To truly understand what’s driving the energy transition, you need experts in not just finance and technology, but in foreign policy too. I recently talked with former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. He’s my previous—and current—boss, and it’s a pleasure to be working together again since he joined Galvanize Climate Solutions five months ago as co-chair.
Below you’ll find a transcript of our conversation, which I’ve lightly edited:
You’ve described the clean energy transition as the largest transformation of our time. What do you see as the primary economic and technological forces driving it?
The clean energy transition is driven by a simple business reality: Clean energy gets cheaper as technology improves, while fossil fuels become more expensive as we use up available supplies. Clean energy is following the same pattern of falling costs that enabled other technological revolutions—like personal computers, mobile phones, and the internet.
The energy transition has gained momentum that extends beyond any single politician’s or country’s ability to slow it down. We can expect this progress to continue because of unit economics, business needs, security considerations, international competitive pressures, and an increasingly vocal public calling for cleaner energy alternatives.
You’ve just returned from the Sustainable Markets Initiative, a meeting in London hosted by King Charles III. What did you learn that was exciting or surprised you?
It was incredible to see hundreds of CEOs from all kinds of industries—power, transportation, chemicals, nuclear, materials, fashion—come together. I thought the two days were exceptional.
The many business connections, group sessions, and creative ideas at the event showed that support for clean energy is strong throughout the global economy. Despite what some news headlines might suggest, there is a large silent majority of CEOs who remain deeply committed to addressing the climate crisis.
This commitment crosses political lines and national borders—I met business leaders from everywhere: the US, UK, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. I spoke with financial leaders holding all kinds of political views. They’re all moving toward clean energy because they recognize it as a significant economic opportunity—one that creates jobs, expands possibilities, develops new products, and opens new markets.
It was refreshing to hear corporate leaders say they aren’t swayed by short-term news cycles, but are focused on pragmatic, long-term transition plans based on sound economics and business fundamentals. These CEOs are navigating uncertainties from tariffs, U.S. policy changes, and evolving geopolitics, yet they remain committed to the energy transition because they understand that the risks of inaction far outweigh the risks of adoption.
I returned from London feeling incredibly encouraged by the conference and by the private sector’s continued leadership and confidence in the future. Even if some companies keep a lower profile in the coming years depending on where they’re based, the clean energy transition remains a top priority in C-suites worldwide.
As Secretary of State, you served as America’s Chief Diplomat. More recently, as the Special Envoy for Climate, you were our Chief Climate Diplomat. What do you see as the biggest misunderstanding between decarbonization efforts in the rest of the world and U.S. investors?
The clean energy transition isn’t just about technology—it’s about diplomacy too. To get an electric vehicle to roll off an assembly line in Shenzhen, Detroit, or Germany, the supply chain crosses borders tens, if not hundreds, of times. This transition intersects directly with trade policy, industrial policy, and national security. Companies and investors need to understand not just the economics, but the geopolitical landscape as well.
That’s why it requires the eye of a diplomat. At Galvanize, my insights from years of experience in government help us navigate these complex international relationships so we can make better investment decisions for our LPs.
At the same time, I think there are a few key things about the global energy transition that most people miss. First, the transition isn’t just a noble crusade—it’s a structural economic trend driven by falling costs and better performance. When clean technologies keep getting cheaper and more efficient, they naturally replace older, more expensive options. Unfortunately, many lump the energy transition under “ESG,” which obscures the simple economic logic: these new technologies save money, improve energy security, reduce health costs, and give people, businesses, and countries more options and freedom.
Second, the energy transition doesn’t depend on who’s in the White House anymore. Yes, government support helped kick-start the dramatic cost declines in solar, wind, batteries, and EVs. But now these technologies have their own economic momentum. Clean tech is showing the same year-on-year cost improvements we see in semiconductors powering the AI revolution. The genie is out of the bottle—policy changes might help or hurt at the margins, but they can’t stop the fundamental economic logic.
