The global climate tech hub INITIATIVE (gcthi)
The Goal
Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, and it requires innovative solutions that can scale across borders and sectors. The cities of New York, San Francisco, Boston, Shanghai, Copenhagen, the Greater Bay Area (and more...) are global hubs of finance, technology, and culture, and they share a common vision of becoming more sustainable, resilient, and low-carbon. They also face similar challenges, such as rising sea levels, air pollution, and urban congestion.
To address these challenges, and to foster collaboration and exchange among these cities, the Sustainable Finance Institute (SFI) is creating the Global Climate Tech Hub Initiative (GCTHI) platform to connect and support climate tech startups, investors, researchers, and policymakers from around the world.
The Need
New York, Shanghai, San Francisco… are world's leading cities in terms of economic development, population size, and carbon footprint. They also share similar climate challenges, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and urban heat islands. These challenges pose serious threats to the health, safety, and well-being of millions of residents and businesses in these cities, as well as to the global environment and economy.
The need for GCTHI stems from the urgency and complexity of the climate crisis, which demands innovative and collaborative solutions across borders and sectors.
However, addressing climate challenges require more than the efforts of the governments alone. It also requires the participation and innovation of the private sector, especially the climate tech startups that are developing and deploying cutting-edge solutions to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis. These startups face many barriers and risks, such as lack of funding, market access, policy support, technical expertise and supply chain.
They also need to learn from the experiences and best practices of other cities and regions that are facing similar or different climate issues. Therefore, there is a need for a platform that can connect and support these climate tech startups, as well as the investors, researchers, policymakers, and suppliers who are interested in or involved in the climate tech sector.
The Solution
The GCTHI aims to create a cross-border and cross-sector platform that connects and supports climate tech startups, investors, researchers, and policymakers from SF, NYC and Boston, to Shanghai and HK, to Copenhagen and London that have a lot in common and a lot to offer in terms of climate tech innovation.
By facilitating the exchange of ideas, technologies, best practices, capitals, and policies, the GCTHI will foster a mutually beneficial relationship among participating cities, and help them achieve their climate goals and enhance their livability and competitiveness.
The GCTHI will leverage the existing strengths and resources of these climate tech hubs, such as their innovation ecosystems, talent pools, market opportunities, and policy frameworks.
The GCTHI will also facilitate cross-border collaboration and learning, such as joint research projects, mentorship programs, pitch events, and trade missions.
The GCTHI will focus on climate tech sectors that are relevant and impactful for participating cities, such as clean energy, green transportation, circular economy, sustainable agri-tech, net-zero buildings, low carbon industrial tech, and smart-resilient cities.
Ultimately, GCTHI contributes to the global climate action by scaling up and showcasing the most promising and impactful climate tech solutions from around the world.