How India’s Climate Tech Startups Are Tackling Climate Change

Engineering mistakes in sectors such as mobility and transportation, agriculture, and housing, to name a few, have historically contributed to the climate crisis. Mobility and transportation, agriculture, and housing are just a few examples. All of these sectors are now working hard under the climate tech umbrella to address the challenges they pose to capital (a $35 Tn threat to India alone) and the planet.

For investors, it’s a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity, and the timing couldn’t be better to cash in on this megahit. The regulatory tailwinds are pushing harder than ever before, with the recent single-use plastic ban only scratching the surface. Consumer awareness and behaviour in response to climate change are pressuring businesses to act in the best interests of the planet.  Climate tech is also attracting talent. Gone are the days when big tech was the most exciting opportunity for top graduates. Climate tech is emerging as one of the most significant talent magnets.

How Makes Climate Tech Different From Cleantech?

To those who are concerned about the sector’s future because of apparent similarities with cleantech 1.0, climate tech and cleantech have many significant differences. Aside from that, history demonstrates that the failure of the first wave of technology is not an indicator of how the second wave will fare. The dot-com bubble did pop, but the companies and investors who were willing to ride the wave are now thriving beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. 

In terms of the distinctions between cleantech and climate tech, technological advances since the cleantech wave have profound implications for the industry’s future. Cleantech 1.0 had one major flaw — it was not cost-competitive with the fossil fuel industry. Solar and wind energy are now not only cost-competitive but, in some cases, cost-effective, thanks largely to technological advances over the last decade. 

Climate Tech Bound For Plateau In Two Years

Following the success of solar energy and the growth of the electric vehicle industry, other sectors of climate technology are now poised to achieve scale in the coming decade. Biotech inputs in agriculture, climate resilient supply chain and logistics, and Li-Battery storage are among the sectors expected to reach the plateau. 

The plateau refers to a stage in which market share grows as a result of lower risks and widespread adoption of technology. This is likely to happen in the next two years. Climate technology has reached a level of maturity, speed, and agility that allows it to support profitability in ways that cleantech did not live long enough to see.

Recent heatwaves, flash floods, wildfires, and the destruction of several fruit harvests emphasise the need to shift away from business-as-usual for the sake of development.  No amount of regulations or policies can move the needle in favour of a climate-positive development process if we lack the technology to sustain it. This is where climate tech comes in. Climate technologies are not only long-term cost-effective but also price-inelastic in the aftermath of global geopolitical turmoil. 

We have seen how technology has enabled us to compute mathematical proofs that have the potential to change the way we see the world, see how stars are created, power self-driving cars, create high-speed internet, and much more. 

Climate technology has the same potential to change the course of a world on its way to extinction.