Third, clean energy isn’t just a luxury for wealthy nations anymore. The fastest adoption is happening in rapidly growing economies. India is on track for 500 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030. Countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam are seeing explosive growth in everything from nuclear to wind to batteries to solar. And China leads the world in both manufacturing and deploying clean energy. It’s simply wrong to think this is mainly a European or American phenomenon—the world’s fastest-growing economies are driving the transition forward, too.
Which sectors do you believe have the strongest growth potential in the coming decade?
When we think about the next phase of the clean energy transition, we’re moving beyond just deploying technologies to integrating them effectively. For example, solar panels and wind turbines produce different amounts of energy depending on weather and time of day. That’s why at Galvanize, we’re investing in solutions like energy storage systems and more advanced, flexible power grids that can manage these natural fluctuations in energy production.
Energy demand is projected to surge dramatically in the coming years—increasing by 50% by 2027 and potentially 165% by the end of the decade, according to some estimates. Data centers are driving much of this growth. Since AI systems need constant, reliable power, and many tech companies are committed to clean energy, this presents a significant opportunity for innovative firms like Fervo. They’re adapting fracking techniques to access geothermal energy resources beneath the earth’s surface. Their projects in Utah and Nevada are already generating clean, consistent power for thousands of homes without pollution or water waste.
The transition to clean energy also requires securing critical minerals. Building new power grids and electric vehicles demands both common materials like steel and specific minerals that are increasingly in the news—lithium, graphite, cobalt, and nickel. Under sustainable development scenarios, demand for lithium will increase 40 times by 2040. Graphite needs will grow 25 times, cobalt 21 times, and nickel 19 times.
To meet these extraordinary demands, we’re investing in technologies that can mine these materials more efficiently and with lower carbon footprints. These innovations will be essential to scaling up clean energy infrastructure while maintaining environmental responsibility throughout the supply chain.
Reducing the United States’ dependence on adversarial nations for these critical resources has become a significant geopolitical priority—precisely the type of challenge where Galvanize’s unique perspective helps us identify promising venture capital opportunities before they become obvious to others.
What do you hope that you’ll be able to accomplish through your work at Galvanize that you weren’t able to accomplish in government?
The private sector is increasingly where the action is when it comes to global energy. At Galvanize, I hope to demonstrate that there are profitable investments in clean energy and that, as you invest, it turns an economic flywheel—presenting more and more opportunities. No government in the world has enough money to service this transition alone, and so I believe it is critical that we demonstrate a clear model for how the private sector can profitably deploy capital into the transition.
I obviously come from a political background, but there’s a reason I’m working on clean energy in the private sector. People who are distracted by the din of the current political environment are missing out on the whistle of a generational opportunity. The clean energy transition will create greater wealth for investors, greater prosperity for citizens, and a safer earth as well.
Finally: Why Galvanize?
There’s no other firm built from the ground up to spot, act on, and generate real returns from the nuances of this global energy shift.
I’ve known Tom Steyer for years—way before Galvanize, back when he was at Hellman & Friedman. He has a broad reputation for being a clear-sighted, successful investor. Tom spots opportunities before others even know they’re coming. He understands how to structure investments to capture real value.
In addition, Katie Hall, our third co-chair at Galvanize, has also been a first class investor. The three of us have a remarkable complementarity when we work together. Tom brings the brilliant investor mindset of a great CEO; Katie brings incredible business-building acumen from years of experience; and I add a layer of political and geopolitical understanding from my time as Secretary of State, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, and decades in the Senate. Tom and Katie have also carefully hired an experienced, first class team, drawing from backgrounds at Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, and other leading institutions.
You get much smarter about the energy transition when you look at it through multiple lenses. Sure, there are impressive VC firms out there, but they’re only seeing one piece: what’s happening in private capital. They might invest in wind farms and solar infrastructure without seeing what’s coming next—the technologies that could completely disrupt their model.
At Galvanize, our multi-strategy, multi-asset approach gives us a three-dimensional view of the energy transition. It makes us smarter, helps us spot opportunities earlier, and manages risk better. We’re confident this approach will deliver stronger performance for our investors across all our strategies in the years ahead.