I had the privilege of attending two climate events last week. The first was an Author talk by Dr. Daniel Cohan. The book Confronting Climate Gridlock: How Diplomacy, Technology, and Policy Can Unlock a Clean Energy Future (Yale University Press, 2022), which was chosen by the Financial Times as one of best new books on climate and the environment. The second event, was a panel discussion on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). In particular the panel focused on how the IRA affects climate investors. The panel included three cleantech startup founders and two other cleantech investors.
Dr. Cohan’s book does a great job of bringing together a lot of the best scholarly thinking on the subject. It also lays out the case that not only do we need many solutions but we also need diplomacy, technology and policy to work together if it we are to meet our climate goals. The book also lays out various technologies into five pillars and describes the most likely effects of each of the pillars on contributing to reducing CO2 in the atmosphere. Highly useful if you are interested in the potential magnitude of a startup’s impact.
The IRA panel lasted an hour but could have easily gone much longer covering this massive bill. Startup CEO’s focused on the wide ranging benefits to their customers and consumers. From extending tax credits, creating new ones to creating almost $12B loan authority for the US governments Loan Program office. One of the highlights of the panel was the excitement around the new laws requirement for additional manufacturing of key technologies in the US. Investors pointed out that advances in clean energy technologies and the associated reduction in per kWh cost had already created momentum in the market. In there view, the IRA adds tremendous tailwinds. The panel discussion is archived at the Angel Capital Association website, it is only available to members.
The current economic, political and climate situations leave much desired, however there are reasons for optimism. Listening to these experts renewed our spirit and drive. We are excited to be a part of this community and work to make the world a little better every day. #impact investing #cleantech