This Week in MCJ (8/1/20)
Thinking bigger.
Hey all,
Another big week.
As I mentioned in a prior email, the Project Chamath team came through in a big way. And their decision to open source their work was a big one, and one I hope sets precedent for many projects we will tackle together as a community over time.
This is a quote that has been on my mind since I saw it this week:
It captures really well the culture and leadership style we are trying to foster with MCJ. The Project Chamath team really embodied that. But so does so much else that I am seeing from this community. In fact, I see so many positive things happening, that I want to plant a few seeds and try to inspire us to think bigger, for a moment. Not because I am not seeing the right things, but specifically, because I am seeing *so many* of the right things!
Seed #1: How can we foster more distributed collaboration in the MCJ community, at increasing scale, that helps bring in a new era of cross-industry and cross-disciplinary collaboration that is required to solve some of society’s most thorniest systems problems? Climate is certainly one of them, and I am starting to believe that we are uniquely positioned to help lead the way on how to facilitate this type of collaboration in a way that delivers unprecedented results.
Seed #2: How can we get as much energy in the MCJ community poured into regional sub-communities as we are all putting into MCJ overall? For example, should we have regional captains, and then get all the regional captains together regularly to share best practices and provide a peer group to help their respective regional sub-communities flourish?
Seed #3: How can we greatly increase the amount of programming we offer the community, without diluting the very high quality that we have been seeing to-date? To get quantity we would need to see many more members step up, but how can we support them as a community and help 1000 flowers bloom in a way that has consistent quality and represents the MCJ brand well?
Just some food for thought. If you have any ideas or reactions, I am all ears! Overall, I could not be more excited about how things are progressing. Thank you all so much for your continued support.
Jason
📼Episodes
Here’s this week’s episode, in case you missed it.
Episode 114: Phil Bredesen, Former Governor of Tennessee
Governor Phil Bredesen served as the governor of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011 and the mayor of Nashville from 1991 to 1999. He's also the founding chairman of Silicon Ranch, the U.S. solar platform for Shell and one of the largest independent solar power producers in the country. In addition, he's Co-Founder of Clearloop, which offers short-term agreements that enable companies to compensate for their carbon emissions impact by paying to fund new solar panels in the communities with the dirtiest electric grids.
I enjoyed this discussion a lot! I haven't come across many people who have made the transition from entrepreneurship to politics back to entrepreneurship. But Governor Bredesen has danced back and forth in both of these areas quite successfully over a long illustrious career. We have a great back and forth about climate change, the nature of the problem, the best paths forward, and what levers will be most impactful in helping address it. Governor Bredesen has a different perspective than many other guests I’ve had on the show, and for that reason I am very appreciative to have had the chance to benefit from it.
📼Climate Tech Startup Series (CTSS)
MCJ has launched a new series for members, where we feature founders of early-stage companies, sharing their startup’s business and mission. Members can check out our second episode below and find an updated list here.
CTSS Episode 2: TREAU with Vince Romanin
TREAU is a San Francisco, CA based startup currently in stealth. Its mission is to “expand access to healthy, comfortable buildings without compromising the environment.” With the installation of air conditioning units on a trajectory to swell to 6 billion globally by mid-century, TREAU is focusing on the gigatons of carbon emissions that result from operating heating and cooling appliances. To address this problem, TREAU is developing systems with low-GWP (global warming potential) that will help reduce the emissions that these machines currently produce. Co-Founder and CEO, Vince Romanin, walks me through a company overview presentation, and shares the story and mission behind TREAU. I enjoyed learning about TREAU, and I hope you do, as well!
N.B. TREAU is hiring for several positions listed below in the Climate Jobs section.
🏗 What You’re Building:
Projects and ventures being pursued by fellow MCJers.
