The demand for carbon removal continues to rise as corporate efforts to get to net zero and mitigate climate change intensify.The voluntary carbon market(VCM)grew fourfold in value from 2020 to 2021,reaching$2 billion,and it is expected to grow to between$10 billion and$40 billion by 2030.As the market develops,it is also evolving to focus more on the quality of carbon sequestration—such as through permanence and transparent evaluation of carbon credits—rather than just its volume.Increasingly,sophisticated buyers will pay for these improvements.This article explores how new approaches to soil carbon sequestration can deliver asignificantly higher quantity of carbon removal with higher permanence.Recent research indicates that the potential for storing carbon in soil is greater than previously believed,with the potential to sequester 5gigatons of CO2 annually until 2050.This means that soil could play an outsize role in carbon markets.Alongside emerging solutions,registries and project developers are focusing on using new measurement,reporting,and verification(MRV)methodologies that cater to these new carbon dioxide removal(CDR)techniques.This will help speed their deployment. 查看详细>>

How best to start agenerative AI transformation when the future is simultaneously so promising,unknown,and potentially risky?Schneider Electric and BCG partnered to make the most of this exciting opportunity.While many organizations see generative AI mainly as atechnical and data challenge,Schneider Electric’s leadership recognized that the technology requires transformation of business processes and people development along with enhanced risk management.And that is how Schneider Electric is treating this moment as it decides which generative AI opportunities to pursue.A Brief History of Schneider Electric Founded in 1836 as asteel and heavy equipment manufacturer,Schneider Electric has ahistory of keeping up with the times.The€34 billion company is now aglobal leader in the digital transformation of energy management and industrial automation.Back in 2009,before the Internet of Things was ahousehold phrase,Schneider Electric launched EcoStruxure,an open,interoperable platform that delivers digital solutions in energy management,building automation,and data centers.In November 2021,the company created aglobal AI organization staffed with 300 professionals to pursue high-value use cases alongside internal functions and business units.It also named achief AI officer.The recently completed review of the value chain to identify promising uses of GenAI is the most recent chapter in Schneider Electric’s rich history of reinvention.In line with earlier AI efforts,the review examined potential productivity gains,revenue opportunities,talent upskilling,and people development.This effort has yielded some early lessons.Generative AI will likely enhance how work gets done,create demand for new skills,and eliminate the need for other skills.It will accelerate the clock speed of organizations,creating the need for agile leadership,diverse perspectives,and better soft skills in addition to ongoing change management capabilities.And it will likely change how organizations are configured.Many routine tasks performed by humans will be executed by AI,and creative and experience-based skills will take on greater value.In recognition of the human-centric nature of aGenAI transformation,Schneider Electric decided to involve stakeholders from across the company from the start.The company held 56 workshops attended by more than 200 internal stakeholders from 15 functions over four weeks.The workshops brought AI and technology experts together with business executives to build awareness of generative AI capabilities,co-create high-value opportunities,and identify ways to excite employees.This upfront inclusion and mobilization of people signaled to the organization that leaders view the adoption of generative AI as acompany-wide effort rather than atop-down or bottom-up initiative.In the workshops,employees were encouraged to flag potential barriers to various approaches and recommend ways to overcome implementation challenges.The workshops also identified training as acritical success factor,an area that emerged in arecent BCG survey of 13,000 employees,in which 86%said they felt the need for upskilling to stay relevant in an AI world. 查看详细>>

The space economy is growing rapidly,and countries are racing to build spaceports for launching satellites and rockets.However,these are complex and expensive projects to undertake at atime when technology and the economics of space are evolving quickly.New entrants will have to compete with strong incumbents,and many will operate for years before generating their target return on investment(ROI).For that reason,spaceport developers need to consider avariety of factors,including pricing,operations,and talent.Some of these factors are unique to individual facilities,while others apply to all spaceports.We have developed aframework for how to think through these factors,giving commercial and public-sector organizations astructured approach to building spaceports with the attributes required to survive and thrive amid increased competition.The next decade will reshape the competitive landscape for spaceports,but the fundamental principles of business will still apply.Facilities must effectively differentiate themselves,make acompelling case to their customers(launch service providers),and adopt asustainable financial model.To secure their future over the long term,spaceport developers need to choose the right path today.The Launch Market Is at an Inflection Point The number of space launches has risen steadily over the past two decades,with 186 total orbital launches worldwide in 2022,the highest number in asingle year.And more growth is coming.Low earth orbit(LEO)and medium earth orbit(MEO)satellites—which are less expensive and easier to launch than traditional geostationary orbit(GEO)satellites—are akey driver of this growth.They are being launched at arecord pace,often in constellations.The number of satellites launched has steadily increased over the past decade,increasing fivefold in the last five years alone.(See Exhibit 1.)Our analysis of industry data indicates that there will be at least 24,000 satellites launched from 2023 through 2030,and that figure could reach nearly 40,000 depending on the progress of planned megaconstellations in LEO.Space exploration is gathering pace as well,with 170 missions projected from 2022 through 2031,more than three times the number that launched in the past decade.The launch industry is growing nearly as fast,and capital is following.Although the market saw adip in overall investment activity in 2022—especially for startups—nearly 430 companies received some investment that year,and the ten largest deals accounted for$700 million in funding,an 18%increase over the amount in 2021.Amid the hundreds of startups emerging in the new space economy,the market remains characterized by ahandful of companies,such as SpaceX,that have strong positions.And these companies are rushing to secure capacity at capable spaceports.Spaceports,therefore,are alinchpin in the space economy and will help determine its growth trajectory.Many entities,in both the public and private sectors,are chasing the opportunity to build new spaceports,but there are constraints on how many can succeed.The Competitive Landscape for Spaceports Is Dynamic and Challenging Approximately 53 spaceports currently operate worldwide;most are located in China,Europe,Russia,and the US.Roughly 30 new sites have been proposed—including at least 20 that will support orbital launches.1 Many of the new spaceports are in countries that have not had alarge presence in space historically,such as Australia,Indonesia,and Peru.Governments often view spaceport development as ameans not only to boost the economy but also to achieve broader national objectives,such as establishing sovereignty in the increasingly important space domain.For this reason,new spaceport development will continue regardless of volatility in the launch market or investment climate.Yet the competition to secure customers will be fierce.New entrants will have to compete with strong incumbents and have the wherewithal to potentially operate for years before delivering hoped-for ROI. 查看详细>>