Climate Technology Industry

Most of the advice for breaking into a climate career is now dangerously out of date. For years, the playbook has been singular: learn about solar, wind and EVs. That advice just became a fraction of the story. Last week, the Australian Government released two landmark documents: the National Climate Risk Assessment and the National Adaptation Plan. More than simply policy papers, they are a formal declaration that a second, parallel climate economy is here. The '𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆'. Backed by a A$9 billion commitment, the focus is no longer just on preventing future change. It’s on managing the reality that’s already here. The Risk Assessment provides the sobering 'why', confirming in stark detail the cascading impacts on our infrastructure, economy and communities. The Adaptation Plan provides the 'how', like investing in nature-based solutions such as the mangrove ecosystems that protect our coastlines (pictured). It creates a vast new frontier for career-transitioners. And it’s already the lived reality of the professionals building this new economy, many of whom are members of our Climate Crew community. It requires the urban planning skills of leaders like Roland Chanin-Morris of Ramboll, who is designing our future resilient cities. But physical assets are only half the picture. True resilience is built at the community level, which is why the strategic engagement work of founders like Nicole Dennis of Cobalt Engagement – leading those complex on-the-ground conversations – is now an essential service. This new reality also demands a new kind of strategist. People like Josue Castro of BWD Strategic, who has pivoted his high-level government experience to help organisations navigate climate risk, and systems thinkers like Oliver Dykes at Deloitte, who redesign entire organisations for a resilient future. Underpinning it all is a revolution in finance, driven by innovators like Renate Crollini of Adaluma Tech, who is building the tools to embed risk into capital decisions, guided by the global expertise of policy architects like Linda Romanovska of Melomys Advisory, who co-authors the international frameworks that make this possible. If you are a career seeker, I encourage you to connect with the people whose work you find most relevant. This is what Climate Crew is for: to make the connections that build the future. The message is clear. We don't 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 need renewable energy engineers. We need builders, planners, financiers and organisers. Your skills are now climate skills. The opportunity to find your life's work in climate has never been greater. #ClimateCareers #ClimateAdaptation #GreenJobs #ClimateAction #CareerTransition #NationalAdaptationPlan #WorkOnClimate Image: Mangroves in Woy Woy, NSW. Sourced from the National Adaptation Plan (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water). © Commonwealth of Australia. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.

🔥 The Future of Climate Tech: 5 Takeaways from Hello Tomorrow 🔥 Busy days last week at Hello Tomorrow in Paris—lots of discussions, strong opinions, and a fair share of debate on the past, present, and future of climate tech. Moderating a panel on the topic, I had the chance to challenge some of the sharpest minds in the space: Liza Rubinstein Malamud (Carbon Equity), Rajesh Swaminathan (Khosla Ventures), and Laurie Menoud (At One Ventures)—right on stage at Hello Tomorrow. So, where does climate tech really stand today? Here are 5 takeaways that stood out: 1️⃣ Climate Tech’s Darwinian Moment Laurie put it bluntly: climate tech isn’t dead, but many companies relying solely on subsidies will be gone in the next 1-2 years. The survivors? Those with better performance and lower costs than existing alternatives. Capitalism is simple—if oil makes money, that’s where it goes. Climate solutions need to be a no-brainer. 2️⃣ US vs Europe: be resilient The panelists emphasised the importance of building business models that can thrive regardless of policy shifts or geography. At the same time, Liza urged European founders to think bigger. Meanwhile, Rajesh reminded us that “yesterday’s tweet” shouldn’t dictate investment decisions—the real wins come from betting on long-term, high-impact inflection points. 3️⃣ What’s Hot, What’s Not This topic itself was hot—plenty of debate, opposing views, and strong opinions. But there was clear consensus on one thing: the only metric that truly matters is strong unit economics. Without it, even the most innovative tech won’t scale. And yes, AI is hot and can play a role in climate, but beware of “AI washing.” It works when it adds real value—think accelerating mineral detection for mining or power management for data centres. 4️⃣ Making Money with Climate Tech Liza, speaking as a fund-of-funds manager, was very clear: climate tech has performed on par with general VC and PE. Cambridge Associates and Dealroom data back this up—the returns are there. In their portfolio, TVPI looks strong, but there’s a catch: lots of unrealised returns. The big question? Will markets open up again this year? That remains to be seen. 5️⃣ The #1 Rule for Climate Founders Laurie’s advice? Forget politics. Focus on economics. The best solutions will win because they outperform and underprice existing options. Rajesh added: the team you build is the company you build—hire talent from industries that have scaled successfully before. And Liza? Plan your entire fundraising journey early—each stage demands a different strategy. 💡 The TL;DR? The market is tough, but winning in climate tech means playing the long game—building companies that make sense with or without policy tailwinds. Last but not least, a big thank you to Arnaud de la Tour, Selma El Ouardi, Jack Fox-Male, and the entire Hello Tomorrow team—great work, and see you next year in the Netherlands! 🇳🇱 #venturecapital #climatetech #liveandkicking

