The market appears to be bullish on climate-related investments, even if threats of a downturn are chasing a lot of money toward safer, proven technology, according to a Bloomberg piece published last week.
Mark Cupta of Prelude Ventures tells Bloomberg that “there’s still a very robust, potentially recession-proof, segment within climate tech for people who are trying to solve really hard problems.” He says venture capital fundraising is continuing at a strong pace, despite market jitters.
Bloomberg reports that finding new ideas worth financing may be the tougher hurdle for venture capitalists. But legislation to fund climate initiatives might spawn new ideas and spur inventive research. As we’ve reported, the legislation allocates $369 billion for climate initiatives. Federal seed funding programs and support from the White House biomanufacturing effort are additional ways for startups to achieve momentum.
Areas of biotech climate innovation
There are plenty of biotech climate concepts worth investment, including the development of biofuels, such as sustainable aviation fuels, another field backed by government efforts, and new technologies to produce affordable biodiesel.
Agricultural biotechnology innovations can help minimize greenhouse gas emissions in a few ways—for example, by using fruits and vegetables that remain fresh longer, cutting down on food waste, or by developing cover crops that produce sustainable biofuels. Other options, such as genetically modified trees and even bacteria, remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Biotech can build resilience in the face of extreme weather conditions with more productive crops like gene-edited soybeans, crops that preserve the soil, drought-tolerant wheat, corn, and rice, as well as other drought-tolerant crops. Heat-tolerant cattle are a biotech livestock solution.
In a recent letter to President Biden, BIO detailed a number of specific policy initiatives and regulatory reforms that are needed to help encourage investment in biotech innovation to preserve the climate.
