Climate Technology Industry

As COP30 enters its 2nd week, we launch the Allianz Green Transition Tracker 2025—a clear, data-driven view of global progress toward net zero, using a unique peer- and progress-scoring framework. Alongside the main report, we're also publishing detailed profiles for 69 countries worldwide. ⚠️ The global green transition is at a critical juncture. Despite a decade since the Paris Agreement, climate impacts are accelerating—2024 was the hottest year on record, with climate damages reaching $300bn and economic losses in the trillions. Current trends point to warming above +3°C by 2100. Keeping below 2°C will require rapid electrification, deep fossil-fuel cuts, and faster clean technology deployment. The decisions made at COP30 will be pivotal for the next decade. 📈 Progress is real, but investment gaps remain. Renewables overtook coal in global power production in early 2025, and low-carbon electricity capacity has grown by 53% since 2015. Clean energy is now cost-competitive: solar costs are down 87%, wind by up to 55%, and batteries by over 80%. Yet, despite $2.1trn invested, a $2.6trn annual mitigation gap remains through 2030. 🚦 Our Green Transition Tracker reveals both momentum and divergence. While many countries are advancing faster than expected, the gap between leaders and laggards is widening. Lower-income countries like Sri Lanka and Colombia perform well due to low per-capita emissions, while advanced economies such as Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland lead in sustained decarbonization. Fossil-fuel-dependent nations continue to lag. ⏩ The pace of decarbonization is encouraging, but not enough. Fifteen countries have covered at least one-third of the journey to net zero, led by Luxembourg and Switzerland. Another 20—including Spain, Brazil, Poland, and Australia—have made notable progress, but momentum is still insufficient. Major emitters like the US and China, responsible for about 40% of global emissions, have shown only marginal improvement since 2015. 🌐 The global outcome will be shaped by a handful of major economies. China, the US, India, Europe, and Brazil together account for over 56% of global emissions. Decarbonizing these key players is essential to keeping global warming in check and advancing a low-carbon future. 🌱 #COP30 #GreenTransition #NetZero #ClimateAction #Sustainability #NZAOA #Ludonomics #AllianzTrade #Allianz

🔥 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

🌍 The new report “Delivering on the UAE Consensus: Tracking progress toward tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030” lays bare where the world stands two years after #COP28. Jointly prepared by International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the #COP30 Presidency, and the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA), this second edition shows that the pace of #renewables addition continues to improve - 581.9 GW of renewables added in 2024, the highest ever — however, the world remains off track to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030. Meanwhile, improvements in energy efficiency reached only 1%, far from the 4% annual target set in the #UAEConsensus. 💰 The Missing Links To deliver on both goals, global investment must reach USD 5 trillion per year through 2030. Yet, in 2024, flows to emerging and developing economies were only one-fifth of what’s needed. Infrastructure and grids are also lagging behind. Without stronger investment in flexibility, forecasting, and resilience, the clean energy revolution will stumble at the system level. 🌦️ As the report shows, achieving these goals isn’t just about building more renewables — it’s about managing variability and anticipating the weather and climate risks that affect every solar panel and wind turbine. The World Meteorological Organization plays a crucial enabling role: ✅ Providing accurate weather and climate data to power #AI-based forecasting for wind and solar generation. ✅ Supporting climate-informed planning for grid infrastructure and storage systems. ✅ Delivering early warnings and risk assessments that protect energy infrastructure from extreme weather and climate shocks. If #IRENA provides the map of the global energy transition, #WMO provides the real-time radar — guiding system operators safely through the turbulence of a changing climate. Tripling renewables and doubling efficiency are within reach, but only if we connect energy policy with climate intelligence. To achieve resilience, we must make climate data a strategic asset — embedded in every decision that shapes our energy future. https://lnkd.in/eYFTmhWb

