Good Morning
What we’re reading this week:
ESG Ratings: A Compass without Direction (H)
Greener snowmaking is helping ski resorts weather climate change (G)
The Greendicator
Top Deals of the Week
![Hippo Hippo](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdfa05c1c-c293-44a7-ad6f-832ba70f99e7_1876x1253.jpeg)
Lithium extraction tech startup Lilac Solutions raised a $145M Series C led by Mercuria, Lowercarbon Capital, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures (FN)
Vast Renewables, a renewable energy company, raised $40M in funding for its solar methanol plant SM1 from Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and Projektträger Jülich (PtJ) (BW)
Kenyan EV startup Roam raised a $24M Series A led by Equator (TC)
Lettuce grower and robotic indoor farming startup Hippo Harvest raised a $21M Series B led by Standard Investments (TC)
Sage Geosystems, a geothermal startup, raised a $17M Series A led by Chesapeake Energy (BW)
AI waste analytics startup Greyparrot raised a $12.8M round led by Bollegraaf (FN)
Fever, a Swedish startup building an API-centric platform for virtual power plants, raised an $11.7M seed round led by General Catalyst (FN)
Grid orchestration platform Camus Energy raised a $10M Series A extension led by Congruent Ventures and Wave Capital (BW)
Rimere, a climate solutions company “with proprietary plasma technology” (it converts natural gas to hydrogen), received a $10M investment from Clean Energy Fuels (BW)
Arch, a startup building an app to help HVAC contractors install heat pumps, raised a $6.2M seed round from Coatue, Floodgate, Gigascale Capital, and more (TC)
Celadyne, a startup coating membranes with nanoparticles to improve hydrogen fuel cell efficiency, raised a $4.5M seed round led by Dynamo Ventures and Maniv (TC)
Recycled plastics procurement platform Cirplus raised a $1.1M round led by WEPA Ventures (EU)
Green Theory
The Big Shhhh
2024—another year where the US votes for the highest executive office. It’s no secret that one party caters far more to climate concerns, and the other is stuck largely in denial and deflection of American responsibility.
Climate change could be the most important issue of the 21st century, and although it makes sense why one party wouldn’t mention it, why might the climate-friendlier party stay quiet on this topic in 2024?
At least one Democratic strategist thinks talking about climate will alienate working-class voters, to Democrats’ peril. If candidates are dominating the media, and none are discussing climate, should climate professionals prepare for a mainstream media winter?
The reason to stay quiet on climate
Climate is so polarized an issue, it’s easy to predict a 2020 voter’s choice for president based on this topic alone. Democrats are unlikely to convert right-wing votes if talking about climate, and may risk losing less-polarized working-class voters, too, according to strategist Rui Teixeira. On the other hand, if the party keeps climate out of the spotlight, how many elite climate activists would realistically retaliate (vote) against the Democrats?
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd3ad263d-6ef4-483b-9e9b-bdc17ce65d8b_840x1276.png)
Given the Republican climate platform, Democrats may see climate-motivated voters as a guarantee for their camp. On the surface, therefore, Teixeira’s proposal to the Democratic campaign seems reasonable: ignore the climate ‘radicals’, and win over the pragmatic many folk who don’t care about climate change, but are relatively open to either party (to paraphrase).
If this threat to climate relevance has you worried about our ability to make progress on climate solutions in 2024, looking more into this plan should put you at ease. Without even unpacking the shakiness in Teixeira’s claims about a climate class struggle, the broader suggestion unravels under scrutiny.
Is greenshushing a good strategy?
If staying quiet on climate were a good strategy, the party still might not adopt it. After all, Teixeira’s entire view is predicated on the idea that the party has foolishly squandered its self-interest by acting and speaking on climate as much as it does already.
But let’s assume the party is self-interested, and—for argument’s sake—that only a few fancy elite Democrats care about climate issues. What do ‘real’ voters care about, then?
According to January polling from The Hill, here’s a rough ranking of election issues from over 4,000 registered voters:
Immigration
Inflation
Economy/Jobs
Crime/Drugs
Healthcare (Tie)
Deficit
National Security (Tie)
Corruption
Environment (Tie)
At first glance, Teixeira’s argument seems confirmed by this polling. Why burn limited media attention on climate, when Americans aren’t motivated about the environment?
Are Dems downplaying Climate?
Contrary to the suggestions, the party isn’t scared to discuss climate. Looking at strategic conversations and stump speech rhetoric, one easily finds Democratic messaging emphasizing the urgency of the crisis.
One study from the University of Colorado suggests climate change could have been the most decisive issue propelling the Democrats to victory in 2020—a finding that flies in the face of greenhushing proponents, and backs up the political tact of candidates and strategists highlighting climate issues and solutions.
Keeping Climate in the News
As the general election draws nearer, the dynamics could shift, with Democrats downplaying climate focus to a greater extent. In recent memory, the party demonstrated some creativity through the phrase “Inflation Reduction Act,” to refer to the historic climate bill they passed.
This subtler version of greenhushing seems invisible to Teixeira, and it shouldn’t concern proprietors of genuine climate solutions. Instead, it holds the secret to the most robust green value propositions out there.
Join us next week to explore how climate will stay relevant, even if the climate crisis is absent from presidential discourse. Looking at the list of issues that matter to Americans, you may see where this is going.
The Close
Sunrise over San Francisco by Derick Daily