What are ‘Climate Solutions’?

The Collider, Asheville, NC - May 2024

You’ll notice that under the “The Collider” logo sits the tagline, “Market-Driven Climate Solutions.” This is, in fact, what we at The Collider are all about.

Now, “market-driven climate solutions” almost sounds like a phrase that should theoretically make sense. It may even cause some people to nod appreciatively.

But time after time, even those who have some understanding of what we’re about will come back to us and say, “So, what exactly does that mean?”

It’s a great question and one we hope to answer in this post.

What are climate solutions?

First, a climate solution is anything—whether a product, service, consult, or something else—that helps clients solve climate-related problems. Aside from being extremely general (which it is), this definition may satisfy some people, but maybe not others.

Digging a little deeper, some may ask: “Are ‘climate-related problems’ the same as ‘the problems of climate change’? Isn’t climate change an enormous problem to tackle? Are you guys really solving climate change?”

In short: No, we are not solving climate change itself.

Think of “climate-related problems” as the set of risks and opportunities that are posed to literally everyone and everything as a result of climate change. To different people, these risks and opportunities can take different forms. Climate solutions, then, are their corresponding set of solutions.

Another way to think of it is this: Climate solutions are products and services that help people treat the symptoms of climate change they’re impacted by.

The fact that our mission is not targeted directly at climate change is just the tip of the iceberg. The beauty of climate solutions is that, at the same time that they alleviate climate change impacts, they usually happen to combat the root causes of climate change anyway.

Why market-driven?

The “market-driven” adjective comes into play when we begin focusing on why anyone would buy climate solutions.

At The Collider, we believe that market forces will inevitably drive the demand for climate solutions due to the ubiquitous nature of climate effects and the immediate, tangible risks they pose. The fact that no one is immune from climate change bodes well for the climate solutions sector, which, though nascent, is set to be an incredibly useful service industry as businesses, government, academia, and nonprofit alike adjust to the new climate paradigm.

Why do we believe this? What makes us so confident that climate change is setting new boundaries and goals for the connected world? Let’s go through some brief examples to help us visualize the risks and opportunities. There exist:

• Physical damage risks, as with climate-induced severe storms like Katrina and Sandy that damage tens (even hundreds) of billions of dollars of our cities.

• Natural resource risks, as when droughts drive shortages and drive up prices along the supply chain, hurting the coffee industry and coffee drinkers’ wallets alike.

• Financial asset risk, as when an enormous portion of the world’s investments are invested in climate-impacted assets like fossil fuels. (To millennials: Have you ever considered that your pension funds are so heavily invested in fossil fuels that climate change threatens your retirement plans?)

• Branding risks, where failing to take a stance on climate change can hurt your reputation in the professional world.

Climate change also presents many opportunities for all people to build off of—climate solutions can also help you exploit these favorable circumstances. There exist:

• Energy efficiency opportunities, as when switching to renewable electricity generation or energy-efficient appliances shows up positively on the checkbook.

• Branding opportunities, mirroring branding risks, wherein positioning yourself as a climate action-taker can actually provide reputational benefits.

• Innovation opportunities, wherein those who can help address pressing climate needs in new ways stand to become society’s leading innovators.

A lot of our modern-day economy is all about mitigating risk and maximizing opportunity. Everyone loves value generation, which is exactly what The Collider is about. Who, then, wouldn’t want to learn about market-driven climate solutions?

Differentiating climate services

There exists a boatload of literature on “climate services,” which is so similar in wording to “climate solutions” that you may think they’re the same thing.

They’re related, but not quite the same. Let’s try to clear it up.

The way we’ve defined “climate solutions” is that “solutions” are very broad. Climate services, on the other hand, refer to a specific subset of climate solutions, namely, scientific data and information that can help a person or organization make climate-related decisions.

More formally, the Global Framework for Climate Services, an international partnership of government and organizations, defines climate services to be “climate information in a way that assists decision making by individuals and organizations.”

Essentially, climate solutions can be anything from energy efficiency advice, to solar panel financing and installations, to climate risk management consultants, to environmental regulation compliance firms, to name just a few examples.

Climate services basically refers to big climate data, and is included within climate solutions. Here at The Collider, we’re committed to promoting both and encouraging partnerships between the two.

What the Heck is Climate Tech?

The Collider, Asheville, NC - May 2024

You may have heard us talking a lot about climate tech. But what the heck is it?

Climate tech is a rapidly emerging industry in which data-driven products are developed to enable communities, companies, and governments to understand their risk and exposure to the effects of climate change and take action to adapt and become resilient.

Climate tech’s starting point is the clear-eyed recognition that climate change has already begun and there is not a moment to lose in preparing our civilization for its impacts. Some climate tech solutions are industry-specific like those for agriculture, insurance, and health. Others span multiple industries and sectors like those for supply chain or asset management. Solutions come in many forms including software-as-a-service (SaaS), application programming interfaces (API), internet-of-things (IoT), and physical satellites and sensors.

What Makes a Company Climate Tech?

Climate tech companies have one or more of these characteristics:

• Integration of weather and climate data — whether it’s historical, near-real-time, climate models, or some combination — to produce actionable intelligence.

• Contribution to existing weather and climate datasets.

• Generation and distribution of scientifically sound new weather and climate data and information.

Note that clean energy — like solar, wind, and biofuel — startups do not qualify as climate tech under this definition.

An Example of a Climate-Tech Startup

One example of a climate-tech startup is The Climate Service. Their software blends climatic and econometric models to enable corporations and their investors to understand, in financial terms, company-specific exposure to climate risks such as sea level rise, wildfires, and flooding.

Think your solution or startup might fall under climate tech? Use our infographic to find out.