Green Sky White Paper

whitePaper | September 2, 2022

Cryptocurrency mining is an extremely energy-intensive process that threatens the ability of governments across the globe to reduce our dependence on climate-warming fossil fuels. If we do not take action to limit this growing industry now, we will not meet the goals set forth by the Paris Agreement and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to limit warning to 2 degrees Celsius. And cryptocurrency mining operations harm local communities now, including by increasing local pollution and impacting electricity rates and delivery. In our paper, we discuss several such examples where fossil-fueled cryptocurrency mining has increased local air, water, and noise pollution, increased costs on others, and increased climate pollution at a time when we should be doing everything in our power to move in the opposite direction to mitigate the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

whitePaper | July 15, 2023

In 2022, US renewable energy growth slackened its pace due to rising costs and project delays driven by supply chain disruption, trade policy uncertainty, inflation, increasing interest rates, and interconnection delays.1 Many of these challenges will likely carry over into 2023, creating strong headwinds.

whitePaper | September 14, 2022

The rise and rise of sustainable investment has been clear over the past decade, with inflows hitting all-time highs amid the pandemic, as investors reflected on the implications of their capital allocations. Additionally, national and supranational governments have given significant nudges to pension funds and other non-profit-led organisations to not just consider, but also report on how their asset selection might affect the rest of us in the long term.

whitePaper | May 19, 2022

Data centers leave a significant carbon footprint and, as the need for these mission critical facilities continues to surge, the current trajectory is toward increasing power use and greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions can contribute to extreme weather and put the health of our planet at risk. There is growing demand from both the public and industry to reduce the environmental impact of all businesses — sustainability has moved into the corporate domain and, due to regulations and the cost implications of reducing a carbon footprint, it can be a hot button issue.

whitePaper | June 15, 2022

As part of our Climate Pledge commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, Amazon is working to measure, reduce, and neutralize the emissions across every part of our business. For Amazon Devices, we are integrating carbon reduction strategies across the life cycle of our devices, including materials and manufacturing, transportation, use, and end-of-life phases. This paper focuses on the use phase, which accounts for 10-15% of the overall carbon footprint of rechargeable battery-operated devices and 60-80% of the footprint of plugged-in devices. We believe this phase is an important area of focus, since consumer electronics will always require some amount of electricity to operate. As the world becomes more connected even beyond consumer electronics, we believe that connectivity in itself allows us to rethink how we approach use phase decarbonization for all connected devices.

whitePaper | January 7, 2020

A nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, the Great Plains Institute (GPI) is transforming the energy system to benefit the economy and environment. Working across the US, we combine a unique consensus-building approach, expert knowledge, research and analysis, and local action to find and implement lasting solutions. Our work strengthens communities and provides greater economic opportunity through creation of higher paying jobs, expansion of the nation’s industrial base, and greater domestic energy independence while eliminating carbon emissions.