It’s Time For Climate Capitalism.
(and how you can use The Periodic Table of Profitable Climate Solutions)
We are entering a new age of climate capitalism where fortunes will be made by a new wave of entrepreneurs that will be memorialised in the same way we memorialise John D. Rockefellers and Andrew Carnegie for their economic contribution to oil and steel that powered the industrial revolution.
Watch the Series Concept (3 mins)
I cover each of the 12 profitable climate solutions in the context of their combined contribution to a profitable transition to a low carbon economy.
Climate capitalism is the economic might behind the new economy, and Elon Musk is an early breakout example for his leadership in electric vehicle and mass transit innovation and he won’t be the last. It can be hard to fathom the shifts occurring in the commercial world right now as C suite corporate executives are looking at climate change as both a risk and an opportunity.
As I write this, there are a multitude of niche companies who are at various stages of deploying climate innovations from commercialisation, market launch through to growth. By referencing the Periodic Table of Profitable Climate Solutions, you can see where each niche fits into the overall climate capitalism framework.
Download Periodic Table for Profitable Climate Solutions (High Res PNG)
Tomorrow’s Low Carbon Corporate Titans
My role in this series is two fold; firstly to identify and help these early stage entities get seen in front of the investment and market audiences they wish to reach, and secondly; showcase where large organisations are leading the way.
“What started as a decarbonisation process thanks to better technology is about to become a process driven by costs and the economics.” - Alberto Gandolfi Head of European Utilities Research Goldman Sachs
Read Goldman Sachs article on the wind and solar boom.
The Low Carbon Boom Is Coming
This is no different to when the early 2000’s and the innovators were talking about how the people would buy and sell things over the internet, while mainstream society looked on quizzicly unable to imagine how this would play out. We are at a similar moment in time now as the fight for whether climate change is real is behind us in the rear vision mirror. The road to the low carbon horizon ahead of us is needs a map to navigate where to divest and where to invest because climate capitalism is disruptive and with any disruptive force there will be winners and losers.
The End for Today’s High Carbon Corporate Titans
There are some fantastic organisations such as the Carbon Tracker Institute who can help you understand who the potential losers will be. For example, here’s a report by the Carbon Tracker Institute that outlines which oil and gas companies are likely to fail to deliver an acceptable return in a 2 degree world. For anyone with a pension, this is useful information to have.
The Periodic Table of Profitable Climate Solutions
I am focussed on the opportunity side of the equation, by filming 12 episodes that feature both the climate solutions and the leaders who are driving them so that Investors transitioning from high carbon investments can learn what industry leaders are doing before making the transition.
The first 12 episodes will save half the planets remaining carbon budget from being consumed.
These 12 climate solutions of the periodic table represents a potential reduction in carbon emissions of over 450 gigatons. While that figure is hard to visualise, it represents over half the planets remaining carbon budget (see the Guardian carbon countdown clock for the latest here.) making the selection a pretty good place to start. Counting up every single solution, there is the potential to sequester over 1,000 gigatons of carbon emissions.
You’ll notice that the 12 selected are not all electric cars, solar power and wind farm technology and that’s deliberate… many profitable climate solutions require resources we already have access to.
Let’s look at the first 6 in a little more detail.
EP 1 “Tomorrow’s Women Entrepreneur’s”
Climate Solution Featured: Educating Girls
Educating girls make more money and contribute more to economic growth of the countries they are situated in. Women with more education have fewer and healthier children. It also builds their confidence and equips them to face the impacts of climate change.
How you can help: I am looking for nominations of organisation specialists and leaders that increase girls access to quality education aimed at their economic empowerment at an affordable price in developing countries (ie: Kenya, Jordan, India, Peru, Congo, Pakistan, Guatamela, Malawi, Bangladesh and Northern Uganda)
References
http://www.womenandgirlslead.org/
https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1869/USAID_LGL_FactSheet.pdf
EP 2 “Chilled Out”
Climate Solution Featured: Refrigerant Management
Refrigerant management is the replacement of the HFC gasses that keep air conditioners, chillers and refrigerators going, with more planet-friendly ones. While the Kigali Accord doesn’t get the same airtime as the Paris Climate Accord, it is just as important because of its specific targets and timetables. Just like the replacement of CFC’s saved the Ozone layer just in time (especially for kiwi’s like me!), the replacement of HFC’s will help all countries.
How you can help: I am looking for manufacturers who have successfully transitioned to climate friendly gasses like HFO-1234yf in both appliances, and car production.
References:
Nations sign landmark Kigali deal
US companies Honeywell and Chemours Co start making climate friendly refrigerants
EP 3 “Products Protecting Forests”
Profitable Climate Solution Featured: Tropical Forests
Extensive clearing of tropical forests can be reversed when the demand side for timber products is reduced. One of the biggest global demands on timber is for something few of us even care about and that’s rough sawn timber pallets. One company that does care, Range International, is leading the way in helping multi-nationals switch their supply to same cost recycled plastic pallets, that will reduce the need to chop down tropical forests to make the almost 6 billion new wooden pallets annually. Oh and as a bonus, the process pioneered by the New Zealand founder, takes a lot of pressure of plastic off our oceans.
How you can help: I am looking for additional nominations of global leaders leading the industry in commercial models that protect tropical forests.
EP 4 “Desert Farmers”
Profitable Climate Solution Featured: Afforestation
One of the leaders is desert farming is The Saraha Forest Project who are replanting the Saraha Dessert. They’re well on their way having already replanted an area the size of four football fields to produces vegetables and freshwater daily in the Aqaba desert. This is the beginning of a commercial enterprise that transforms deserts from being a barren liability into a productive arable asset, while also storing CO2 from the atmosphere into the vegetation on the newly planted land.
