Adam Bergman

Attention all dairy lovers (yep, I see you out there, cheese lovers 🧀 & milk chuggers 🥛): I bet you haven't considered the methane (which is 80x more potent than CO2) that those food choices are pumping into the atmosphere. Methane is responsible for about half of the lifecycle emissions of an average dairy product - all because those dairy cows burp...a lot! Given the adverse impact of methane on climate (with methane emissions causing about a third of the warming we are experiencing today), it is time for the financial sector to focus on encouraging the food and agriculture industry to do more to reduce methane emissions. In the words of my colleagues, there's stuff we can do about it: 1) New solutions are emerging that can have a big effect on livestock methane 2) Measurement is also getting better 3) There is policy support available in many places; and 4) The industry is starting to work together to tackle this issue, such as through the EDF-supported Dairy Methane Action Alliance. So check out our new primer on livestock methane for investors (https://lnkd.in/eA9uhfpC), by Joshua Torres and Andrew Howell, which breaks down the state of play with livestock methane and offers up some key engagement questions investors and other finance providers can raise with food and ag companies to get the conversation started. Also see our blog introducing this work (https://lnkd.in/e4cqw6x3).

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Important perspective on #emissions from Highwood Emissions Management!

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Big week next week, we are often asked by LPs and start-ups alike, what will the impact of the election be on the #energytransition? Despite election uncertainty, the fundamentals driving #climate sector growth remain strong. In our latest piece, Energize Capital Managing Partner John Tough breaks down the #digital solutions behind the climate sector's resilience. What we're seeing: 📈 Private investment in climate tech has surged 71% since the IRA 🏭 Clean manufacturing investments are empowering communities across the country ⚡️ Grid modernization is a shared national priority 🌐 Digital solutions are stepping up to accelerate deployment and improving returns Climate investment has strengthened American manufacturing, provided jobs, and reinforced key infrastructure. Read more about why we believe the climate sector's momentum is here to stay ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/dQRFE_48

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Check out my recent post on why President Trump is the forcing function for us to solve the “Missing Middle” and catch the industrial Tsunami of onshoring coming to the US!

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The US emerged as the top climate-tech financing market in 2024, with $6.7 billion mobilized in the first half of the year. Most of this financing was for clean power companies — renewable energy equipment makers and project developers — as well as startups along the energy storage value chain. Climate-tech companies from mainland China raised $5.1 billion in the same period. Canada placed third with $1.8 billion. #climatetech #climatefinance #climateVC

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Climate Capital Guidebook: The Biden-Harris Administration is releasing a new Climate Capital Guidebook to provide a simple, comprehensive map of capital programs across the federal government that are available to climate-related start-ups, small- and medium-sized businesses, and their investors. While larger, institutionally-backed climate companies may have the resources to identify and access federal funding opportunities, smaller enterprises may face greater challenges in navigating these federal programs. https://lnkd.in/eJ3QV4Fw #climatechange #climatetech

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"(The) transition to net zero emissions... estimated cost.... Roughly $275 trillion investment in physical assets from 2021 to 2050, or approximately $9.2 trillion annually - cites a new report by King’s College, London. "In 2023, governments earned $74 billion through Emissions Trading Systems (ETS). Then, there are voluntary carbon markets that trade carbon credits, creating economic opportunities and pushing governments and corporations to invest in low carbon infrastructure and technologies" The challenge is huge, but so is the opportunity (over $1.2Tn / yr for banks). A once-in-lifetime chance to invest in sectors with gigantic positive externalities, which dwarf any negative outcomes they can create. https://lnkd.in/eumcQGwM

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🌍💡 Embracing Interoperability: The Evolution of Carbon Markets 💡🌍 The landscape of carbon markets is rapidly evolving, with a significant shift towards fungibility and interoperability. What does this mean? We (at the SoHo Global Climate Fund) spoke with leading climate fund manager, Charles Bedford of Carbon Growth Partners, to shed light on this important trend in the carbon markets. It's about creating seamless connections between compliance and voluntary markets, allowing for the exchange and recognition of carbon credits across borders and sectors. This trend marks a pivotal moment in our collective efforts towards combating climate change. By enabling carbon credits to be fungible and interoperable, we're fostering a more efficient and scalable approach to carbon pricing and emissions reduction strategies. Companies and organizations now have greater flexibility to participate in markets that align with their goals. #CarbonMarkets #ClimateAction #Fungibility #Interoperability #Sustainability #Innovation #GlobalImpact

