MCJ Climate Voices

If you’re like us, you spend a lot of time thinking about the climate capital stack. According to theIEA, the world needs to be investing $4 trillion per year in clean energy by 2030 to be on track for a new zero-energy system by 2050. Where’s that capital going to come from? As MCJ readers, you probably have a natural assumption that it’ll be some private investments with government incentives and backing that will fill that gap. But do you know what private investments need to thrive?

The US has myriad clean energy projects planned, with over 2,000 gigawatts of proposed wind, solar, and battery projects proposed. These projects in the pipeline provide enough power to achieve 80% carbon-free electricity in the US by 2030. There’s only one catch: the majority of these projects won’t get built. Poor due diligence, slow transmission construction, high interconnection costs, and long wait times are major blockers.

Energy and water form a fundamental nexus in our modern world. These resources are inextricably connected to economic development, food production, and environmental sustainability. This intricate relationship, that could be compared to some symbiotic relationships, hinges on a delicate balance between consumption and production of both water and energy. The energy sector guzzles water to generate electricity derived from fossil fuels and renewable energy.

Ask an environmentalist about the worst foods for the planet and they’ll probably list beef and almond milk as a starting point. But there’s another ‘problem crop’ in the food industry, and it feeds 3.5 billion people daily. It’s rice. Perhaps because it is primarily grown in developing countries, rice has flown under the sustainability radar.

In a recent letter to our LPs—the investors in MCJ's venture funds—we shared our thoughts on the upcoming election. Notably, it feels to us that the clean energy and climate movement seems less mobilized around this election cycle than it was in 2020, prompting us to investigate what’s at stake. To delve deeper into this topic, we recently had Brandon Hurlbut from Boundary Stone on our podcast (listen here) and invited him back to share his insights.

Before you read this article, try a quick experiment. Ask someone—a colleague in the office, the person on your next call, or even just yourself—what percentage of philanthropic giving goes to tackling climate change? Actually, let’s broaden that out.

Let’s start with the terrifying, stupefying basics: the leading source of climate emissions per household in the developing world, causing more death and disease from household air pollution than tuberculosis, malaria, and AIDS combined, and one of the biggest drivers of the deforestation ripping the lungs out of our planet is…. making dinner. Every day more than two billion people suffer through toxic smoke from fires of wood, charcoal, or even dung in their homes.

The mighty community of climate tech founders, investors, leaders, and more recently converged for the second annual San Francisco Climate Week. It was a marathon of wall-to-wall events covering everything from FOAK financing and the future of AI, to carbon markets, communications, and circularity. Among several co-hosted events with our portfolio, the flagship MCJ feature was a live podcast recording and deep dive into climate policy and innovation.

The MARVEL micro-reactor from Idaho National Lab (INL) is about to make history, and most people have never heard of it. What’s so special about this reactor? MARVEL will be the first new advanced (non-water-based) reactor built in the US in decades. As of October 2023, it became the first reactor ever to be authorized by the DOE. Construction will be completed this year, and it may well mark the dawn of the Second Atomic Age. Why is MARVEL helpful?

It’s no secret 2023 was an annus horribilis for the carbon credit market. The sector was battered by high-profile accusations of over-crediting (projects overstating their environmental impact), implementation failures and misleading claims. Many people lost confidence in the quality and rigor of the carbon credits they were buying, leading the voluntary carbon markets (VCM) to shrink for the first time in seven years. Yet 2024 is shaping up to be a year of redemption for carbon markets.