Intro to Climate Tech

Climate tech can elevate the conversation on climate change

Climate tech, short for climate technology encompasses both physical and digital technologies. It includes technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, technologies that remove emissions from the atmosphere, and technologies that enable adaptation to an altered climate.

Q: What are some climate technologies?

A: There are 4 main verticals in climate tech: Infrastructure, Food, Agriculture & Land use, Mobility & Transport, Heavy Industry and Energy.

Tech as a solution to the dilemma of growth

While Clean Tech was all about energy startups with hardware products, Climate Tech is used in a broader term. It refers to any technology that decarbonates our economy, including not just energy, but also food, construction and even infrastructure. Climate Tech encompasses not just “direct” climate technology, but also indirect measures like farming software that reduces water consumption. [1]

Q: What is the role of venture capital in climate tech?

A: Capital makes things, processes, systems go faster. Can we build the tech of the future without capital and only revenues, possibly, however, why wait if we can’t? How can we expect the engineers or technologists to work on massive issues for no reimbursement, we need capital. How can we build the complex technology and software to help use measure the precise amount of energy required for a system, like your home, we need capital. A barter economy works, however, it will not work quickly enough as we wish to tackle climate issues.

This is where venture capital comes in. Venture capital (VC) is generally used to support startups and other businesses with the potential for substantial and rapid growth. VC firms raise money from limited partners (LPs) to invest in promising startups or even larger venture funds to build to products but also earn the returns. Yes, this is selfish altruism, if we conclude that to some degree individuals are motivated to help others in order to feel good about themselves, we may encourage social giving by ensuring donors feel great about their action. Such an approach can benefit both the giver and the receiver.[2]

Without the venture capitalists, many of the high tech, deep tech that solves to world’s problems would have never made it off the bench. Do we need VC, not necessarily, but we can want to speed that it can provide and we don’t have to be resistant to it. Do you want to help the climate, VC can help.

Q: Are any free or low cost courses on climate financing and tech?

A: Yes, I always recommend starting a new concept in the most free and low cost as possible.

3 videos to watch: