“I think if you’re in a space that’s delivering energy, that’s moving people, feeding people, those customers will always be there—no matter what happens.”
09.27 A new wave of entrepreneurs are completely focused on bringing down the cost curve, and know they need to bring in capital, he says. “Last year $57 billion went into clean tech jobs, and that is so inspiring.”
One thing that could distract us is things that only tackle a small part of the problem, he adds. Instead, multiple solutions will become more common across industries like energy, transportation, and food. “These industries are so big, and we need to take every chance we can [to work out what’s going to work].”
09.20 Speed and scale is an action plan for tackling the climate crisis, says Panchadsaram. There’s a lot of optimism, he says, but notes how the plan to reduce carbon emissions by 59 billion tons a year is a tough goal to reach.
“Energy provides how we move, how we eat, and so the scale of the problem requires all of these accelerators,” he says.
09.15 Our first session opens with a discussion with Ryan Panchadsaram, who is an engineer and investor focused on solving systemic, societal challenges at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins.
09.10 Hello, and welcome back to ClimateTech day two! We’ve got a great lineup of speakers ahead of us today. I’m Rhiannon, a reporter at MIT Technology Review, and I’ll be covering this morning’s sessions with you up until lunch.
Like yesterday, we’re opening with a few words from James Temple, our senior climate change and energy editor.
Come back to this page for rolling updates throughout the day as we kick off the second day of ClimateTech, MIT Technology Review’s first ever conference dedicated to finding solutions for climate change.
Programming starts at 9am ET on Thursday October 13, and you can follow along here to find out what’s being said on stage.
Today we’ll be hearing from a wide range of different people working in this space, including top clean energy execs at Big Tech firms, climate scientists, government officials, startup founders, and of course, MIT Technology Review reporters and editors. Tune in at 9am!