Climate Action Update: Progress and Challenges 1. South Africa takes bold step: New Climate Change Act signed, mandating emission caps for large emitters and adaptation plans for municipalities. While ambitious, funding remains a challenge. 2. Setback in aviation: Air New Zealand abandons 2030 emissions target due to aircraft delays and high green fuel costs. Highlights industry-wide struggles in decarbonization. 3. China's biochar potential: Study reveals biochar could remove 921 million tonnes of CO2 annually in China. Cost-effective and mature technology shows promise for achieving carbon neutrality. 4. Breakthrough in carbon removal: Climeworks' Orca plant in Iceland receives first-ever AAA rating from BeZero Carbon. Sets new quality standard for direct air capture industry. These developments showcase the complex landscape of global climate efforts. While we see significant progress and innovation, challenges in implementation and funding persist across sectors. It's clear that achieving our climate goals will require continued commitment, collaboration, and technological advancements. What are your thoughts on these climate action updates? How can we better support and accelerate global decarbonization efforts? Crown Monkey #connections #post #ClimateAction #Sustainability #CarbonNeutrality #CleanTech

By 2050, climate adaptation could become a $4 trillion investment opportunity 🌎 Climate adaptation is emerging as a major economic frontier, with revenue potential projected to exceed $4 trillion by 2050, according to a joint report by GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, and Bain & Company. As climate risks intensify, the adaptation economy—focused on building resilience to climate impacts—is gaining momentum among investors, businesses, and governments. The report identifies six key sectors poised for growth: climate-resilient infrastructure, water management, disaster prevention and response, resilient agriculture, climate risk analytics, and adaptation finance. These areas represent both high vulnerability to climate shocks and rising demand for solutions that protect lives, assets, and productivity. For example, flood defense systems, heat-resilient construction materials, and agricultural technologies for drought-prone areas are already attracting significant investment. Notably, the report urges stakeholders to move beyond mitigation-only strategies that aim to reduce emissions, and instead prioritize dual-track approaches that incorporate adaptation as a core pillar of climate response. This shift reflects growing awareness that some climate impacts—such as sea level rise and extreme weather—are already unavoidable, regardless of decarbonization efforts. The study highlights the role of innovation and public-private collaboration in scaling adaptation solutions. Startups developing early warning systems, insurers offering climate-indexed products, and infrastructure players retrofitting assets for resilience are cited as examples of how adaptation markets are maturing. Investors are also increasingly integrating physical climate risk into portfolio decisions, creating new demand for climate risk analytics and financing models. Ultimately, the report positions climate adaptation as both a moral and financial imperative. The investment case is grounded in rising demand, expanding regulatory frameworks, and mounting economic losses from unmitigated risks. As adaptation spending accelerates, it is likely to reshape sectors, redirect capital flows, and define a new chapter in sustainable economic growth. #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #climateadaptation #climatechange