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That feeling when you watch the macro forces that undergird your Industrial Transformation & Supply Chain Technology investment thesis at ⁦‪REFASHIOND Ventures: The Industrial Transformation Fund unfolding every single day: Escalating Geopolitical Tensions; The Climate Crisis & Severe Weather; Consumer Behavior & Demographics. At most venture capital firms, Industrial Transformation & Supply Chain Technology is a tiny, emerging “area of interest” . . . At REFASHIOND Ventures, it’s our entire world. Join us. #IndustrialTransformation #SupplyChain #Innovation #Technology #Startups #VentureCapital

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Four years ago, in the thick of the COVID pandemic, Rewiring America shared their #electrification handbook. We at Energize Capital had been investing at the intersection of renewables and electrification since our firm's inception back in 2016. Rewiring America's work crystallized the electrification of everything imperative in a way we hadn't seen before; communicating complicated concepts simply. It inspired our team at Energize to start sharing our own views and thesis on, you guessed it, Electrify Everything.   Fast forward to 2024, we are 5 years into researching and writing about how to "Electrify Everything." We can decarbonize, save people and businesses money, and make the industrial economy more efficient. Critically, electrifying faster with proven technologies like solar, energy efficient devices, batteries … has an outsized impact on the Earth's carbon stock now, not 30 years from now. We think enabling technologies that help us electrify faster can unlock many proven electrification technologies. In the process, they might make a lot revenue and profit. That is a good thing.   Every year, Energize shares the latest Electrify Everything trends we can't stop talking about. We also share 30 companies advancing electrification with digital platforms that we really admire. There are 100s if not 1000s of innovators developing hardware, deeptech, software, and tech-enabled services business models to electrify everything. We love it all. Come join the movement and #ElectrifyEverything. Read on below to learn about the Electrify Everything 2024: The Top 30 Software Innovators! https://lnkd.in/euMeUMZt

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US Carbon Market Principles: A Critical Take 🔍 The new principles for voluntary carbon markets by the US Administration have been well received. But beyond the applause, what do these guidelines really mean? Where do they shine and where do they fall short? Here’s my take: Why it matters: 💠 The largest corporate buyers are in the US. 💠 Fortune 500: $46.4 trillion market cap, with 65% US-based—significant clout for driving climate action. Where it exceeds expectations: ✅ "High-Integrity" Markets: Strong focus on transparency and accountability to combat greenwashing. ✅ Comprehensive Approach: Emphasizes the need for both avoidance and removals, highlighting the urgency of scaling nature-based solutions and fostering tech innovation. ✅ Robust Verification: Calls for stringent verification to ensure credits represent real emission reductions. ✅ Inclusivity and Equity: Involves local communities and indigenous groups, ensuring benefits for those most affected by climate change. Where it falls short: ❔ Economic Impact: Optimistic about job creation and innovation but lacks specifics on implementation. ❔ Detail Deficiency: Strong on principles, but needs more on enforcement and monitoring. ❔ Global Leadership: Positions the US as a leader but lacks emphasis on international collaboration and setting global standards. Overall, the guidelines are strong on integrity and inclusivity but need more detail on enforcement and global cooperation. I’ll be posting more on where we go from here tomorrow. 👉🏼 Follow my profile for part 2 and more posts on carbon markets and natural capital investing. Read the full fact sheet from The White House below: https://lnkd.in/ghKfRV4A #voluntarycarbonmarkets #naturalcapital #carboncredits

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To all #climatetech #founders and #funders in NYC and beyond, please join us on June 5th for an evening of #breakthrough #decarbonization #innovation at the ReGen Accelerator #DemoDay! 🎉 Get ready to be inspired by our cohort of #earlystage startups: ​ ▶ aich2 is engineering a novel #hydrogen ecosystem, built around Solid Hydrogen carriers. ​​ ▶ carbogenics produces sustainable #carbon adsorbents from difficult-to-recycle organic waste, including coffee cups and wastewater screenings ​​ ▶ TeamStack.ai is driving better performance by harnessing #AI, data, & the collective intelligence of teams. ​ ▶ Tesleon LLC uses compelling characters and #storytelling to instill compassion for communities and our planet in the next generation. ​ ▶ Tolam Earth is a trusted #marketplace for high-quality, high-impact carbon offsets. Don't miss out! Secure your spot below. Big thank you to Brown Rudnick LLP for hosting this event, our partners at ClimateHaven for their hard work and dedication during the entire program, and to our incredible network of #mentors and #facilitators, each of whom have dedicated time to working with these incredible founders this spring, including Jason Ambrose, Marina Rakhlin, Lauren Zujkowski, Stuart DeCew, Matt Puccini Andy Rooks, Nina Raab, and Bill Stephney. And of course Shai Tamary, Lars Korby and Sarah Cleveland, without whom we would not be able run such a #program. #innovation #sustainability #climateaction #accelerator

