The Time is Now: Bold Climate Action Cannot Wait

The 2022 Practitioners Gathering was named “The Time is Now”, and when it comes to the climate crisis, this name could not be more appropriate. As Ellen Dorsey rightfully proclaimed at the end of our conversation, “the time is now for Confluence to declare a climate emergency.”

The urgency of our current moment cannot be overstated. When we convened, I shared that if we continue to emit at our current rate, our carbon budget—the amount of CO_2, we can emit without reaching a change of 1.5°C—would expire in 7 years, 4 months,  and 12 days.

Bold climate action cannot wait and we need participation from every corner of society—government, private sector, civil society, and philanthropy. This problem is too big for anything less than a whole-of-society approach. In 2020, the global investment in climate technologies was about $650 billion—we need a total of at least $4.5 trillion of annual investment in climate transition technologies for the 1.5°C scenario.

The Confluence community already understands the importance of aligning capital with values of sustainability, equity, and justice. But now, it’s time to expand and intensify this effort. To accelerate the change we need, holders of capital need to fully align with the defining crisis of this generation. That’s why last year, I co-founded Galvanize Climate Solutions with my good friend Katie Hall. Galvanize aims to identify and scale climate solutions that meaningfully contribute to global decarbonization goals. We believe you can use the best of capitalism—innovation, entrepreneurship, competition—in service of a higher public purpose.

There’s an old saying in investing: “strategy is easy, execution is hard.” We have spent decades focused on strategy but we are now transitioning to the execution phase. This will be an uphill battle but I believe we will triumph, because I will always bet on the ingenuity, strength, and resilience of the human spirit.

I was heartened by the energy and enthusiasm I heard at the Gathering. This is a community that has a real ability to help shape a better future for generations to come. The future doesn’t need to be one of more prolonged and severe mega-droughts, more frequent and devastating wildfires, and community-destroying storms and floods.

We can still build a sustainable, equitable world free from the unimaginable human suffering the climate crisis threatens, but only if we do it together. The time is now.

- Tom Steyer, Co-Executive Chair, Galvanize Climate Solutions