A second example is Bio Carbon Engineering who are able to deploy drones to plant up to 100,000 trees per day and do so in areas where humans are unable to reach or it’s too dangerous to reach. An example is a planting of mangroves (which are 10x better at carbon uptake) taking place shortly in Myanmar.
How you can help: I am looking for additional nominations of global leaders leading the industry in afforestation.
Reference: https://www.saharaforestproject.com/sfp-launched-new-facility-jordanian-desert/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/06/drones-plant-100000-trees-a-day/
EP 5 “Out of Thin Air”
Profitable Climate Solution Featured: Wind Turbines Onshore
An example is the six new onshore wind farms that are being built on the Fosen Peninsula, island of Hitra and in Snillfjord in Norway. The combined capacity of 1000 Megawatts of power coming from 278 wind turbines will power 170,000 Norwegian households or the equivalent of 750,000 UK households.
Once complete, this will make it the largest in Europe overtaking Scotlands onshore wind farm capacity by almost double. Construction has been underway for just over a year and will be complete by 2020. This sets a new renewable benchmark for countries to emulate.
How you can help: I am looking for an organisation with a large onshore wind turbine installation to be featured in this series.
Reference: https://www.statkraft.com/about-statkraft/Projects/norway/fosen/
EP 6 “Winning Rays”
Profitable Climate Solution Featured: Rooftop Solar
Solar City saved the Paris Agreement by preventing the build out of 400 new coal power plants. In this episode we visit India’s first solar city in Chandigarh and see the progress towards building out 100GW of solar power
How you can help: I am looking for an introduction at Solar City to join the next trip to Chandigarh to produce this episode.
Reference: http://www.ecoideaz.com/eco-news-india/chandigarh-become-indias-first-solar-city
EP 7 “Evaporated Waste”
Profitable Climate Solution Featured: Small Methane Digesters
Every dollar counts in hospitality and Eden Eco Solutions makes those dollars go even further by employing extremophile bacteria that converts organic waste on site through into water vapour to deliver a 20% bottom line cost savings for businesses generating 1–2 tonnes of waste a day.
References: http://edenecosolutions.com/waste/
How you can help: I am looking for organisations who bear significant costs to get rid of organic waste and have not yet installed methane digesters.
EP 8 “It’s Lit. London’s Opportunity.”
Profitable Climate Solution Featured: LED Lighting Commercial
Lightbulb moments are a daily occurrence at the UK’s fastest growing LED manufacturer Well Lit. While it’s obvious their LED bulbs are of the highest quality and the most interesting designs, what’s less obvious is why commercial operations use their bulbs above all others — downtime reduction.
If an airport or mall has to bring in a ladder or cherry picker to replace lightbulbs that’s downtime for that operation or expensive after hours maintenance. Well Lit bulbs last the distance and make for a highly profitable climate solution for them and their clients.
References: https://www.instagram.com/well_lit_led/
How you can help: I am looking for UK organisations for who lighting represents an ongoing cost both on the running and maintenance sides.
EP 9 “High Speed Economies in Asia”
Profitable Climate Solution Featured: High Speed Rail
China’s One Belt One Road transportation strategy is the remaking of Marco Polo’s Silk Road for the demands of the 21st century. Commercially, this high speed rail initiative is designed to both move people, goods and help Chinese companies go global. Politically, it is designed to give the government the kind of ‘soft power’ that diplomacy favours.
The Belt links China to Europe by way of Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Africa by both road and sea.
It is 11 times the size of the US Marshall Plan that rebuilt countries after World War Two and is the most transformative engineering effort in human history that has the potential to remake China’s exports capability. There’s even a children’s bedtime story about the plan.
How you can help: I am looking for someone involved in the delivery phase between China and Laos, and / or the East Coast Rail link from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Bharu.
EP 10 “Clean Eating”
Profitable Climate Solution Featured: Plant Rich Diet
‘Meat is delicious’ is the first response from many including New Zealand’s own Wellington Mayor, and I happen to agree. Al Gore also said in the Q & A of An Inconvenient Sequel he was struggling with going vegetarian too.
This episode looks at the changing habits of eating, what ‘eating clean’ is and the companies taking advantage of these shifting trends.
How you can help: I am looking for companies who are producing food for clean diets on an industrial scale.
EP 11 “Harvesting Bigger Profits”
Profitable Climate Solution Featured: Regenerative Agriculture
Advancing Eco Agriculture have been making farmers more money since 2006. Their system pairs the intelligence of nature with the innovations of man. At the heart of this is looking after the soil as much as the crops.
New Zealand pioneers of regenerative agriculture is being led by Greg and Rachel Hart on Mangarara Farm, a 610 ha slice of paradise in Central Hawke’s Bay.
How you can help: I am looking for large scale American farms who are transitioning to regenerative agriculture practices. Also looking for intro’s to PastureBird, GeneralMills.
EP 12 “Clean Cooking in Africa”
Profitable Climate Solution Featured: Clean Cook Stoves
Chef cooking shows are a staple of almost every country, and in Africa this is no different. What’s unique about Shamba Chef, is they’re introducing new recipes AND new cleaner cooking and fuel technology into the homes and TV screens of 3 million viewers weekly.
This puts Shamba Chef at the forefront of education Clean Cooking in Africa with solutions that are also quicker, safer and at half the cost of traditional methods.
How you can help: I am looking for additional companies who deliver clean cook solutions into African countries
Contact details
Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @ryan2dotzero
ryan at ryanjennings.net
Project Drawdown has supplied all of the CO2 reduction figures of which you can view here.
