Recently, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned in his speech at UN Headquarters that “the era of global boiling has arrived”, stressing the increasingly urgent need for global action on emissions, climate adaptation and climate finance.
So far, the startup ecosystem seems to be rising up to the occasion.
Looking back into our own coverage of the latest updates in the Southeast Asian (SEA) tech startup ecosystem, this year alone, we noted that there are at least eight funding announcements in the climate tech and sustainability sectors. These funding rounds were raised by startups working on various solutions, from alternative protein to food waste.
During Echelon Asia Summit 2023, we also learned how leading investors such as Monk’s Hill Ventures have begun putting ESG elements in their consideration of a potential investment, regardless of which sector they are working on.
Apart from that, we also see new funds for investments in the climate tech sectors being announced, with companies working on different solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change operating in the market.
Also Read: Demystifying the financial impacts of climate change with Intensel
All of this might sound like a great effort to tackle the greatest crisis in our lifetime. But sometimes (often), one might wonder whether we have done enough, whether there are things that are left to do. We might think that we have done and considered all the best solutions, but there is bound to be a blind spot.
Da-dum.
(I added sound effects for dramatic effects. And to hit the word count.)
Now, I understand that this is not a question that we can answer overnight—let alone in a 600-word opinion piece. More importantly, the answer might look different depending on your role in the startup ecosystem. I can only speak from my experience as a writer and editor who has been working in the community for close to a decade.
Recently, I had the privilege of attending the Sustainability Media Academy held by EB Impact. The two-day event consisted of masterclasses, workshops, and panel discussions on reporting climate change issues for journalists and content creators in SEA. During the event, I had the opportunity to meet and learn from senior journalists and editors about how to tell stories about climate change.
There are many important lessons learned over the course of two days, but one that stays with me was this line said by senior journalist and media consultant Augustine Anthuvan:
Reporting climate change is all about people and their needs, not about technology or being green.
As an editor for a publication that focuses on the startup ecosystem, this hits me deeply. Certainly, in our coverage of climate tech and sustainability, we put focus on the startups and tech solutions that they build to solve the problem. But there is a stakeholder that we have been missing out on: the humans in the story.
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This goes beyond the startup founders and investors that are involved in building and growing the company. The humans here are the people who will be directly impacted by climate change itself, the most vulnerable parts of society —those whom the tech solutions are supposed to benefit the most. Who are these people? What are their challenges? How exactly can climate change (and its solutions) change their lives? What happens when they are missing from the story? Why are they missing from the story?
It definitely encourages me to rethink how I have been writing about climate tech and sustainability. And hopefully, I will get to make that change soon.
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Image Credit: RunwayML
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