Impact startups in MENA are growing fast but funding strategies must evolve just as quickly. One of the questions I’m asked most often by founders is: “Where do we start when it comes to raising funds for climate or sustainability-focused ventures in this region?” Here’s how I usually break it down in 4 key pathways I’ve worked with or closely observed, each requiring a clear narrative, regional awareness, and the right positioning: 1. Government-backed innovation platforms These are not just about incubation, they are increasingly designed to de-risk startups and connect them to capital. 🔹 Example: Hub71 (Abu Dhabi) offers access to corporates, sovereign investors, and a growing base of VC partners through its Incentive Program. It's a launchpad for startups aligned with national priorities. 2. Climate-aligned positioning Framing your solution around climate resilience or adaptation is no longer optional—it’s a strategic funding move. 🔹 Example: ALTÉRRA, the $30B climate investment fund launched by the UAE at COP28, is designed to mobilize capital into areas like clean energy, food security, and nature-based solutions. Startups that clearly align with these priorities stand a stronger chance of attracting institutional and private funding. 3. Corporate sustainability partnerships Corporates in MENA are increasingly partnering with startups to accelerate their ESG goals—often offering pilot funding, technical support, or access to infrastructure. 🔹 Example: PepsiCo Middle East has launched several open innovation challenges in the region, focusing on sustainable packaging, water reuse, and food system transformation. These partnerships are a valuable entry point for startups ready to co-create scalable solutions. 4. Strategic VC alignment Venture capital in MENA is increasingly aligning with long-term sustainability themes—especially in climate tech and resource efficiency. 🔹 Example: VentureSouq, a MENA-based VC, launched its Climate Tech Fund I to invest in technologies tackling the climate crisis—from energy and mobility to the circular economy. They’re actively backing companies that blend strong commercial potential with measurable impact. The takeaway? It’s not just about raising funds, it’s about raising strategically. That’s how you align with where capital is moving in the region. If you found this useful, share it with a founder or ecosystem builder working on climate and impact in MENA. Let’s make these conversations more visible ;-) #ClimateFinance #MENA #ImpactStartups #StrategicFunding #GreenTransition #BusinessWithPurpose

A Historic Leap in India's Technological Future: Inauguration of the High-Performance Computing (HPC) System for Weather and Climate Research! Today, under the visionary leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India has taken a quantum leap in weather and climate prediction technology with the inauguration of the High-Performance Computing (HPC) System at IITM Pune. This game-changing ₹850 crore investment by the Ministry of Earth Sciences is set to redefine the future of India's climate and disaster preparedness. Why does this matter? India is now equipped with one of the most powerful weather computing systems in the world, boosting our total computing capacity to a staggering 22 Peta FLOPS—a phenomenal increase from 6.8 Peta FLOPS. With these systems located at IITM Pune and NCMRWF Noida, we’re now positioned to predict the most extreme weather phenomena with unparalleled accuracy and speed. A Force Multiplier for Weather Prediction These HPC systems—Arka and Arunika, named after the sun—are designed to tackle the most complex challenges in weather and climate science. Imagine: Cyclones, thunderstorms, heatwaves, floods—predicted with precision. Extreme weather events like droughts and heavy rainfall—foreseen with greater lead time. Regional models with 1 km resolution for specific Indian domains—enabling hyper-local forecasting to safeguard communities and infrastructure. Powering the Future with AI and Machine Learning What sets this system apart is the seamless integration of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to develop sophisticated models that push the boundaries of scientific prediction. With dedicated systems for AI/ML, India is paving the way for the next generation of weather forecasting technologies. A Game Changer for India and Beyond! This isn’t just about improving weather forecasts—it’s about saving lives, protecting agriculture, strengthening disaster resilience, and positioning India at the forefront of global climate research. From mitigating the impacts of natural disasters to helping farmers adapt to climate change, Arka and Arunika are ushering in an era of real-time, high-precision forecasting that will shape the future of nations. India is raising the bar for the world in scientific innovation and disaster management. With this groundbreaking HPC system, we are now better equipped to tackle the growing threats posed by climate variability and ensure a safer, more prepared future for every Indian. Ministry of Earth Sciences

Just got back from a great week in New Orleans for #AMS25. Three observations about where things are headed with weather data in 2025. 1. The private-sector presence in atmospheric science will continue to grow. On the “data provider” side, there is an incredible amount of private-sector innovation happening around AI-driven weather forecasting, from big tech companies (Google DeepMind, NVIDIA, Microsoft) to startups (Brightband, Excarta, Silurian AI, Salient, Zeus AI, Jua.ai, etc) to more established companies breaking into this field (e.g. Spire, Tomorrow.io). On the “end user” side, we’re seeing growing sophistication by commodities and energy traders in their use of weather data, with many companies building significant in-house capacity for analytics and modeling by building data infrastructure and hiring meteorologists. 2. AI is changing the requirements for data systems. Whereas the main infrastructure requirement for weather forecasting used to be a hard-core HPC system for compute-bound workloads, AI requires smaller, GPU-based clusters, plus a massive trove of clean, AI-ready data upon which to train. I/O bottlenecks are surpassing compute bottlenecks for many teams. Ingestion, curation, and optimization of training and evaluation datasets is becoming a major priority. In this new world, modeling is starting to look a lot more like data analytics and visualization in terms of infrastructure requirements. 3. The Pangeo Community stack, built on the foundation of Xarray and Zarr, continues to expand its impact in this new AI-centric world. Nearly every team training AI weather models is doing so from Zarr data. However, practices vary widely in terms of on-disk data layout and data loader architecture. The coming year will likely see some convergence. European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts - ECMWF's Anemoi framework caught my eye as an interesting new approach. A talk by Alfonso Ladino-Rincon about analysis-ready Zarr-based radar data was another highlight. Meanwhile, the centrality of GRIB files in operational meteorology systems will continue to create friction for practitioners by requiring slow and costly data transformations. Will 2025 be the year we see operational forecasts in Zarr from a public-sector data provider? Or will the VirtualiZarr approach make this question moot? Overall, this conference was extremely fun and stimulating for me. We had a ton of traffic at the Earthmover booth. I’m more convinced than ever that solving “boring” data infrastructure problems can help accelerate work across the weather and climate enterprise. Feeling fired up about the opportunities ahead!