📑“Project Chamath”
As we shared previously, Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya issued a request for proposal to the Twittersphere. Rising to the occasion, a number of MCJ members rallied together and, in two short weeks, discussed, planned and submitted a 7-page proposal for allocating billions toward addressing climate change. This was an impressive community-wide effort, demonstrating the power of organized members as a lever (and the platform as a fulcrum) to achieve ambitious objectives. Many made substantive contributions to this proposal, in particular MCJers Candice Ammori (the valiant project lead!), Sam Butler, Amitav Misra, Brianna Miller, Alexander Rickett, Jim Lavin, Aric Li, Ryan Allard, Alexis Jorge Caporale, Sameer Rashid, Kevin Miller, Michael Napper and others who copiously contributed their time, ideas and feedback. On behalf of the MCJ community, we express our deepest appreciation for the impressive work each of you put into this project.
🌐The Climate Map Team Is Growing!🌐
Looking for the highest leverage points on climate change? Organized by MCJ Members, The Climate Map is mapping the climate sector ecosystem in order to drive effective climate action. Check us out at theclimatemap.org if you’re interested in learning more or joining your fellow MCJ’ers in this effort!
💼Climate Jobs
Here are some jobs shared by members of the MCJ community that we think might be of interest to you. Many of these opportunities and the MCJers who shared them can be found in #climatejobs in the MCJ Slack.
(Paid) Business Development Intern at Clearloop (Remote) (LinkedIn posting)
This opportunity was shared by Clearloop co-founder, Laura Zapata. On Monday, we’ll be publishing an interview with former Tennessee Governor and Clearloop co-founder, Phil Bredesen, who will discuss Clearloop’s mission in detail.
Sr. Mechanical Engineer & Thermal Research Engineer at TREAU in San Francisco, CA (careers page)
Sr. Backend Engineer at David Energy in New York City, NY (job listing)
Sr. SFDC Admin., Sr. Contracts Admin., Counsel, Dir. of Marketing & Comms at Generate Capital in San Francisco, CA (careers page). (h/t to MCJer and Generate Investor, Robert Moore)
Sr. Dir. Regulatory Advocacy & Policy at Sunrun in San Francisco, CA (job listing)
Sr. Policy Advisor, Sr. Associate, Comms. Director at U.S. Climate Alliance (various locations) (careers page)
🌍🙋🏿MCJ Regional Community Leaders Wanted
Consisting of members from all over the world, MCJ is interested in fostering greater engagement in regions outside of North America. Efforts could include coordinating regular get-togethers (virtually for those regions in which in-person gatherings is not yet possible), discussions and events. MCJ has a nascent “toolkit” and “blueprint” and can help support such initiatives. One example opportunity could be to host an Icebreaker, which has proven to be a crowd-pleaser, for your timezone.
If you are interested in leading these efforts in your region, drop us a note!
📢Climate News
Highlights of news this week related to climate change.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the price of carbon credits in Europe have rebounded after being in a lull at the height of the pandemic in the spring. This rise in price is hitting the coal industry hard and encouraging utilities to switch to natural gas or renewable energy (PDF Link).
ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), the world’s largest nuclear fusion project is commencing assembly. Based in France, the $23.5B project is slated for completion c. 2025 and its mission is to prove the commercial viability of fusion (source).
With demand for oil falling to an unprecedented level at the height of the pandemic, Shell is reporting a historic loss and warned shareholders of an uncertain third quarter for its oil and gas business (PDF Link).
📰🎧Recommended Reading/Listening
Below are recently published articles and content that we find interesting and/or that were shared by fellow MCJers.
Bloomberg: “Mutual Fund Industry Tries to Figure Out How to Define ESG Funds”
Given the diversity of assets among ESG funds, mutual funds are working to clarify with clients the array of funds comprising ESG.
Bloomberg: “Apple’s Climate Plan Is Even More Interesting Than It Appears”
This article delves into why Apple’s recently announced climate plan is more robust and compelling than news headlines suggest.
Clean Air Task Force: “Interactive Map of CCUS Projects in Development in the U.S.”
Former podcast guest (Ep. 45) and Program Director at the Clean Air Task Force, Deepika Nagabhushan, has published an interactive map displaying carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) projects across the U.S.
Utility Dive: “Geothermal energy is surging — battered oil and gas companies should take advantage”
Former pod guest and Generate Capital Co-Founder & President, Jigar Shah, and upcoming pod guest and Fervo Energy Co-Founder, Tim Latimer, co-authored this piece on the untapped opportunity of geothermal energy.