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#Engie Power company Engie announced that it has pre-ordered 5 million tons of nature-based carbon removals from climate finance company Catona Climate. According to the landmark 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate change mitigation study, scenarios that limit warming to 1.5°C include carbon dioxide removal methods scaling to billions of tons of removal annually over the coming decades. The report also noted, however, that while there are multiple existing solutions to capture and store CO2, most are early stage and currently limited in scale. https://lnkd.in/dh8Kmx_T

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Sharing views of my Partner. "Within the climate change investment ecosystem, much of the capital has gone to two ends of the spectrum: venture capital and infrastructure. Those investments are obviously impactful, but more of a developmental, long-term approach to solving climate change. We try to focus on where we can make an impact today. That means looking for companies already reducing emissions or saving energy." Read more from Stuart Barkoff, co-founder and managing partner GEF Capital Partners https://lnkd.in/dX2CMs35

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#Google Google announced today an agreement with Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology company Holocene for the delivery of 100,000 tons of carbon removal credits, with the deal marking the lowest-ever price on record for DAC-based removal, at $100 per ton. DAC technology, listed by the IEA as a key carbon removal option in the transition to a net-zero energy system, extracts CO2 directly from the atmosphere for use as a raw material or permanently removed when combined with storage. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), scenarios that limit warming to 1.5°C include carbon dioxide removal methods scaling to billions of tons of removal annually over the coming decades, with DAC positioned to potentially account for a significant portion of the total. https://lnkd.in/dxrrvExG

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"…if you look over a 10-year horizon, there's no question a shift toward renewables is happening; largely because it makes economic sense, not purely policy reasons." - Matthew Idema, Aurora Solar Despite market and political uncertainty, the Energize Capital NEXT #Climate #Software Summit made one thing clear: the #energytransition is not slowing down, and we have better tools than ever to make it happen. ✍️ Read our latest blog, Today in Climate: Insights from the Energize NEXT Climate Software Summit, here: https://lnkd.in/d_wMwsxw

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🚀 Calling all adopters of #proptech and #construction tech: real estate developers, builders, and owner-operators, and more! 🌟 Big News! I’m thrilled to announce our partnership with Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2), co-administered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, to accelerate cleantech adoption. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative bringing public and private industry together to drive the digitization and decarbonization of the built environment with a focus on the adoption of startup technologies by end customers. I couldn’t be more excited to collaborate closely with IN² and NREL’s incredible teams to build the industry’s first Adoption Playbook, and the impact this program will have to catalyze more sustainable innovation implementation to our built world. Led by Program Manager Sarah Derdowski, NREL's team is backed by world-class research and a history of running successful incubators. 💡 If you're a forward-thinking organization that is seeking to innovate your real estate footprint, apply today. Adopters can receive up to $250,000 in grant funding to pilot cutting-edge technologies, while startups have the chance to scale and engage with major corporations. This groundbreaking program offers incredible opportunities for both adopters and startups to drive sustainability and innovation—and we're kicking it off this month! 🌍 With our team at Overlay Build, we will design the curriculum in partnership with IN² for corporate adopters through their Adoption Playbook. The playbook will prioritize pain points, identify innovation areas, and form peer groups for implementation strategies. Overlay will also develop due diligence criteria, help to determine the top startups for potential pilots, and form internal innovation working committees that will drive change. Additionally, Overlay will build a change management strategy to ensure practical evaluation and implementation of pilot projects, helping companies with significant real estate ownership reduce construction inefficiencies, costs, and carbon footprints. 🔍This initiative addresses the "missing middle" in technology adoption of built environment solutions—let's bridge that gap together. For more information or to discuss how you can get involved, feel free to reach out to me directly. 👉 Join us in shaping the future of the built environment! Adopters, apply here today: https://lnkd.in/eCRHCXfm #Sustainability #Cleantech #Innovation #BuiltEnvironment #IN2 #OverlayCapital #DigitalTransformation #Decarbonization #ESG #NetZero

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We just published a new podcast episode of #InOurHands with Nigel Sizer, a globally recognized authority on ecology and development policy, and executive director at Preventing Pandemics at the Source Initiative. We discuss everyone's least favorite but most important topic: the connection between pandemics and climate change. Listen or read to learn more (spoiler: deforestation and forest trade are some of the reasons, and we need to fix this). https://lnkd.in/gsvi_RDW

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