COP26: Cambodian Ministry of Environment with Laconic

Laconic recently sent a team to the COP26 Conference in Glasgow. Jason Campbell (VP Operations), Jeff Holt (Director of Energy) and Grace Smith (Business Development/Communications). It was an enlightening event and was well hosted by the city of Glasgow and the United Kingdom. There were so many concurrent venues in which to learn, to network and discuss important issues and policy decisions which impact our environment and our collective future. COP26 was a multicultural gathering of policy makers, business executives, government representatives, non-government organizations, financial institutions, analysts, and activists. We made new friends and enjoyed the brisk Scottish weather in a very welcoming atmosphere. While the COVID protocols were very thorough, requiring daily self-testing, it provided an interesting look at how serious the UK takes precautionary measures. The police presence from around the UK was visible everywhere in Glasgow. Thanks for keeping us safe Scotland!

COP26: Laconic team meeting with Cambodian Minister of Environment Say Samal & delegation
Cambodian Minister of Environment Say Samal and delegation
Source: Laconic Enterprises

Our Laconic team learned more about the potential of Hydrogen based economies and the conversion of municipal solid Waste into Energy (WtE). While this is an important business line for Laconic, it is also of great importance to many delegations that we met with during COP26 to include meeting the Ministers of the Environment from Cambodia and Madagascar. We really believe that “WtE” is an essential component to reducing fossil fuel emissions, providing reliable electrical power and hydrogen-based energy to local economies while reducing the accumulation of plastics from our landfills and oceans. We are on the right path, as our technology partners have demonstrated. This is a growing field of infrastructure development that will make a real difference for the environment and our partner nations. According to a financial analyst from Standard and Poor’s, who spoke at a COP 26 forum, the challenge will be getting the price point of Hydrogen to an affordable point below $2 per kilogram. This will require the continued investment into hydrogen-based infrastructure which is enabled by companies like ours that are based upon Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles and utilize Green and Blue Bonds for financing opportunities. As Laconic provides Outcome as a Service, we reduce the risk for reliable partner communities who are interested in investing in long term projects such as WtE power plants. One power plant alone could reduce up to hundreds of tons of non-recycled plastic waste daily from a landfill and provide enough electricity to power small communities though proven processes such as mass combustion, gasification or pyrolysis. Technology and regulation have gotten to the point where emissions are under control and even the biproduct of the processes such as ash or char are integrated into the circular economy as fillers for road construction instead of additional landfill waste.

While we realize large scale projects take significant coordination and resource dedication, we salute the small-scale entrepreneurs who are making a real difference locally! One great example is a father and son team from Nigeria who are making a big difference by providing solar power microgrids to homes and businesses as an alternative to locally provided fossil fuel-based power. These microgrids are really growing in Africa and we look forward to contributing to this industry as well. We all learned from Prince Charles‘ call to action at the COP 26 Summit. He articulated that we are all interconnected, and small efforts in environmental protection and sustainable development aggregate into major impacts globally. What we need now is the continued commitment on multiple fronts to reverse the impact of climate change by committing to carbon reduction in accordance with timeline parameters. This will take the cooperation of nations, financial institutions, development companies, academia, and innovative technologies to make a real difference. Laconic is a proud member of this effort and we look forward to joining you in making the world a better place.