wednesday, July 3rd. Please ensure that if you are taking time off, that all expenses have a public purpose and a detailed receipt attached by the due date. Don’t forget to download the Concur app so that you can stay on top of reconciling as you travel. 

Upcoming CATF Holidays

See here for the full holiday lists for all countries.

• Monday, July 1: Canada Day (Canada) 
• Thursday, July 4: U.S. Independence Day (United States) 
• Friday, July 5: Saint Cyril and Methodius Day (Czech Republic) 
• Saturday, July 6: Jan Hus Day (Czech Republic) 
• Sunday, July 7: Islamic New Year (United Arab Emirates) 
• Sunday, July 14: Bastille Day (France) 
• Sunday, July 21: Belgium National Day (Belgium) 

Events & Meetings

What's Happening at CATF? 

Find out more by viewing the 2024 Events Master Calendar

• Reminder: Please add your speaking engagement, sponsorship, exhibit, webinar, or CATF-hosted event or meeting to the calendar. All staff should have access. 
• To start planning a new event or meeting, please review the Intake Form and FAQ. This is required for any event/meeting where CATF has a hosting role.

Check Out Events on CATF's Website

We now have CATF events on the website! Check out all the upcoming events we’re hosting here.  

Staff Retreat Updates

Please remember to thoroughly review the 2024 All Staff Retreat Website so that you’re prepared for Montreal. And don’t forget to join the Retreat WhatsApp group so that you receive communications on site.  

NEW! Sign up for your breakout! 

Safe travels, and we’ll see you in Montreal! 

Upcoming Events

⚠️ The events tracker is on Monday.com! View it here.

• July 10-11: Achieving 100% Clean Affordable and Reliable Electricity in CA (San Francisco, CA) 
• July 10-11: World Biogas Expo & Summit (Birmingham, UK) 
• July 12: Diablo Canyon Donor Field Trip (San Luis Obispo, CA) 
• July 18: Funding Carbon Capture and Storage in Central and Eastern Europe: A Focus on Poland (Virtual)  
• July 18-20: Center for Bioenergy Innovation Annual Science Meeting (Asheville, NC) 
• July 28-31: ASABE conference (Anaheim, CA)  

Program & Regional Advocacy
Team Updates

Highlights

• The Superhot Rock Energy team notched a major policy win in the U.S., with Representatives Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Andrea Salinas (D-OR) introducing a superhot rock energy bill that adopts nearly all of CATF’s SHR policy recommendations.  
• The Clean Energy Infrastructure Deployment team released a report and interactive map in collaboration with the Regulatory Assistance Project, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and the Department of Energy, cataloguing renewable energy siting and permitting policies in all 50 states plus Puerto Rico. Nelson Falkenburg spoke at LBNL’s webinar on June 20 about the report’s findings. 
• The Methane Pollution Prevention team published a methane benchmarking report, earning high level press coverage. The Methane team also participated in a handful of panels this month to advance CATF’s approach: 
  • Fernanda Ferriera spoke on the U.S. Climate Alliance Methane Learning Lab panel on economic considerations when designing policies to reduce agriculture methane emissions.  
  • Jonathan Banks and Heny Patel spoke on several panels on methane mitigation and presenting on the EU’s new import standards and its implications for international gas markets and trading. 
  • CATF, Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, and Instituto Pólis hosted the 4th WasteMAP Workshop. 
• NEW! Check out the newly launched Central and Eastern Europe landing page to learn more about our work in the region! Also in Europe: 
  • The Europe Advocacy team hosted a webinar on how to strategically advance hydrogen technologies in Poland, with Tamara Lagurashvili and Alex Carr joining Polish experts to discuss recent developments in the Polish hydrogen ecosystem. 
  • Alessia Virone provided a deep dive to staff on EU elections. 
  • Lee Beck moderated an Atlantic Council event on the recent report by Equinor titled 2024 Energy Perspectives. 
• The Advanced Nuclear Energy team has continued to focus on strategy building, developing stakeholder relationships, and fundraising for more ambitious actions. This month: 
  • Malwina Qvist and Alessia Virone participated in the first General Assembly of EU Industrial for SMRs. 
  • Malwina also participated in a Nuclear Energy Agency workshop in Prague on financing new nuclear projects. 
• Carbon Capture team members John Thompson and Sam Bowers were panelists for the DOE funded gener8tor accelerator. 
• The Land Systems team published a fact sheet on ecosystem carbon management.  
  • The Land Systems team will also co-host a breakout session with the Methane team in Montreal on if biorenewable resources and systems can help the agriculture sector reach net-zero emissions. 
• CATF’s Fusion Energy program was presented to over 100 fusion developers and senior investigators of National Laboratories at the Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy Fusion Programs Annual Meeting. 
• The Energy and Climate Innovation in Africa team presented recent research at various meetings this month: 
  • Prudence Dato presented research titled “Implications of averting expenditures to mitigate unstable electricity supply for energy poverty in developing countries: Evidence from Benin” at the Africa Meeting of the Econometric Society in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
  • Michael Adu Okyere was a panelist at the Africa Meeting of the Econometric Society in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Michael also presented the ECI paper evaluating the weighted average cost of capital for power projects in Africa.  

