The fossil fuel industry's dark holiday message
Small Steps Vol. 91: That's a wrap on 2023 š; a bit of hope from COP28 š; and people power for climate š.
Kick start
š Thatās a wrap. As the year comes to an end, we want to say THANK YOU to our incredible audience of readers. It gives us so much energy and hope to see our 2250+ strong community engaging deeply with impact in climate, health, empowerment and education.
Weāre taking a break for the summer but will be back in full force in mid-January 2024. Until then, weāll leave you with our impact wrap for FY23 ā
What weāre thinking about
š A special holiday message from fossil fuel industry exec Oblivia Coalmine: āEvery little drop of your precious nest egg adds upā¦ so while global temperatures may go up a teensy weensy degree or two, our profits are soaring.ā Some clever satire from the UKās MakeMyMoneyMatter campaign illustrating the power that retirement funds (pensions and super) can have on climate action.Ā
Maybe your holiday downtime is the perfect opportunity to switch to an ethical fund like Future Superā¦ š
š« Speaking of COP-outsā¦ You canāt make this suff up. COP President Sultan Al Jaber has told the Conference of Parties that thereās āno scienceā behind the world needing to abandon oil and gas. He also said a phase-out of fossil fuels would not allow sustainable development āunless you want to take the world back into cavesā. Weāre left speechless at this very grim news.Ā
As The Guardian notes, more than 100 countries have already agreed to support a phase-out of fossil fuels; whether the final COP28 agreement calls for this, or uses weaker language such as a āphase-downā of fossil fuels instead, is the key topic of contention at the summit and will likely determine its success. As we all know, itās now well and truly uncontroversial in the scientific community that we need huge, immediate cuts to fossil fuels to keep us on track for a 1.5 degree Celsius warming pathway.
That said, there has been some hope to come out of the conference. Hereās some key updates from the positives of COP28 so far:Ā
63 countries have pledged to deeply cut cooling-related emissions (i.e. from refrigeration for food, medicine and air conditioning) in the Global Cooling Pledge, consistent with a 1.5 degree Celsius pathway;Ā
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the COP delegates last Friday that āthe science is clear: The 1.5C limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels. Not reduce, not abate. Phase out, with a clear timeframeā; andĀ
Health is now firmly on the climate agenda, with the first āhealth dayā having taken place on 3 December. This shows great progress towards adequately acknowledging and dealing with the health impacts of the crisis.Ā
Check out IISDās helpful daily COP updates here for more coverage.Ā
š People power. On the weekend of 25 November, an estimated 3,000 climate protesters took part in a 30-hour blockade of the Port of Newcastle to prevent coal exports leaving the port, including hundreds who paddled out on kayaks and surfboards. The organisers, Rising Tide, are claiming this is one of Australiaās largest ever civil disobedience actions, with some students travelling from as far as Perth and Adelaide to participate.Ā
The protest saw over 100 people arrested for continuing the blockade past the agreed cut-off time, including 97 year-old Reverend Alan Stuart, who will be the oldest person ever charged in Australia.
Original X post here.Ā
Giant leaps
š„³ Huge congrats to Trace for being named the Emerging App of the Year at the Xero Australia Awards!Ā
š The Giant Leap is also proud to have won two awards last month. Our partner Rachel Yang was named Climate Investor of the Year at the Climate Salad Awards, and Giant Leap won Impact Investor of The Year at the Australian Impact Investment Awards. A nice way to round out 2023.Ā
For the road
š©āš» We hope that one day soon this wonāt be a memeā¦ but for nowā¦
Weāll be investing in even more amazing, diverse teams in 2024 ā you can check out the super strong diversity stats of our current portfolio on our website (just scroll down). If youāre a woman- or non-binary-led team, weāre always keen to hear from you.Ā
Meme credit goes to Andrea Sommer, original LinkedIn post here.Ā
š¤ What is OpenAIās elusive Q* project? We know it's aimed at improving ChatGPT, but how? Wired suggests it may involve fine-tuning its mathematical capabilities. Or maybe honing its problem-solving with feedback? While OpenAI is still refusing to answer questions on it, hundreds of custom ChatGPT bots doing everything from turning you into a pixar character to searching academia papers for responses continue to run rampant.Ā
š§ Donāt bin it, fix it. Everything from electronics to children's toys can be repaired as opposed to replaced. Voxās detailed guide serves as a good starting point for anyone aiming to get handy with their stuff.Ā
š„§ How are founders splitting the equity pie? Using data from over 8000 companies, Carta has spliced together this helpful graphic to guide founders. (Keep in mind, this is before any dilution from fundraising)!Ā
ā Want more engagement on LinkedIn? Afterwork Venturesā newest Partner Jessy Wu (congrats Jessy!) has you covered. Sheās posted a very handy summary on how to markedly improve your engagement on the platform. Even something as simple as replying to comments within the first 90 minutes boost your postās overall visibility. Have a read, and stop doing LinkedIn wrong.Ā
š¦¾ Busting deeptech myths. Deeptech companies have a great rate of success, are less capital intensive, and exit faster than life sciences companies. There are less deep-tech exits, but they are more likely to succeed. These facts and more are revealed in US VC Leo Polovetsās great analysis on the sector.Ā Shoutout to Dave Rae for sending us this great read!
š§ Weāre going backwards on mental health. A University of Sydney study has found that each generation since the 1950s is suffering from worse mental health than those who came before them. The problem is complex and multifaceted. Social media comparisons and the expectation that we must be mentally āsafeā at all times are eroding resilience. Itās not just a health problem either: former Australian of the Year Patrick McGorry says this trend will eventually have broader economic ramifications too.Ā
š§š½āāļø Tips for healthtech founders on surviving 2024. Some honest but hopefully helpful advice from former journalist turned VC Christina Farr: start planning as if you wonāt be able to raise in 2024; and be open to thinking about mergers and the possibility of down-rounds (but only with clean term sheets). She also notes that in tougher times, there really is no shame in letting go and starting again. That said, at Giant Leap weāre optimistic for the new year and will be actively investing in healthtech companies ā so please do get in touch with us (after checking out our tips for health founders here).Ā Ā
šš¾āāļø Do you feel represented on International Womenās Day? In 2023, the More Voices, More Representation survey found close to 7 in 10 women in Australia do not. To help the campaign in its mission of creating an IWD with greater intersectional representation in 2024, anyone identifying as a woman or non-binary person is invited to fill out this survey.
Save the dateĀ
š December 15: TechStars Strategic Workshop kicks off. Register now to connect with peers and meet new experienced mentors for your business. Register quickly as thereās only 30 spots in the program. Thereās two workshops on offer, a virtual one on December 12, and an in-person event on December 15 in Sydney.Ā
š January 8: Applications close for the Hatch Taronga Accelerator Program. Itās aimed at supporting startups and companies that assist with conservation efforts. Participating companies learn through a 12-week accelerator program and can also be awarded up to $50,000.
Thanks again for subscribing to Small Steps ā weāll see you next year! š
Our office will be closed from Friday 22 December 2023, returning on Monday 8 January 2024.