(carbon) plan: “Carbon removal mechanisms”
The team at (carbon) plan have published a detailed piece on the many methods for achieving carbon removal.
🎟Climate Events
Update: Thanks to MCJer Amy Wang (🙏!), we have a new MCJ Events Calendar 🎉! Not only can you now view upcoming events, but also you can post your events to the calendar to share with the rest of the community. When posting an event, please refer to this checklist developed by Eli K., Brianna M. and Chris P.
Past
MCJ Town Hall
We hosted our monthly town hall for members on Friday to discuss updates and feedback from the community. You can view a recording of it here and, if you’re not a member already and interested in participating in future town halls, you can find learn about applying here.
Upcoming
MCJ Climate Conversation With two U.S. Senate Candidates: Cal Cunningham (NC) & Theresa Greenfield (IA) (Monday, August 3rd, 1pm - 2pm EST)
Join us for an exclusive climate conversation with two U.S. Senate candidates in highly competitive races: Cal Cunningham in North Carolina, and Theresa Greenfield in Iowa. This event is Part 2 of the MCJ series exploring the 2020 elections as a lever on climate action.
You don't have to be from North Carolina or Iowa; the conversation will be about enacting climate positive policy at the Federal-level in ways that impact us all. Come be a fly on the wall or come introduce yourself and your work on climate solutions; make policy suggestions; and/or bring your questions about climate policy and paving the way for a clean tech/ the clean energy economy.
This conversation will be casual and interactive to allow members of the MCJ community to talk climate solutions and climate policy with Cal and Theresa. This is not a fundraising event, just an opportunity for MCJ members to meet the candidates and talk climate.
Learn more and register here!
(Note: registrants will receive zoom details and briefing materials.)
MCJ Community Chat: Innovations in Grid Level Storage (Tuesday, August 4th, 1 PM EST)
The next community chat will focus on grid-level storage. As usual, there will be a 45-minute panel discussion followed by two separate 15-minute random breakout discussions. Panelists and discussion topics will be announced as they become available. Please fill out this Google form to RSVP and get a calendar invite.
Congruent Presents: Climate Returns (Tuesday, August 4th, 1 PM EST)
Congruent Ventures is debuting its inaugural episode of Climate Returns, a livestream interview series where it will discuss sustainability and climate tech investing with world-class investors. The first guest is Aaron Jacobson, Partner at NEA, who has been with the firm since 2011. Facilitated by Congruent Managing Director, Abe Yokell, the discussion will focus on climate tech investing, and whether the cool kids are returning to the sector after a 12 year hiatus. You can register for this livestream event here. (h/t Tommy Leep)
MCJ Ideas Jam (Wednesday, August 5th, 12 PM EST)
MCJers Candice Ammori & Nicolo Giorgi are hosting the second MCJ Ideas Jam. The event is meant to surface great startup ideas, connect MCJ members interested in solving similar problems, and inspire industry veterans to advise and guide eager climate newcomers. Come to pitch your climate startup idea, provide your feedback on the ideas pitched, and/or spark your own ideas in the process. Our guest experts for this event, Hannah Davis of Techstars and Yair Reem of Hasso Plattner Ventures, will be first to give you feedback and helpful direction, and space will be opened for the general MCJ community to provide their feedback and collaborative ideas, both during the event and after. Please RSVP here as a pitcher or general audience member.
Meet-a-MCJer via Icebreaker (Friday, August 14th at noon EST)
Back by popular demand, we’re hosting our third Icebreaker for members of the MCJ community. Come join us for several rounds of casual 1:1 conversations with a fellow MCJ Member whom you have not met. Each round of conversation is ~8min and there’s fun questions to help break the 🧊! RSVP by dropping us a note.
Also, let us know if you’re interested in (co)MC-ing!
MCJers Joel Armin-Hoiland and John Wetenhall are respectively considering hosting Icebreakers for regional MCJ communities in Africa and Australia & New Zealand; if you’re interested in participating, feel free to DM them.
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