Tech Live: We’re all doing something wrong with the climate

“I am going to be controversial. As founders in climate, we are doing something wrong.” So said Climate X founder Lukky Ahmed at EG’s first Tech Live event since 2019. Following on from Juliette Morgan, Gensler’s new head of ESG consultancy, who pulled no punches with her sobering keynote, Ahmed took to the stage for a panel session on the role of tech and innovation in future-proofing the urban environment alongside A/O PropTech’s Adam Schuit, 2150’s Rahul Parekh, Microsoft’s Linda Chandler and Space Group’s Rob Charlton. “I feel like the message and positioning is a problem,” said Ahmed. “Over the past few years, founders in the last-mile delivery services space managed to convince the world that this was our most important problem. People channelled billions of pounds of venture capital into this sector because everyone was convinced we needed a faster way to have our groceries delivered to us in urban areas. The climate agenda is real. It’s existential. It affects everything, everywhere on this planet. But for some reason it has not had the same resonance. It will come over time. But why is it taking so long?” Changing the narrative Speaking at the XCHG space at 22 Bishopsgate, EC2, Ahmed added that given the huge time pressures on tackling climate issues urgently, he can’t understand “what’s happened in the climate narrative from the founder perspective or the way investors are responding to the problem”. Responses to Ahmed’s thoughts and concerns were particularly interesting given the presence of two investors on the panel, A/O PropTech’s Schuit and 2150’S Parekh. “We have seen a big downturn in the markets but we have seen positive signs that we are actually continuing to see investment into climate tech and more entrepreneurs coming into the space, which is what we really need,” said Parekh. “Over time I think we will see more activity in an area that has been considered a less sexy space for investment.”  He added that because adoption of new technologies within the real estate sector has been slow compared with other markets, movement in the climate space is slower than many would like. But, he added, that is changing as increased visibility pushes the issue up the agenda. Part of that visibility will come from competition within the market, added A/O PropTech’s Schuit. “There are a whole host of various systems out there now and it’s a competitive market but I think it’s good that there are a lot of these solutions out there because we need them for deployment but also for visibility.” A different perspective Climate X’s Ahmed rounded off his thoughts on access to capital by tackling it from a different perspective. He highlighted that it isn’t just about the importance of who raises money for the sake of the planet but who raises money for the sake of diversity. “It’s difficult to raise if you don’t know how to approach a VC,” he said. “You have 1.1% of all funding raised last year going to female-founded companies. How is that right? It’s not just about specific companies attracting funding, it is about the distribution of that funding. And that’s another message that we, as climate founders, need to work on.”   To send feedback, e-mail emily.wright@eg.co.uk or tweet @EmilyW_9 or @EGPropertyNews In partnership with