Clean Tech Policy is an Everything Policy

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The climate sector is steering into a new, unprecedented era of growth. Do we have the vision to make it count?

If the evidence of Davos 2023 and the US’s Inflation Reduction Act are anything to measure by, Cleantech is in a completely different state of play now.

After decades of head-in-the-sand thinking, global governmental policy and corporate ambitions are finally converging around the imperatives to mitigate climate change and to draw down the levers on humanity’s global impact.

Governments are recognizing the need to create frameworks that incentivize the development, adoption, and scaling of Cleantech solutions. Such policies are being implemented in both the public and private sectors. Public sector initiatives at multiple levels of government include R&D investments, tax credits, smart infrastructure incentives, renewable energy mandates, and more. Private sector initiatives range from individual to corporate incentives targeting sustainability investments, zero-emission vehicle production, energy efficiency, carbon capture, and more.

By unlocking a whole new world of possibilities, Cleantech policy is becoming more than an energy policy, it is becoming an Everything Policy. It is at the nexus of technological progress and societal enlightenment. It can drive innovation, productivity, and economic growth — all while reducing the risks associated with climate change.

But the full realization of Cleantech’s potential can only be achieved by ensuring a long-term strategy and holistic approach to our current and future efforts. 

We’re not there yet.

The tech that tells us to buy more milk without having to open the fridge is still more enticing than the ones that cut our energy consumption by three quarters. 

That’s the problem in a nutshell. A frivolous bit of the Internet of Things has more curb appeal than the stuff that aims to keep the glaciers from crashing into our shores.

There’s never been a more auspicious time to be in Cleantech. The momentum is growing behind us. But we’ve yet to capture the imagination of the world the way other sparkly disruptors have. We need to change that. 

We must show the boldness that this moment demands and reach for goals we’ve only dreamt of until now. And we need to share that dream with the world in a way that makes the world demand to be a part of it.

We need to do more than coast on the current inertia. We need to catch the wave and ride it into a new era, where a Cleantech of Things is fused into the very DNA of the world.

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