Climate Tech Break: Understanding Emissions Scopes

I’m Brad Carl with Silverline – a leading PR agency focused on the exciting developments in decarbonization and sustainability.

The time is now for clean energy and bold solutions -- and this is your Climate Tech Break.

As we enter a bear market, there are signs of all sectors slowing down, but climate tech remains white hot and full of momentum. As a global community we have the fundamental and existential challenge of limiting global warming to 1.5C and slow the rise of CO2 before mid-century in order to save humanity.

It sounds like a big task? Yes, but one we can tackle with investment in setting up new infrastructure and modifying the legacy systems. The EPA Scopes have created a framework for a path forward, and investors are following the lead. Investment areas are concentrated, for now, on Scopes 1 and 2. These scopes cover greenhouse gases (ghgs) from sources owned or controlled by a federal agency to ghgs resulting from generation of electricity, heat or steam purchased by a federal agency. Scope 3 is tackling ghgs from sources not owned or directly controlled by a federal agency but related to activities. This means transportation, business air travel, commuting, contracted solid waste and wastewater are covered.

For most investors in private equity and venture capital, opportunities in climate tech addressing Scopes 1 and 2 are a current focus, but many are looking ahead to addressing Scope 3. Many of these climate tech companies are creating tip of the spear low or zero carbon solutions that will help us reach that mid-century target for keeping below 2C. According to the Business Council on Sustainable Energy in its 2021 Factbook, the U.S. energy transition is being led by investments in renewables, electrified heat and transportation followed by upticks in hydrogen and energy storage.

Corporate off-takers are investing as well. According to the Factbook, there is a significant rise in solar - by brands we all know including - Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and many other market movers. Investing in a sustainable enterprise and in technologies that move the transition forward is part of the stewardship tied to ESG impact. With stakeholders demanding action and transparency, we are closely following the SEC regulation of external disclosures on off-taking and carbon reduction. We will cover this in a future ESG segment as the SEC news evolves.

From Silverline Studios, I’m Brad Carl – power through the week.