TechCrunch ended its one-day event called TC Sessions: Climate 2022 that took place on June 14th. It is the media’s first event dedicated to the climate crisis and gives a tribune to leading scientists, entrepreneurs, and VCs to examine the role of tech and startups in mitigating and adapting to climate change.
This year the sessions featured Bill Gates, Breakthrough Energy; EPA administrator Carol Browner; Impossible Foods founder Pat Brown; Berkeley Lab’s director of Climate & Ecosystem Sciences; Lime CEO Wayne Ting. These names are some of the investors, founders, scientists and engineers that are building the next generation of climate startups.
Relevant: Bill Gates Fund To Invest $15 Billion In Direct Air Capture And Green Hydrogen
The assessment of Bill Gates of the climate crisis and solutions was one of the most valuable contributions to this year’s event. He compared the threat of climate change to the Covid-19 pandemic and shared that the changes required to avert the climate disaster are much larger in scale and scope than the steps needed to address an imminent pandemic with urgency.
Gates expressed his thoughts on the global economy saying that economic conditions are currently “changing probably as rapidly as I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.” That brings uncertainty around how and where capital can be deployed to make the kind of drastic, unprecedented changes in key industries like manufacturing to start decarbonizing.
Relevant: HSBC Invests $100 mln In Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Catalyst Fund
During the session, Bill Gates also answered a question about where he thinks the biggest innovations still need to be made in terms of making progress to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. He reiterated the focus on mitigation made affordable, at scale, where it would have the biggest impact, including for regions like Africa.
Climate change mitigation is a hot topic for key industries and the entire investment world. Hearing from investors, innovators and industry veterans is valuable for the world to take on the right direction that would provide the desired outcome.
