WEBVTT - Galvanize Climate Solutions Co-Founder Tom Steyer Talks Energy Solutions

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<v Speaker 1>Joining us now is Tom Steyer, a co founder of

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<v Speaker 1>Galvani's Climate Solutions. Tom, great to have you back. Thank

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<v Speaker 1>you so much for being with us. What are you

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<v Speaker 1>hoping to hear from Harris's campaign, given that we haven't

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<v Speaker 1>heard so much in terms of how she differs from

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<v Speaker 1>President Biden.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, what I'm expecting to hear Lisa, and hoping to

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<v Speaker 2>hear is that her agenda around the economy is going

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<v Speaker 2>to be about opportunity. Then in fact, she understands that

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<v Speaker 2>America is the land of opportunity and it gives every

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<v Speaker 2>of the chance to do the most, and that is

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<v Speaker 2>exactly what drives this economy, what makes our capitalism capitalistic

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<v Speaker 2>economy so strong. At the same time that I expect

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<v Speaker 2>her to continue most of the policies of the Biden

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<v Speaker 2>Harris administration.

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<v Speaker 3>So she will continue on this electrifying the grid. What

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<v Speaker 3>more do you expect if she were to win, that

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<v Speaker 3>they can add on to what Biden did. When it

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<v Speaker 3>comes to the Inflation Reduction Act.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I think to a large extent, it is going

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<v Speaker 2>to be about implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, which is

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<v Speaker 2>really two things. It's not just about the grid, it's

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<v Speaker 2>about deploying the existing technologies when solar batteries, evs, but

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<v Speaker 2>it's also about innovating and creating the next generation of

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<v Speaker 2>energy related companies and technologies. So that second part is

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<v Speaker 2>absolutely critical. We're seeing deployment happen spurred by the IRA,

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<v Speaker 2>but very much driven by private money. What we need

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<v Speaker 2>to see is new companies solving some of the problems

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<v Speaker 2>around energy in ways that work for consumers and companies.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, when it comes to that competition and if you

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<v Speaker 3>think climate is existential, why not let the cheap Chinese

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<v Speaker 3>evs into the United States.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm square. Here's my answer for you. Look, I am

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<v Speaker 2>a huge believer in trade. I believe that the benefits,

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<v Speaker 2>the dispersed benefits to American consumers of trade are huge

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<v Speaker 2>and important, and we've all enjoyed them for a long time.

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<v Speaker 2>And it's theoretically true too. What is true is that

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<v Speaker 2>the Chinese economy is doing something strange. They are leading

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<v Speaker 2>them manufacturing of almost every clean energy product wind, turbine,

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<v Speaker 2>solar arrays, batteries, evs. But what's also true is they're

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<v Speaker 2>by far the biggest polluter in terms of carbon emissions,

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<v Speaker 2>and they're using their carbon emissions to try and drive

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<v Speaker 2>their economic program of leading this energy transition to pull

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<v Speaker 2>their very weak economy out of the ditch. So, in fact,

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<v Speaker 2>the idea that they should be charged for their emissions

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<v Speaker 2>that are about a third of global emissions makes very

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<v Speaker 2>good sense to me, and we're doing it in not

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<v Speaker 2>direct way, but it's actually a way that turns out

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<v Speaker 2>to be pretty fair.

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<v Speaker 3>The other big issue, not just national security when it

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<v Speaker 3>comes to China, but the other big political issue in

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<v Speaker 3>the election is who's going to win the union vote.

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<v Speaker 3>How does Kamal Harris strike that tone the fact that

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<v Speaker 3>they want to see more evs in the road. But

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<v Speaker 3>actually this unnerves a lot of rank and file of

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<v Speaker 3>those labor unions in places like Michigan, which is critical

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<v Speaker 3>to Democrats maintaining the White House.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, But let's take a step back, if we could, Henry,

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<v Speaker 2>which is this We've all listened to Elon Musk and

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<v Speaker 2>Donald Trump talk about their attitude towards organized labor and

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<v Speaker 2>labor unions. In fact, they've been sued over what they

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<v Speaker 2>said on Twitter. So the truth is, it's not a

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<v Speaker 2>choice between Kamala who is a very strong union person,

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<v Speaker 2>and a blank person. It's someone who clearly is anti

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<v Speaker 2>union and an anti working person. And that's been a

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<v Speaker 2>long history over decades of where mister Trump has gone

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<v Speaker 2>and where he's likely to go. So yes, it's absolutely

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<v Speaker 2>clear that Michigan. Obviously, the UAW has a huge sway

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<v Speaker 2>in Michigan and they're a really important part of the

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<v Speaker 2>Democratic coalition. But the truth is that the person who

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<v Speaker 2>supports working people and who supports organized labor is definitely

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<v Speaker 2>Kamala Harris. And to go any other way is to

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<v Speaker 2>ignore the facts of this week, let alone the last

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<v Speaker 2>two decades.

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<v Speaker 4>And Tom, you're painting quite a dichonomy between the two candidates.

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<v Speaker 4>And I just wonder in your conversations with not just

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<v Speaker 4>investors but portfolio companies that want to do clean technology,

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<v Speaker 4>if there's a sense that they're holding back on investing

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<v Speaker 4>because of the uncertainty of the race, and it might

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<v Speaker 4>continue to do so if it is a Trump presidency.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I think when we talk about the possibility of

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<v Speaker 2>a Trump presidency, let's break it down into two things.

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<v Speaker 2>One is what's going to happen in the United States

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<v Speaker 2>of America. And I think that to a very large extent,

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<v Speaker 2>when it comes to the deployment of the existing technologies.

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<v Speaker 2>They're just cheaper. You know, if you look around the

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<v Speaker 2>world last year, so twenty twenty three of new electricity generation,

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<v Speaker 2>eighty six percent of it was renewable. They're not doing

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<v Speaker 2>that to be nice. They're doing it because it's a cheaper,

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<v Speaker 2>better deal. And those lines have crossed and there's nothing

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<v Speaker 2>that mister Trump can do to change the economic forces.

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<v Speaker 2>What is really important from the standpoint of addressing the

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<v Speaker 2>climate crisis more broadly, is this. This is obviously a

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<v Speaker 2>global issue. It requires global cooperation and American leadership. That

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<v Speaker 2>is something that a Trump and administration will never do.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, they famously withdrew from the Paris Accords. He's

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<v Speaker 2>talking about getting out of NATO, let alone cooperating with

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<v Speaker 2>the UN efforts around climate. So from the standpoint of

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<v Speaker 2>the American economy, we're going to continue to deploy I

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<v Speaker 2>think that's baked in the cake, just because it's a

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<v Speaker 2>better deal. Texas has tripled its solar since twenty eighteen.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's the state where they love to say how

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<v Speaker 2>bad renewables are, but they're a bigger win producer and

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<v Speaker 2>producer than California.

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<v Speaker 1>Tell me Jeff about thirty seconds. Do you think that

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<v Speaker 1>Musk's friendship with Donald Trump will ensure that there will

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<v Speaker 1>be a friendly environment for electric vehicles even though Trump

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<v Speaker 1>gets since the office. No.

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<v Speaker 2>I think that mister Trump doesn't really have policies and

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<v Speaker 2>he doesn't have friendships. So whatever he said on said

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<v Speaker 2>this week, that's something that will change over time because

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<v Speaker 2>they don't even have a platform. They literally don't have

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<v Speaker 2>a platform because they don't have policies. They just have

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<v Speaker 2>instincts urges, and pensions.

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<v Speaker 1>Tim Styer of Galvanized Climate Solutions, who really appreciate you

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<v Speaker 1>coming in as always, thank you for being here.