Climate Fintech: A new class of products and services for consumers to support the clean energy transition

Is there a particular field where you see a lot of activity or room for growth?

There is a ton to be excited about in this space. From the retail banking side, it's clear that there are a lot of "sustainable consumer solutions" being developed. These include spending tracking applications like eCountabl which help consumers monitor the impact of their daily expenditures, solutions like Climate Savers which give consumers rewards for shopping with green companies, offsetting cards like this one from Aspiration, as well as monthly subscription offsetting services like Wren. There are tons of digital wallet and green banking solutions popping up as well, such as Atmos and Tomorrow.

How important do you think it is to get regular Americans engaged with Climate Fintech?  

Crucial! The US is already home to powerhouse innovation hubs, massive capital resources, and a lion's share of Fintech success – so if the narrative can change around climate there is huge potential. You are seeing this shift take form a little bit more every day now; it's really exciting. The policy changes we see from Biden help set the tone, but as we know, Americans don't like to be told what to do. A more intricate incentive structure will help with mass adoption, fueled by the simple superior economics that net-zero behavior can actually be cheaper, and investing in these solutions can actually be lucrative. More and more people are realizing this every day. Younger people play a crucial piece of this puzzle, too. I think there is the potential to see a decarbonization renaissance in the US and abroad over the next couple years.

Do you see any international trends that you think will soon become more relevant in the United States?

I think the net-zero commitments made by large corporations in Europe (e.g. Total, BP) will start to become a commonplace occurrence in the states. A great example is GM whose renewed commitment to electric vehicles is a remarkable departure from their lawsuit against California emissions standards less than a year ago. While the electrification of their fleet is a great goal, carbon credit and offsetting these operations demands innovative solutions. The obsession with carbon accounting using the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) or other methods will become omnipresent, creating new emissions marketplaces (right now we just have one in CA) and digital solutions to facilitate these needs will be a multi-billion dollar business. A good example is Silviaterra, providing offsetting services for Microsoft.

What comes next for Climate Fintech?

We hope that these types of digital financial technologies become more and more common, even normalized in everyday life. Just imagine if 80% of all credit cards included a carbon offsetting feature, or if 80% of all tech companies were net-zero by 2030. Mass adoption can have a real impact.

For us at New Energy Nexus, we’re actually launching a Global Climate Fintech Accelerator program this year, specifically designed to nurture these innovations and integrate them into the financial system. If you would like to get involved as a startup, corporate, or investor, please feel free to reach out!