Letter from the Editors 

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Hello, and welcome to the newsroom of Latitude Media.

We’re Lisa Martine Jenkins and Stephen Lacey. 

Lisa is the editor of this operation. Lisa has been writing about climate and energy for most of her career, including most recently at Protocol (rest in peace), where she covered everything from the use of artificial intelligence to track down critical mineral resources to innovations in long-duration battery storage. 

Stephen is the executive editor and co-founder of Latitude Media. He’s an award-winning reporter and editor covering the business of clean energy and climate tech for the last 17 years, including as the editor-in-chief of Greentech Media. He is also the host of The Carbon Copy.

Together with our ace reporter Maeve Allsup — who formerly covered technology for Morning Brew and Bloomberg Law — and a slew of talented contributors, we are here to cover the new frontiers of climate technology.

So why did we launch Latitude Media, anyway? And why now? 

Well, solar, wind, and batteries have all surged around the world. We’re set to install nearly half a terawatt of renewables in 2023 — equivalent to the capacity of China. But emissions still have not peaked globally. This leaves us with an obvious question: what are the technologies that will reverse this trend at the speed needed?

“We do not have the luxury to exclude any clean energy technologies if we are serious about addressing climate change,” explained IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in 2021.

To be clear: renewables, lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, and building electrification will be the near-term workhorses of decarbonization. These proven technologies are already projected to attract $2 trillion or more in annual investment globally in years ahead. Their crucial role in decarbonization is assured.

What is less assured, however, is the trajectory of frontier technologies: carbon removal, green hydrogen, long-duration storage, virtual power plants, artificial intelligence, and other digital solutions. These are the technologies that could help us close the emissions gap.

But across this broad category, so much remains uncertain. Private and government investment in all of these technologies is ramping up, but we don’t yet know which business models or deployment approaches will ultimately win out — much less how these technologies will live in the world. And in the meantime, there’s a lot of experimentation and hype. 

Covering this frontier forms the basis of Latitude Media’s coverage. We offer a clear picture of where these sectors stand today, and help you figure out where they’re headed. We deliver the business journalism that the clean energy and climatetech industries need to chart a path forward. 

Our coverage is bolstered by our line-up of podcasts, including long-time favorites like Catalyst and The Carbon Copy, as well as The Latitude, which is a newer addition (and shares a name with our weekly newsletter, out Thursday mornings). And the Latitude editorial team is part of a bigger enterprise that includes research (Latitude Intelligence) and conferences (Latitude Events). 

Happy reading!

Sincerely, 

Lisa and Stephen 

P.S. We love feedback! Get in touch with us with any questions or comments at editors@latitudemedia.com.