Since the US presidential elections in November, the term “climate change” has been strangely absent from many climate tech conferences. Instead, startups and investors lead with energy security, lower costs and resilience in an effort to appeal to a broader base. Not so for at least one subset of committed investors.
Concern for the planet and climate change is the top motivator for investors assessing, tracking and reporting on their greenhouse gas emissions, according to a newly released survey by Project Frame, a collaborative program to help climate investors better assess the impact of their investments. More than half of fund managers surveyed chose climate concerns, up from 40% in 2023.
Tied for second place at about 15% of respondents each was pressure from LPs and financial interest.
“Venture investors, and especially those within the Project Frame community, are trying to find ways to dig in deeper,” said Keri Browder of Prime Coalition, which houses Project Frame. “They truly feel that using methodology and best practices for forward looking emissions assessment will ultimately lead to better investments.”
Assessing emissions
The Securities and Exchange Commission last week dropped its defense of a Biden-era climate disclosure rule that has been snarled in legal challenges. Still, most of the respondents publicly report their greenhouse gas emissions and use a methodology to estimate future emissions impact, a 20% increase over previous years.
Most investors and organizations said they plan to stay committed to their existing strategies, despite the policy uncertainty, the survey found. They are making some adjustments, though, including focusing more on regions with stable policies such as Europe, Canada and India, and increasing their focus on adaptation and resilience, which they believe will remain a priority.
2024 was the hottest year on record, and greenhouse gas emissions reached the highest annual levels ever recorded in the atmosphere.
The survey canvassed 41 members of Project Frame, including Antin Infrastructure Partners, Blue Earth Capital, Builders Fund, Desai Ventures and Green Artha Innovations. Azolla Ventures and Prime Coalition also participated.
