Climate Capital Network™ is the global market for climate change investments. We connect investors, companies, donors, experts and governments through our exclusive international network, and accelerate capital flow tackling climate change with our consulting, fundraising and intelligence services.

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About > Market

Our Market - the trillion-dollar climate change economy*

Climate change is offering a new unprecedented economic opportunity that will usher in the “Third Industrial Revolution”.

Over the past year, Climate Capital Network has conducted research, based on several key economic trends, political factors, and industry research reports, that gives us a good indication of the scale and size of this "Third Industrial Revolution". According to us, this new economic movement is valued at several trillions of dollars in the next few years*. (Please see below for some indicators and reports used).

Climate change is affecting all economic sectors (i.e. energy, agriculture, transportation, construction, manufacturing etc...). And in order to successfully lead this 'Third Industrial Revolution' we will have to massively increase capital flow in those sectors.

Some have dubbed this the 'Clean Tech' sector, or 'Low-carbon economy'. However, we do not believe these terms accurately reflect and encompass the whole scope and full scale of this new economic paradigm. Therefore, we have coined this new economy, the "Climate Change Economy"; which consists of any products/services/technologies reducing or compensating greenhouse gases (e.g. renewable energy, clean technology, energy efficiency, CCS, forestation, etc…) that help grow the global economy in a more sustainable way.

Climate Change Economy Matrix of the most affected industries:
 

*Our research (2007-2008) has been based on the following reports and these key political, industrial, scientific and economical factors: 

• Rising Energy Demand - Spending on global supply infrastructure will exceed $15 trillion through 2030 according to the International Energy Agency.
  
• Global atmospheric CO2 concentration - The UN International Panel on Climate Change report that was released during Bali in 2007 showed that we are maybe already at the tipping point of atmospheric CO2 concentration.
• Kyoto Protocol – Last year, a new framework has been agreed during COP-13 in Bali, laying the foundations for a post-Kyoto beyond 2012. This will encourage further investments in tackling climate change and carbon compliance markets.
• Stern Review - The Stern Review suggests committing 1% of GDP ($350-480billion/year) to cut carbon emissions.
• UNEP - UNEP's Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative report last year underlined how capital is mobilizing towards these low carbon sectors, with total transactions surpassing the $100 billion milestone in 2006 and reaching nearly $160 billion in 2007
• UNFCCC - The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change says that to mitigate climate change, we would need, until 2030, ($200billion/year) or 0.3% of global GDP.
• Carbon trading schemes - The European Union will soon launch Phase II of its emissions trading system in 2008. Globally, and according to Point Carbon, the market has tripled to more than $60B in the past year.
• Voluntary carbon markets – Voluntary carbon offsets have exploded around the world in 2006-2007. According to Katoomba, this market grew 200% last year and is currently worth over $100M. It will be worth more than $1 trillion within a decade according to the New York Times.
• Energy productivity/efficiency -The McKinsey Global Institute has indicated that we must invest $170 billion/year until 2020, to reduce global energy demand by half.
• Renewable energy - According to Ernst & Young global investment in renewable energy could reach US$750bn within the next ten years. US bank Morgan Stanley estimates the US market for clean energy sources—like wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels—could top $1 trillion by 2030.
• Institutional investors – Investors are more and more concerned about the effects of climate change on investment decision-making. This is why the Carbon Disclosure Project, an organization representing over $41 trillion in assets, is asking for more action on climate change and the full disclosure of carbon emissions by all FT500 companies.
• Next US President – All US presidential candidates (Obama, Clinton & McCain) have a proactive climate change policy; hinting at joining post-Kyoto negotiations and forming a national carbon cap-and-trade scheme that would be worth $150 Billion by 2012.
• Consumers – More and more consumers are becoming carbon-conscious. This has led to a dramatic increase in purchases of low-carbon goods, which was worth £4.1B in the UK alone in 2006 according to the Co-operative Bank.
• Clean technology – The technologies available are becoming more and more prevalent and market-competitive. According to New Energy Finance, investors poured more than $150B in 2007 in cleantech.