Reflections from CTO Global Forum and VERGE 22: What we now have and what we still need

I just got back from attending the Cleantech Open Global Forum #CTOGlobalForum and the VERGE 22 conference which were held in conjunction in San Jose. It was my first big conference post-COVID, and it was definitely buzzing. I went to cheer on my mentees at Tycho Solutions who were one of the 6 finalists in the CTO Global Forum; to catch up with friends and former colleagues; and to get a broad view of some of the latest thinking on the #climatetech and #sustainability fronts. 

At Verge, there was an interesting mix of climate doomsaying, rah rah optimism, generic platitudes (mostly in the keynotes) and in-depth discussions about practical solutions (mostly in the breakout sessions). And in the CTO Global Forum, there were, as always, an astounding array of entrepreneurs and innovators with clever and novel solutions to problems ranging from the energy transition to waste management to clean water.

Below are a few reflections on positive momentum that we have now, and the gaps we still need to close.

• What we have now- Technology: numerous proven, economically viable technology solutions to decarbonize energy, water systems, agriculture, buildings, transportation, etc. 

  • What we need- Skilled humans: While there are still many frontiers on the tech side, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors like steel and aviation, the biggest gap is not technology– it’s people. There is already a labor shortage in general. But there is a huge gap in the skilled labor that will be needed to deploy, operate and maintain all these new technologies and system changes. A massive training and recruiting effort is going to be required to ensure we have enough people to do all the work. Not just scientists, software developers, policy wonks and entrepreneurs, but also electricians, contractors, O&M personnel, plumbers, sales reps, farmers and accountants. 

  • What we need- Friction removal: New solutions are coming on so fast it is extremely confusing for consumers, be they individual consumers or large corporations, to figure out what exactly to do, even if they have decided on a particular goal. Human behavior heavily weights what is simple and easy (parents don’t know their kids’ phone numbers anymore as they’re all programmed into their phones.) We have to make it a lot easier and simpler to do the right thing– whereas in most cases it takes a lot of incremental effort currently. I am in the midst of doing insulation and HVAC upgrades to my home and it is very painful, even in “progressive” San Francisco. Most people don’t have the time to deal with this kind of hassle. Making the better choice easier and ideally the default option is where we need to head.
    
    One quick example: at two different climate events recently, one conference offered the choice of a chicken or vegan meal, and the meals ended up being split about 50/50. At a different climate event, the default meal was vegan and if you wanted meat you needed to ask for an exception. Less than 1% of the meals were meat. People follow the path of least resistance, so now as the underlying technologies are maturing, the buying and using experience for the technologies has to get radically easier to get mainstream adoption.

• What we have now- Investment Influx. Lots of money is flowing into this sector, even as the overall economy wobbles. 

  • What we still need- Patient capital. The latest influx of investment dollars includes a higher proportion of the patient capital which is needed for many of the deeptech and infrastructure level investments that will take years and potentially decades to reach their full potential, but more is needed. 

  • What we still need- Systemic signals. The other thing that so many problems are screaming out for is a systemic signal to make the right economic and climate tradeoffs. In other words, a carbon price. While that is a fantasy in the current political environment in the U.S, the Pollyanna part of me still dreams of it coming to fruition some day. There are so many convoluted regulations, processes and workarounds that could be avoided if we had a systemic price on carbon. While there would be a lot of complexity in implementing a carbon price, it’s far less than all the strange contortions we have to go through without one.

• What we have now- IRA & CHIPS Acts: It’s game-changing to have the long-term policy commitments in the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS Act.  

  • What we still need- Specific policies & programs. While the acts are great, policymakers need to really sort out the devil in the details of turning these congressional acts into tangible policy at the Federal, state and local levels. One interesting example that came up in a session on modernizing the grid to support EVs was ensuring that some of the IRA incentives go to grid-level infrastructure investments that the utilities and ISOs need to make, rather than all of the incentives being end consumer-oriented.

• What we have now- General recognition of the problem. Most people now recognize climate change is a real crisis that is already affecting lives and livelihoods. While there is a core of climate deniers that continue to spread disinformation, a lot of folks who five or ten years ago were unsure about climate change now know that it is real. 

  • What we still need- Cease fear-based messaging. Trying to scare people into action just doesn’t work. Yes, there is a lot to be scared about. And there are cases where a young person who is fearful for their futures convinces their parents to start caring. But in general, gloom and doom messages lead to paralysis, when instead we need action. Even though I work in this arena and am well aware of the challenges ahead, I purposely now avoid stories that focus on the bad news because they cause me to shut down, when I need to act instead. That’s one reason I was annoyed on Earth Day when the Google Doodle showed satellite images contrasting glaciers, lakes, etc. 20 years ago vs. now. The stark and scary images just made me want to look away. A better choice IMHO would have been to highlight the good things that are happening, like families getting electricity for the first time via solar panels, or EV trucks reducing air pollution and asthma around depots and ports.

Net net, I left reenergized by all the passionate people making real-world breakthroughs in technology, policy, business and culture. People such as Felipe Gonzalez Rosas and Laura Gomez Bustamente at Tycho Solutions, Adrienne Pierce at New Sun Road, Kyle Garton at WeaveGrid, and Thomas Lee at derapi. We’ve got to take this momentum and keep going– not with fear, but with optimism and action.