Last week I caught up with some of our climatetech founders and the Wavemaker Impact team in Singapore. It reminded me how much Europe could learn from the pace, creativity, hunger and grit of emerging markets when it comes to building climate solutions. In South Asia, you don’t have the luxury of slow progress or “pilot purgatory.” Climate impacts hit hard and fast, so the innovation mindset is lean, practical and deeply connected to livelihoods. 1. The Green Discount Forget moonshots and massive R&D budgets. Across South Asia, founders are building cleaner and cheaper solutions that work now: modular, low-capex climatetech with real unit economics from day one, like turning waste into biofuel (Octayne) or agricultural residues into biochar (WasteX) while improving customer margins. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Move beyond the “green premium.” We don’t always need new tech; we need to deploy what already works, faster and at scale. 2. Decentralised Energy and Leapfrogging Like Africa skipped landlines to go mobile, South Asia is leapfrogging traditional grids with off-grid solar, microgrids and batteries replacing diesel, from Agros to Helios Solar Company Limited and SOLshare. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Distributed renewable energy isn’t just cleaner; it’s more resilient. Energy security in wartime or flood season may depend on it. 3. Nature-Based and Community-Led Solutions After decades of deforestation and degraded land, pioneering models are fighting back through community reforestation, mangrove restoration and regenerative agriculture. Ventures like Bumi Baru and Fair Ventures Social Forestry make nature profitable by working with local populations. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Climate action sticks when people have skin in the game. Build with communities, not just for them. 4. The Just Green Transition In emerging markets, climate isn’t a distant moral issue; it’s a development and equity issue. Policy conversations link emissions to jobs, food and public health. When clean tech creates livelihoods, people back the transition. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Embed justice, inclusion and affordability at the heart of the transition, not as an afterthought. 5. Adaptation and Resilience South Asia is among the most vulnerable regions to climate change and has no choice but to adapt: flood defences, early-warning systems, better weather data and climate-resilient crops. Ventures like Rize and Intensel Limited prove that resilience and profitability can coexist. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Don’t just decarbonise, adapt. Resilience is also an investment class. After more than two decades building start-ups across Asia, I’ve seen how constraint breeds creativity and urgency drives focus. Europe has the capital, talent and technology. Maybe it also needs a bit more of that emerging-market scrappiness and hunger. Because the truth is, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We just need to roll it faster. 🌍💚

Carbon markets grew 6% in 2025, hitting $1.04B. But that’s not the real story. Quality is! Total credit retirements fell to 168 million tonnes, a 4.5% decline from 2024. New issuances also decreased, down 6.9% to 270 million tonnes. Spending still increased. So…what’s going on? 1. Corporate demand is increasingly concentrating on higher-quality credits, influenced by tighter standards & closer scrutiny of project integrity. 2. Buyers are becoming more selective about what they are willing to stand behind. The data reflects this change: - the share of mid- to high-quality credit retirements (BB and above) rose from 44% in 2024 to 50% in 2025 - the share of total spend on high-quality credits increased from 61% to 70% projections suggest this pattern will continue shaping the market through 2030 Pricing trends reinforce the same direction. Measured price increases in 2025 were driven primarily by demand for quality, with established project types such as ARR attracting stronger interest. However, this shift is tightening supply. 1. Highly rated credits have now experienced three consecutive years of inventory decline, as demand continues to outpace new issuance. 2. Forward contracts and offtake agreements are becoming more common as buyers seek earlier access. Having observed carbon markets for the last years, something is clear to me: They are maturing!! What I’d like to know is will the supply of high-quality credits meet this demand? 💚 Follow me, Grazina Klevinske for more on Carbon Markets

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

Alastair Marsh's recent thought-provoking piece in @Bloomberg highlights critical challenges with the current climate tech investing landscape Climate tech projects are capital-intensive with long timelines. Unlike software, much of climate tech requires massive upfront capital for R&D, pilot plants, and manufacturing before significant revenue. This demands longer development and deployment cycles (often 7+ years to scale) that exceed typical 5-7 year VC exit horizons. The classic VC model - built for rapid, asset-light scale-ups - often misaligns with the realities of many climate tech solutions, especially "hard tech." While there’s an abundance of early-stage VC capital for entrepreneurs, later-stage growth that bridges these projects from venture to infrastructure stage is basically absent—that’s called the missing middle. We need to adapt and supplement that approach by layering in other types of capital and bridge the "missing middle." A broader array of financing instruments is essential for climate tech to scale, including patient equity and growth capital, project finance, blended finance, and specialized debt models. Marsh’s piece lays out how family offices are uniquely positioned to be catalyzing players in this space. Their flexibility allows them to deploy capital across diverse segments, filling the gap and driving significant financial returns alongside impact. https://lnkd.in/gUf85Bwy