By analyzing millions of posts, researchers have created the first real-time tracking system for climate technology development. Using machine learning and LinkedIn data, researchers mapped 134,727 organizations and 399,318 collaborations in climate tech, highlighting patterns in global innovation networks. 60% of climate tech startups focus on just three areas (solar, electric vehicles, hydrogen), while crucial technologies like heat pumps and biofuels see little activity despite their high technological readiness. Geographic analysis exposes two contrasting innovation models: Houston's oil & gas industry-driven cluster versus Berlin's government-led ecosystem. Despite different approaches, both clusters generate similar startup outcomes, suggesting multiple viable paths to fostering climate innovation. The research introduces a novel real-time monitoring approach for tech development, providing policymakers with early warnings about innovation gaps and cluster dynamics. Congrats to Malte Toetzke, Benedict Probst, Stefan Feuerriegel, Laura Diaz Anadon, and Volker Hoffmann!

We're seeing in real-time how data and technology are becoming catalysts to accelerate progress towards climate and nature goals. The latest release? A monthly - yes, thats right, MONTHLY - global carbon emissions inventory. Its based on precise, live data gathered by satellites, sensors, and artificial intelligence. That is a mix of data and technology supercharging our ability to track our progress on climate pollution. This step-change is delivered by Climate TRACE, founded by Al Gore and supported by a global, not-for-profit coalition of over 100 universities, scientists, and AI experts. I attended my first COP in 2011. Over the years I have often voiced my frustration over the lack of accountability around COPs, climate diplomacy, netzero pledges and overall progress on climate goals. This new tool allows us to check if countries are indeed doing what they promise, and if netzero pledges are having the impact they claim. It reduces the need for big conferences focused on self-reported progress and offers a major incentive for the corporates who are leading the way on decarbonizing to get their much deserved credit. To me, this is another nail in the coffin for #greenwashing. And a major advocacy/litigation tool. These reports will be released regularly, offering the world the most up-to-date, granular data on GHG emissions that current technology can provide -absolutely free. #progress #parisagreement #climatechange #NDCs UNDP Climate Gavin McCormick Alexia Kelly Shyla Raghav Megan Ahearn Bradley (Brad) Andrick Dan Hammer Nicole Brown Deborah Gordon Ted Nace Ingmar Rentzhog Pep Canadell Frida Berry Eklund

During Climate Week, many important conversations are happening. But too often in silos among people who already agree. Some argue the energy sector shouldn’t be part of this conversation. I disagree. If we want progress, we have to talk with incumbents—not just about them. With that in mind, I sat down with Vicki Hollub, CEO of one of the largest oil & gas companies, to talk candidly about the future of energy. Vicki outlined her vision on energy supply, demand, and her strategy to deploy direct air capture technology to reduce emissions. The conversation was interrupted briefly by protesters. And while I support the right to respectfully dissent, that moment ended up underscoring the point of the event: 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵. I pulled the 3 most powerful takeaways from our conversation:   • 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘀: scale the thing you already do exceptionally well into a new arena where it solves a customer’s pain.  • 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀: Join partners who control demand, capital, and technology. Contracts > press releases.  • 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗼𝗻. You can’t play a 10-year game with 10-week patience. Earn investors and champions who value durability but keep quarterly discipline so the long game stays funded. Read my take on The Edge: https://lnkd.in/evP62XiP #leadership #strategy #innovation #climate #energy