Finding Hope, Gratitude, and Unity
The early events of early 2022 have surprised and shocked us once again, but the way we’re responding is different.
The tragedy in Ukraine surprised the world. We are finding gratitude in the (mostly) united response and hoping that the unification will also extend to tackling other big problems that we face, including climate change. The economic and political risk of relying on foreign fossil fuels is proving to be devastating, even if it is profitable in the short term for oil and gas investors. Energy resiliency and security will continue to be top of mind after this crisis fades and perspectives are changing. While some are looking at oil and gas as short-term solutions, most recognize the best case scenario is more renewables. This along with the effort to electrify everything is getting support from even the most outspoke critics of clean energy policies like Senator Manchin.
As we push for the longer-term shift, we recognize that there are urgent needs from those displaced by Putian’s acts of war. If you are still looking for organizations helping Ukrainian citizens, below are two we’ve found to be impactful.
We wish we would have…(And thrilled to support!)
cashforrefugees.org the team is currently on the border in Romania handing cash to people crossing the border so they can get some food and a train ticket etc. This is a very new organization so it is not tax-deductible (yet), but it is the most direct way to help right now.
Nova Ukraine is a nonprofit providing aid to the people of Ukraine and raising awareness about Ukraine in the United States as well as in the rest of the world.
Recent Buoyant Investments: FloodFlash
This one we’ve been working on for a while and we were very excited to announce it as Buoyant’s first deal of 2022!
FloodFlash: Parametric flood insurance enabled by a proprietary sensor that feeds highly localized data to risk algorithms to set premiums, and provide payments to policyholders in under 6 hours.
Why we are excited: Flooding is one of the most destructive and deadly side effects of climate change, is getting worse, and as we have written before the existing insurance solutions are broken. FloodFlash’s success in the UK is something we are proud to bring to the US and help protect livihoods with their innovative offerings.
Read More:
Using IoT and Cloud Technology to Take on a $105B Problem — Buoyant’s Investment in FloodFlash
Tech Bullion: FloodFlash Raises $15m Series A led by Buoyant Ventures and Featuring Munich Re Ventures: Interview with FloodFlash CEO Adam Rimmer.
Grit Daily: Is Flood Insurance the Next Big Investment Opportunity?
Insurance Business America: FloodFlash receives funding for international expansion
Insurance Insider: InsurTech FloodFlash scoops $15mn Series A, eyes US expansion
IPCC’s Lastest Report on Climate Change and Adaptation
In the most recent IPCC report Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, they dig into how the world has been impacted by climate change, what has been done to adapt, where more adaptation needs to occur, and the adaptation limits we are facing.
Buoyant covers both adaptation and mitigation in our investment strategy and has done so since we launched in 2020. We agree with the IPCC that we must find ways to invest in both mitigation and adaptation. The effects of climate change will continue to be felt for decades to come even if we are successful in dramatically reducing emissions. And poor communities will be the most severely impacted
What we are…
…Reading
Inequitable patterns of US flood risk, average annual losses from flood risk are currently over $32B and the risk is found to be highest in poorer mostly White communities and is quickly shifting to Black communities, due to a +25% increase in US flood risk by 2050. Not only does this report support the need for better flood risk calculations but also the need for adaptation solutions.
What The Wall Street Journal Missed About Sustainable Investing, a great perspective on how we as consumers, employees, and investors are changing how we approach our decisions and the systemic shift toward stakeholder capitalism.
PJM, flooded with interconnection requests, proposes two-year review pause
The proposal would be a huge impediment to the renewable energy transition and negatively impact thousands if not hundreds of thousands.Visualizing Carbon Storage in Earth’s Ecosystems, we loved this graphic put out by NASA and the IPCC
…Watching
GISTEMP Climate Spiral, NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio provided a mesmerizing illustration of the temperature increases since pre-1900
…Listening To
Buoyant Venture Updates
Buoyant was proud to announce that we led FloodFlash’s $15m Series A round, we are excited to help them bring their parametric insurance product to the US, you can read more about why we invested here.
Buoyant was profiled by The Impact, sharing more about what we look for and invest in, read more here
Amy was on a Brown University panel on the Future of Sustainable Investing with the founder of Women In Climate Tech, Helen Bertelli. It’s a very diverse group of women helping each other in our mutual quest to address climate change. We’re looking forward to getting involved.
Amy was featured on a podcast by one of the new fresh voices joining the climate change fight, Cassandra Harris
Work with us! (& some of our favorite people)
Raptor Maps is hiring for sales, product, engineering, and HR roles
SupplyShift is hiring for sales
FloodFlash is hiring across account management, marketing, and development
Powerhouse is hiring for multiple roles
For fun (since you’ve made it this far…)
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The Lighthouse is a resource for climate tech updates and a channel for us to regularly share our perspective on Buoyant’s investment thesis and industry sectors. We know we are not alone in producing great content and will amplify the voices of others by highlighting those resources we find thought-provoking.