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Climate change is the biggest problem of our time. I wish there were more startups focused on solving it - there are so many opportunities to make money here wh

by cryptoz 11y ago

Climate change is the biggest problem of our time. I wish there were more startups focused on solving it - there are so many opportunities to make money here while improving the world at a global scale. Mitigating the effects of climate change for businesses could easily be worth $1T+. More VCs should pay attention to these opportunities, and more startup founders should enter this space.

deleted 11y ago
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- cryptoz 11y ago
  Yes, governments will pay a lot. The US Department of Defense considers climate change to be an urgent national security issue. [1] But also, agribusiness like Monsanto will pay - they just bought Climate Corp for $1B+ a couple years ago to improve weather and climate predictions for crop outputs. The primary customers are probably insurance companies I think. There's a lot of money to be saved by predicting and avoiding catastrophes through better planning. A catastrophe might be as simple as a 1deg C temperature difference over a farm during a month - or a hurricane, or a drought, etc. [1]: http://www.acq.osd.mil/ie/download/CCARprint_wForeword_c.pdf http://www.acq.osd.mil/ie/download/CCARprint_wForeword_c.pdf
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
    - cryptoz 11y ago
      > So let me get this straight ... selling climate control stuff to the government No, you got it wrong. Please read my comment again and recognize that I think most profits would come from a variety of different private sectors, specifically agribusiness and insurance. > nobody has thought of On the contrary, there are many startups in this space. I even mentioned some by name. I am making a call for more to enter the space and join the efforts to reduce the effects of climate change, help large enterprises and governments adapt, and make lots of money while doing so.
    - mturmon 11y ago
      This is both rude and uninformed, a poor combination for HN. Think about your tone. Try to engage fruitfully with people.
- SimpleXYZ 11y ago
  It doesn't necessarily have to be a "block out the sun" type of project. There are other opportunities, like energy. Surely someone can take a bite out of a 100+ trillion dollar industry in a profitable and green way.
  - mturmon 11y ago
    Nest could be seen in this light. In general: Better use of information to lower energy consumption.
mturmon 11y ago
Here is a proof of your concept. The Climate Corporation (https://www.climate.com https://www.climate.com) is a SF based company founded in 2006 by two ex-Googlers. Its purpose is to help agriculture adapt to climate change. It was acquired by Monsanto in 2013 for $1.1B. [ETA: I had a feeling you knew this, and indeed while I was writing, you captured this info below as well. Hope your project is going well.]
- scarmig 11y ago
  Another proof of concept: Opower (http://opower.com/careers http://opower.com/careers) is a DC- and SF-based company. It uses behavioral science to drive increases in energy efficiency among consumers, a competency it sells to utilities who use it to meet government EE regulations.
  - jeromeflipo 11y ago
    This is mainly marketing, to help utilities improve their reputation (according to Opower's employees I've met this year).
cryoshon 11y ago
Make a startup that cuts human agricultural and industrial production and consumption by 50%, without hurting peoples consumption-insane lifestyle. Alternatively, make a startup that kills a sizeable fraction of people on earth-- which fraction is yours to pick, just make sure there's lower consumption of resources afterward. Alternatively, make a startup that plans to relocate/revamp agriculture and industrial production into negative emissions processes while being cheaper than any of the current positive emissions processes. This isn't as far fetched as it seems on the longest term, but in the term that we need it, it's going to be tough. We're already living in a climate that is pushed past where it "should" be.

by cryptoz 11y ago

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

cryptoz 11y ago
Yes, governments will pay a lot. The US Department of Defense considers climate change to be an urgent national security issue. [1] But also, agribusiness like Monsanto will pay - they just bought Climate Corp for $1B+ a couple years ago to improve weather and climate predictions for crop outputs. The primary customers are probably insurance companies I think. There's a lot of money to be saved by predicting and avoiding catastrophes through better planning. A catastrophe might be as simple as a 1deg C temperature difference over a farm during a month - or a hurricane, or a drought, etc. [1]: http://www.acq.osd.mil/ie/download/CCARprint_wForeword_c.pdf http://www.acq.osd.mil/ie/download/CCARprint_wForeword_c.pdf
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
  - cryptoz 11y ago
    > So let me get this straight ... selling climate control stuff to the government No, you got it wrong. Please read my comment again and recognize that I think most profits would come from a variety of different private sectors, specifically agribusiness and insurance. > nobody has thought of On the contrary, there are many startups in this space. I even mentioned some by name. I am making a call for more to enter the space and join the efforts to reduce the effects of climate change, help large enterprises and governments adapt, and make lots of money while doing so.
  - mturmon 11y ago
    This is both rude and uninformed, a poor combination for HN. Think about your tone. Try to engage fruitfully with people.
SimpleXYZ 11y ago
It doesn't necessarily have to be a "block out the sun" type of project. There are other opportunities, like energy. Surely someone can take a bite out of a 100+ trillion dollar industry in a profitable and green way.
- mturmon 11y ago
  Nest could be seen in this light. In general: Better use of information to lower energy consumption.

mturmon 11y ago

Here is a proof of your concept. The Climate Corporation (https://www.climate.com https://www.climate.com) is a SF based company founded in 2006 by two ex-Googlers. Its purpose is to help agriculture adapt to climate change. It was acquired by Monsanto in 2013 for $1.1B. [ETA: I had a feeling you knew this, and indeed while I was writing, you captured this info below as well. Hope your project is going well.]

scarmig 11y ago
Another proof of concept: Opower (http://opower.com/careers http://opower.com/careers) is a DC- and SF-based company. It uses behavioral science to drive increases in energy efficiency among consumers, a competency it sells to utilities who use it to meet government EE regulations.
- jeromeflipo 11y ago
  This is mainly marketing, to help utilities improve their reputation (according to Opower's employees I've met this year).

cryoshon 11y ago

Make a startup that cuts human agricultural and industrial production and consumption by 50%, without hurting peoples consumption-insane lifestyle. Alternatively, make a startup that kills a sizeable fraction of people on earth-- which fraction is yours to pick, just make sure there's lower consumption of resources afterward. Alternatively, make a startup that plans to relocate/revamp agriculture and industrial production into negative emissions processes while being cheaper than any of the current positive emissions processes. This isn't as far fetched as it seems on the longest term, but in the term that we need it, it's going to be tough. We're already living in a climate that is pushed past where it "should" be.