Here’s today’s stories of progress in the fight against climate change.

🌊 Adapting to rising seas – with rising dough

As sea levels rise, one way our agricultural systems could adapt to a changed planet is by harvesting seagrass. This ‘sea rice’ – a misnomer, since it’s more similar to wheat – can be cultivated completely emission free, and has been grown by Indigenous communities in Mexico for centuries. Farming seagrass where land is newly swept under water could support food security, producing grain in quantities equal to 7% of global rice production, and store immense amounts of carbon.

🏎️ The race for sustainable fuel

Formula 1 cars will be completely powered by fossil-free fuels next year, reducing their emissions by 80%. In a circular process, these fuels are made with carbon from the atmosphere, which is then burned during use. Switching to these fuels doesn’t require any changes to the engine, and won’t impact the cars’ performance. It could therefore meet a need for sustainable fuel for non-electric cars, as well as vehicles that are difficult to electrify, like planes.

🏠 Combating concrete’s emissions

In Europe, the construction industry produces 250m tonnes of carbon every year – more than the entire country of France. Much of this is due to concrete, the emissions-heavy material that covers our world. But in a more sustainable process developed by the technology startup Paebbl, CO2 is absorbed from the atmosphere and forms a carbonate rock, which can then be mixed into concrete. Each tonne stores up to 300kg of CO2, and can reduce concrete’s carbon footprint by up to 70%. As it becomes cheaper as the technology scales, it’s hoped that this material could even help cut the cost of housing across Europe. 

The Green Light is written by freelance climate writer Molly Millar.