The first half of 2024 saw a weak $11.3bn start, with investment finally returning to 2020 levels pre-climate tech hype. Over the past six months, the climate tech market has continued to constrict, with a noticeable downtick in deal count and funding in H1’24, affecting even early-stage investments like Seed and Series A. But it's not just climate tech, the broader venture market is in a slump from sticky inflation, high interest rates, and geopolitical turmoil. But it's not all doom and gloom. We’re also seeing signs that many companies and projects aren’t solely relying on VC funding anymore, as they’re starting to graduate from equity to project finance and debt in the race to deploy, deploy, deploy. Some new and interesting highlights here: 💰 H1’24 $11.3bn funding: Funding in the first six months of 2024 totaled $11.3bn, down 20% from H1’23 and down 41% from H2’23. 📈 Early-stage takes a hit: Seed funding declined 12% in H1’24 vs. H1’23, and Seed deal count decreased 30% for the same period for the first time. 💸 Round size: Average deal size for Seed, Series A, and Series B increased by 19%, signaling a flight to quality for performing companies making it past Series A. 📅 Time between rounds: The average time it takes a company to raise a Series B in 2024 is more than double the time it took three years ago, jumping from 11 months to 26 months between rounds ⛰ Series B Valley of Death: And the Valley of Death between Series A and Series B has become more precarious, as a large cohort of climate tech companies approach the milestone. 💥 Notable deals: The companies that were able to get funding this half-year represented many of this year’s emerging trends in climate tech: hype-y AI and the clean firm power it requires, high-flying Sustainable Aviation Fuels, and batteries leading the charge. Advanced geo developer Fervo Energy, thermal energy storage (TES) provider Antora Energy, and textile-to-textile recycler Syre raised massive rounds for hardware buildouts. Plus, steelmaker H2 Green Steel, lithium extractor Lilac Solutions, and Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) developer Highview Power all raised “FOAK” rounds to support commercial-scale project development. 👉 Check out the full Sightline Climate (CTVC) H1'2024 investment post with charts and analysis tracking investment, deal activity, FOAK deals, bankruptcies, time between rounds, and investor activity: https://lnkd.in/evG9_-_Y 👉 And read the key takes from Michelle Ma at Bloomberg Green: https://lnkd.in/er8pjdcd #climatetechvc #climatetech #funding

FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced ₹20,000 crore for Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) over the next 5 years. For someone in the CO₂ industry, this isn't just environmental policy – it's a complete market transformation. Here's what's changing: 𝗖𝗢𝟮 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁. Right now, 60% of India's emissions come from power, steel, cement, refineries, and chemicals. These sectors can't just switch to renewables overnight. CCUS lets them capture CO₂ and turn it into something valuable. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲: → 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 & 𝗕𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 – CO₂ for carbonation and preservation → 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 & 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮 – Critical for cryotherapy and pharmaceutical processes → 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝘀 – Converting CO₂ into methanol, polymers, and building materials → 𝗘𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗢𝗶𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 – Using CO₂ to extract more oil efficiently → 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 – CO₂-based suppression systems India's CO₂ utilization market is projected to reach 3,500 thousand tonnes by 2035. That's not just capture and storage – that's industrial-scale revenue generation. 𝗣𝗹𝘂𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲. Global markets are linking trade with carbon emissions. The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism could cost Indian industries $1-1.7 billion without CCUS. This ₹20,000 crore protects our competitiveness. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗴 – CO₂ transport pipelines, storage facilities, demonstration plants. The entire supply chain needs to be built. 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆, 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂: we've always known CO₂ had value. Now the government is backing that vision with serious capital. This isn't just climate action. It's India preparing to lead the global CO₂ economy. #carboncapture #cleantech #co2 #sustainability

Two years ago, I called out the “finance for climate innovation” gap in then Commission President von der Leyen’s 2023 State of the Union speech. Last year, I called the "8x solutions from the Draghi Report" that addressed this. Today, reading the 2025 State of the Union and its 69-page progress document, I’ve checked back: how far has the EU come in implementing these eight #Draghi solutions to close that gap? 🌍 The good news: #climate and #energy targets and clean tech remain central in EU policy, with many new initiatives launched since 2023. ⚖️ The detail: while policy progress is visible, Europe’s machine is slow to deploy across Member States, and scaling innovation finance for private long-term investors, banks and insurers remains challenging. Here are my summary progress highlights against the eight 2024 calls: ✅ Horizon Europe "doubled" (€175bn will need ringfencing if it will survive). ✅ EIB stepping up with €70bn TechEU and cleantech guarantees. ✅ Renewables buildout advancing (solar on track, wind lagging). ✅ “Made in Europe” procurement criteria under the Clean Industrial Deal (possible double edged sword?). ✅ Critical Raw Materials Act implementing and designating 47 EU projects. Yet… ❌ ETS Revenues and the Innovation Fund can do more to support cleantech manufacturing. ❌ Funding architecture for industrial cleantech scale-ups remains fragmented leaving high hopes for Industrial Decarbonisation Bank and Decarbonisation Accelerator Act. 👉 Conclusion: Europe is directionally good, but the pace, detail and transparency of new finance tools will determine if we truly bridge the innovation gap and scale cleantech at home. Progress achieved (2/8): "Doubling" Horizon Europe; more clean tech guarantees and funding vehicles from the EU and EIB. Priorities in motion (4/8): Renewables buildout, Lead Market creation, InvestEU extension via ECF (more size needed), Critical Raw Materials strategy underway. Still MIA (2/8): Dedicated ETS revenues for cleantech manufacturing; more targeted Innovation Fund deployment. Overall: #Climate and #cleantech are central in EU #strategy, but delivery and up-scaling of public-private #finance instruments remains the execution challenge. Please read the article below, as this post-summary doesn't do it justice !!