🌎 New Climate Tracker: 49 results from John Doerr
No conflict, no honesty. The 3.5% rule [Harvard]. Impact measurement 2.0. (vol 150)
Welcome to my weekly newsletter — a three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. Read the archives.
Not a subscriber yet? Sign up.
Feeling generous? Share this with a friend.
—
Today’s topics.
New Climate Tracker: 49 results from John Doerr
Climate impact measurement 2.0 [Prime Coalition]
The 3.5% rule: The minority can change the majority [Harvard research]
No conflict, no honesty
P.S. Attention growth-stage climate CEOs — Do you want to join me and some EFI Climate CEO Fellows for our Park City retreat in June? Apply here.
1.
New Climate Tracker: 49 results from John Doerr
In 2021, John Doerr — Chairman at legendary VC firm Kleiner Perkins — coauthored the book Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now.
It shows how we can cut 59 gigatons of emissions to net zero by 2050.
Their recently released Global Climate Tracker tells us how we’re doing on this goal.
They track ten categories and 49 indicators in all.
Below is one of their category highlights (beautiful) plus my summary of all ten categories (less beautiful).
It’s a sobering and empowering reminder that we’ve got more work to do.
—
2.
Measuring GHG reduction from climate tech investments [Prime Coalition]
Accurately reporting GHG reductions from climate tech investments is like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube intoxicated and blindfolded. (Not recommended.)
Teaching classes at Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill on climate tech startups, ESG investing, and sustainability reporting, I’d love to believe that I understand this topic.
(But then my EFI Climate CEO Fellows remind me how much I have to learn!)
These questions and figures below represent nuances I’ll be chewing on.
Are we measuring “planned” or “potential” GHG reductions?
Are they from our company or from a technology more broadly?
Which other investors are claiming GHG reductions from the same company?
Which other companies played a role in causing the GHG reductions?
Thanks to Prime Coalition for leading this important work — Pre-Investment Considerations: Diving Deeper into Assessing Future Greenhouse Gas Impact
3.
The 3.5% rule: The minority can change the majority [Harvard research]
Consider this research insight by Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist at Harvard University:
Looking at hundreds of [campaigns to change the ruling power] over the last century, Chenoweth found that nonviolent campaigns are twice as likely to achieve their goals as violent campaigns.
And although the exact dynamics will depend on many factors, she has shown it takes around 3.5% of the population actively participating in the protests to ensure serious political change.
While the focus was on protests and political change, I wonder whether we can extrapolate to action on climate change.
Let’s do some math.
1 billion people take part in Earth Day activities globally each year.
1 billion divided by 8 billion people in the world = 12.5%
12.5% > 3.5%
Does that math mean we’re on our way to victory?
Uh, no.
Please refer to our first story above on John Doerr's Global Climate Tracker.
4.
No conflict, no honesty.
Last week, I attended a session by Million Peacemakers on “nonflict.”
Did we join hands around a campfire and sing hippie songs?
Nope.
We talked about this:
85% of employees experience conflict at work or home
And we learned things like this:
If there’s no conflict, then there may not be enough honesty in the room.
We should understand how we and others handle conflict differently:
Fleeing — avoiding the conversation
Forcing — bulldozing into a discussion before the other party is ready to talk
Folding — giving in (but holding resentment)
Splitting 50/50 — compromising to meet in the middle (which goes against the top-selling book on negotiating, Never Split the Difference)
How can we be an active listener and “mirror” the other person?
As they share their perspective, we give them 100% of our attention (eyes, body, silence) and then say, “Thanks for sharing. Is there anything else?” After we repeat what we think we heard, we ask, “Did I hear you well?”
You get the idea.
Soft and squishy and useless?
Nope again.
Quite the opposite. We’re surrounded by hundreds of human beings at work, home, and online that want to be heard. If they’re not, we’ve got problems.
One workshop participant noted that conflict can be transformed into a positive energy that highlights priorities and creates team clarity.
Let’s call that “conflict aikido” and get in the ring to spar.
That’s all, y’all.
Make it a great week because it’s usually a choice.
~ Dr. Chris Wedding: Founder of Entrepreneurs for Impact
—
P.S. An investor who refused airplanes until planting 100 million trees
P.S.S. CEOs are lonely at the top
Join 20,000+ entrepreneurs and investors who get actionable insights on changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom in our three-minute weekly newsletter. Read the archives. Share it with a friend.