All program & advocacy updates →

Full List of Publications This Month

Blogs

• From Bonn to Baku: Finding success in a geopolitically challenged year for climate action – David Yellen 
• New report shows the diversity of clean energy siting policies and permitting authorities across the country – Nelson Falkenburg 
• Last call for Europe’s climate plans: EU countries’ final submission for 2030 goals nears – Alejandra Muñoz Castañer

Press Statements

• New report finds gap between leaders and laggards on methane emissions widens, underscores importance of new regulations 
• New report offers inventory of state renewable energy siting policies in the U.S. 
• New bipartisan superhot rock energy legislation advances out of committee, marking important step toward deployment 
• Senate passes nuclear energy bill to preserve, develop, and deploy nuclear energy technologies

Reports

• Benchmarking Methane and Other Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Oil and Natural Gas Production in the United States 
• Laws in Order: An Inventory of State Renewable Energy Siting Policies 

Fact SHeets

• Ecosystem Carbon Management: A Paradigm Shift 

Comms Corner

Announcement!

Our CATF Communications Manager Natalie Volk has been named to the Atlantic Council’s 2024 cohort of Women Leader in Energy and Climate fellows! You can learn more about the fellowship and see Natalie in good company among the full list of fellows here.

Our team is so pleased to see Natalie recognized with this prestigious honor and we’re looking forward to all she’ll learn through the fellowship.  

Congrats, Natalie! 

CATF in the News

• CATF and Ceres' methane benchmarking report was featured in Canary Media and Politico, with Lesley Feldman highlighting that companies have shown that they do have the ability to effectively reduce methane emissions. 
• In Politico, Ben Grove spoke about how California can use carbon capture and storage technologies to meet their climate targets in a way that is cost-efficient. 
• CATF’s oil and gas imaging work in Italy was featured in Green Report, with Théophile Humann-Guilleminot emphasizing the need for effective leak detection and remediation programs to curb methane leaks. 
• Ben Grove provided his expertise in MIT Technology Review about the growing efforts to develop and use Class VI wells, highlighting that the increased subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act has made carbon capture and storage technologies economical for many industry segments. 

View all press coverage →

Staff Pet Photo of the Month

Pearl is Jazzmyn Davenport’s cat. Since Jazzmyn and her partner adopted Pearl, she has been a bit sickly. But she's a fighter. Despite three years of issues ranging from eye infections, severe allergies, asthma, and some light alopecia on her chest, Pearl has remained a sweet and gentle cat. She inspires Jazzmyn with her fighting spirit. Go Pearl! 

If you have a pet you’d be willing to share, please submit a pet photo for the newsletter! You can do so by filling out this Teams Form.

That’s all for this month. If you made it this far — thanks for reading!