AboutWriting

2023-11-16

Podcasts & books which helped me find a job in climate tech

I spent the first half of 2022 in research mode. I'd recently left a dud role and had a strong sense that I wanted my next job to be related to climate, but I didn’t know where to start. I didn’t have a background in the sector, and I didn’t really know anyone working in it. I was starting from scratch. All in, it was a research-heavy year.

This post covers the podcasts and books that stick out in my memory as particularly useful when upskilling on the climate sector. Various friends and former colleagues have asked for advice on finding a route into working on climate recently, and I’ve found myself reeling off the same list of sources regularly enough that it felt worth writing down.

My approach to this research process wasn't groundbreaking; it was a simple and pragmatic two-step manoeuvre. Step one: cast a wide net. Start anywhere and absorb anything and everything from the big picture to the minutiae. The more you look, the broader you realise the space is; our whole world/economy needs to adapt to climate change, so the range of potential areas covers almost anything you care to mention. It makes sense to start nice and broad because you might find a non-obvious area that hooks you.

Step two is to narrow your focus. Hone in on the topics that resonate. For me, that was home electrification/refrofits and the broader energy grid. They seemed both impactful, unsolved, and seemed to have multiple toeholds where my software/product experience was relevant. My advice for this stage is to not worry about going down rabbit holes, you quickly learn the art of gracefully retreating when a particular avenue leads to a dead end.

First up, the general sources that stick out in my mind as helpful:

General sources

  • The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells – A stark dive into the harsh realities of a changing climate from a few years ago. If you find fear motivating, this is a good place to start.
  • Drawdown – A comprehensive book giving an overview of climate change solutions, intelligently ordered by their impact. Another great starting point if you're already sold on the scale of the crisis and want to get into potential solutions.
  • Speed and Scale by John Doerr – A quick yet detailed read giving a structured take on climate solutions. Written by a VC who's been investing in the climate space for longer than most.
  • How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates – Similar to Doerr's book, a straightforward read heavy on techno-optimism.
  • My Climate Journey Podcast – An excellent source for interviews with emerging climate companies. Originally started by Jason Jacobs, the founder of Runkeeper, when he was trying to figure out how to get into climate work.
  • My Climate Journey Slack Community – Formerly free, now a subscription-based chat group. I haven’t got a subscription now, so can’t speak to the quality but when it was small it was fantastic. I met a lot of people through it and also picked up some paid contracting work.
  • Work on Climate Slack Community – Free to join, offering a mix of people working on climate or seeking advice on entering the field. As with the MCJ Slack group, it was a very powerful tool when it was smaller but may be less useful now.
  • Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson – A fiction favourite offering a break from non-fiction. I suspect this book is the root cause of many people’s decision to join the climate cause. Like many of Robinson’s books, it’s about the social/political/technical/economic mechanics behind a potential future.
  • The Deluge by Stephen Markley – A fiction pick along a similar vein to Robinson’s book.
  • Climate Connection event series – A London-based series bringing together people working on (or looking to work on) climate.
  • CTVC Newsletter – Good for deeper analysis on specific climate topics. Run by a great and knowledgeable team.
  • Axios Generate Newsletter – Lighter news coverage.
  • ClimateU Newsletter – originally Europe-focused, covering fundraising announcements and hiring.

Skimming through podcast backlogs and book chapters is a good litmus test for topics that you find intellectually interesting. Initially, I didn’t have a great sense for the sectors that were personally interesting. With time, however, my filter evolved, and I started to hone in on topics that hooked me.

Energy-specific sources

It became clear that the energy grid (and to a lesser extent home electrification) were the sectors that hooked me. As I narrowed my focus, these are the sources that helped:

  • My Climate Journey Podcast – I went back through the whole backlog, cherry picking any episodes on energy and retrofits. At the time, the bulk of the episodes were relatively early-stage but promising startups. It was a gold mine!
  • Voltz Podcast – A consistently great and more detailed resource on energy. I still listen to most of David Robert’s interviews and deep-dives.
  • Electrify: An Optimist's Playbook for Our Clean Energy Future by Saul Griffith – A blueprint for a clean energy grid.
  • Superpower by Russell Gold – A dive into a part of the US energy transition, highlighting the importance and technical/political challenges of moving energy between geographic regions.
  • Sustainable Energy without the Hot Air by David MacKay – A now outdated yet detailed analysis of the UK's energy transition. More of a textbook than a casual read, but I'd still strongly recommend it as a source of detailed information
  • Octopus Energy’s Centre For Net Zero Events – Energy-focused events in London which appear to have stopped happening as of late 2023. A shame! It was an introduction at one of these events that eventually led me to my current role at Granular Energy.

I hope that this post is useful to some readers. If it saves anyone time or helps to provide a framework to anyone in the position I was in last year, I’ll see it as a success! If you have questions or seek further insights, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn.