Climate Tech & Carbon Markets

What's Happening

Climate tech is experiencing its second wave of investment, driven by regulatory mandates, corporate ESG commitments, and the Inflation Reduction Act's $369B in clean energy incentives. Carbon markets are at the center of this boom — the voluntary carbon market is projected to grow from $2B to $50B by 2030 as companies scramble to meet net-zero pledges. But the market faces a credibility crisis: carbon credits vary wildly in quality, and greenwashing scandals have eroded trust. This creates massive opportunity for startups building the infrastructure layer — carbon credit verification platforms, emissions tracking SaaS, climate risk analytics, and carbon accounting tools. Companies like Watershed, Persefoni, and Pachama are building the picks-and-shovels for the carbon economy. Beyond carbon markets, climate tech encompasses grid-scale energy storage, carbon capture and sequestration, sustainable aviation fuel, green hydrogen, and climate-resilient agriculture. The regulatory tailwinds are strong: the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, the SEC's climate disclosure rules, and California's cap-and-trade program are all creating compliance-driven demand. For software founders, the opportunity is in the data infrastructure — helping companies measure, report, and reduce emissions across complex supply chains with thousands of suppliers and millions of data points.

Interest Over Time

Market Size