April 2025 – The third annual San Francisco Climate Week took place during a more dynamic and complicated policy environment than the previous two, but the overall sentiment remained positive. Despite concerns about market volatility, policy retrenchment and political noise, entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders are enthusiastic about the long-term opportunities in the energy transition.
Over five days, Galvanize’s Co-Executive Chair, Tom Steyer, and leaders from across the firm’s Innovation + Expansion, Impact, Strategy and Investor Partnerships teams led solution-oriented dialogues about the business of decarbonization.
During many thoughtful discussions, presentations, and expert panels, several important themes stood out:
- The economic forces driving the global energy transition remain strong. Even with challenges and uncertainty, businesses and projects with strong fundamentals will continue to succeed across the United States and around the world.
- Advances in AI, as well as investment in AI infrastructure, are major sources of optimism, particularly in how AI can help improve power grids’ capacity to handle increasing electricity demands. There’s also growing awareness that renewable energy sources will be essential for supplying the electricity that AI systems need.
- Strategic capital allocators and asset managers are wary of market uncertainty, but are enthusiastic about newly investable and durable opportunities for patient and opportunistic capital amid recent dislocations.
- Participants increasingly focused on addressing the consequences of emissions reductions occurring more slowly than needed. This shifted more conversations toward preparing for climate impacts, building resilient communities, and removing carbon from the atmosphere. Leaders now recognize water management as critical for climate adaptation, national security, and economic stability. They also pointed to AI advances that are improving measurement and verification of carbon capture by natural systems.
Participants at San Francisco Climate Week acknowledged the challenges of shifts in economic, environmental, and energy policies, yet maintained a determined optimism throughout the event. This positive outlook stemmed from the understanding that the economic foundations driving the worldwide shift to cleaner energy remain solid, and that technological innovation—especially the kind that San Francisco is known for—will be essential to meet growing demands for affordable, flexible, and clean electricity.