Essay on Entrepreneurship and Climate Changes

To have a complete understanding of the climate change, it is important to understand that climate refers to the average weather of a particular geographical zone over the course of many years. If that average weather shows an unusual changing trend, then we can refer it as climate change. The industrial revolution of mankind brought many positive changes in the routine life of the human civilization while the other side of the picture shows that the high consumption of fossil oil, natural gas and coal for various purposes.    

Introduction:
In this technological era, words like ‘climate change’ are not new to someone’s ear. Rather,
these words start echoing the realms of modern civilisation in the second half of the 20th
century. Over the time, the issue attracted masses and media. To have a complete
understanding of the climate change, it is important to understand that the word climate refers
to the average weather of a particular geographical zone over the course of many years. If
that average weather shows an unusual changing trend, then we can refer it as climate
change. The industrial revolution of mankind brought many positive changes in the routine
life of the human civilisation while the other side of the picture shows that the high
consumption of fossil oil, natural gas and coal for various purposes like household, factories,
communities, etc. has accelerated the climate changes. To further simplify the connection
between fossil fuel consumption and climate change, it can be exemplified that in normal
conditions, the sun’s light energy gets to the earth surface. Some of this energy is consumed
by various natural mechanism while the major portion of the energy is reflected back to the
space. When the fossil fuel burns, variety of gases are formed which mostly includes carbon
dioxide (CO2). These gases form a kind of blanket over the surface of the earth and do not let
the reflected energy waves to leave the earth atmosphere rather these waves are trapped in the
earth’s atmosphere. As a result of this entrapment, temperature of the region gets increased.
The planet earth is about 1.2 Celsius warmer than the 19th century while the amount of carbon
dioxide has risen about 50%. (The Aspen Institute, 2021)
There are various reasons why, climate change has to be taken seriously. As per
environmental scientists, this rapid rise in temperature needs to be checked right at this point
if mankind wants to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. As per experts, global
warming needs to be kept to 1.5c by 2100. The gravity of the issue demands immediate
actions while the experts have predicted that if the global warming is not checked,
temperature would rise to 2.4C. The rise would not just stop there if we keep on this usual
track of burning fossil fuels then the temperature can rise up-to 4C in future.
1 | P a g e
Energy waves from sun
A small portion fuels various natural processes
while major portion is reflected.
Natural mechanism
Forms a blanket over the planet's atmosphere
Energy waves get trappedWith Green-house gases
Entrepreneurship and climate change

The devastating effects of this rise in temperature would include dangerous heatwaves,
millions of people would lose their homes as the sea level rises. Such abrupt changes in
temperature would cause irreversible loss of plant and animal species. (Renee, 2019) Besides,
if the climate change is not checked and proper reforms to improve the situation is not done
at the global level then it is projected that more than 132 million people will be pushed into
poverty over the course of next 10 years. (IFC.org, 2022)
The problem is now known to masses while the real aim of the discussion should be to find
the solutions. It goes without exaggeration that to improve our planet’s condition, the first
step would be to stop this usual way of living, industrial manufacturing, consumption of
fossil fuels, etc. Now this decision is associated with the availability of equally or even
improved alternative. Then this alternative depends on various stakeholders which involves
scientists, governments and entrepreneurs. While every stakeholder has its own level of
importance, this article would focus on the role of entrepreneurship on the climate change.
Now to cope such situation, entrepreneur can handle the matter via three approaches. In my
opinion, ‘For profit’ approach would by the most suited one. My reasons to choose this
approach includes the following:
 Profit is one of the prime intentions of entrepreneurship, if this is dissected out of the
equation then the whole concept of climate change may not be able to attract
sustainability.
 For Profit organisation would be better suited to attract other potential entrepreneurs
to seek their piece of cake in the cause.
 Innovation has direct link with profitability, if an entrepreneur has enough innovation
that is suitable for the nature, then this reward is enough for the community while if
the entrepreneur wishes to continue the plan or improve the approach then the
organisation should be profit based.
The business opportunities in the climate change sector are not hidden from the business
community. As per data, around 90% of the business at global level consists of small and
medium size enterprises while employing more than 2 billion people. (Renee, 2019) Thus,
2 | P a g e
Temp. would rise to 2.4c by end of century
Rise of sea levels
Irreversible loss of animal and plant species
If immediate action not taken
Entrepreneurship and climate change

governments and international Chamber of Commerce supports such enterprises who want to
explore the climate change business opportunity. Such organisations are provided with
various tools, resources, ease of conducting business, etc. to reduce the carbon footprint
through their own operations and supply chains. Having such a large number of people on
payroll, it goes without saying that international business community and governments
support SMEs by providing utmost ease of doing business and removing various barriers that
these companies face in doing the business, thus, helping the community in both ways.
Entrepreneurship symbiotic relationship with Climate change:
A business is done by a businessman who follows a path which is already there to be
followed while an entrepreneur analyses the situation and think of unique way to cope the
issue. That is why, climate change needs entrepreneurs. There are various sectors where the
entrepreneurs can explore new ways of conducting business. Almost every sector has a wide
range of opportunities related to innovations in processes, technologies, or models that can
have some modifications and these modifications would in turn bring positive climate change
while becoming more adaptable to the changing climate situation. While every sector falls in
this category, there are many sectors that have huge opportunities for innovation and
alteration in usual practice which would bring major changes in our defence against climate
change. As per World resource institute, more than 70% of greenhouse gas emission was
under the energy sector then comes agriculture and other sectors. This shows a natural
priority for the entrepreneurs to explore various sectors. To cope the climate change with
entrepreneurial efforts, it is important that the entrepreneurs are shown some opportunities
and authentic predictions.
Entrepreneurial Opportunities associated with Climate change:
As per InfoDev’s 2014 report, overall entrepreneurial opportunities associated with climate
change revolves around fifteen technologies. The estimated market size by 2023 would
mostly revolve around the sectors of water and energy.
3 | P a g e
Entrepreneurship and climate change

Wastewater Water Onshore wind Solar PV Small Hydro
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
The Climate and Clean Technology Opportunity for
Developing Countries. (USD. Trillion)
The Climate and Clean Technology Opportunity for Developing Countries. (USD. Trillion) (The
Aspen Institute, 2021)
As shown in the above-mentioned graphs, out of various sectors wastewater, water and some
other renewable energy technologies potentially have the highest market shares by the small
and medium sized enterprises. It should be kept in mind that these opportunities are not solely
found in the energy sectors rather agriculture and food systems also have their own potential
in the climate entrepreneurial domain. It is of particular importance to mention Solar PV
market. This market has shown tremendous growth over the past decade. Pico-solar lights
and solar home systems have shown promising data for the entrepreneurs. This sector did not
have reasonable users a decade ago while over the decade, more than 420 million users
around the world. (Talal, 2021)
Apart from this solar sector, it is important to mention that although, around 1.5 billion
people globally have grid access, still, the suffering from the broken grids and transmission
lines are present. This causes loss of several billion dollars. To cope these blackouts, major
portion of the population depends on the distributed diesel and gasoline-powered back-up
generators.
According to an Access to Energy Institute report, Nigeria has some of the poor grid access.
As per data, 22 million small gasoline generators are being used in the country top power
households and small businesses. This high level of usage of fossil fuel in various
4 | P a g e
Poor energy infrastructure
of Nigeria
22 million small gasoline
generators
Potential of around $12
billion for climate
entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship and climate change

commodities provide an opportunity for the entrepreneurs to invest in alternative renewable
energy sources. The substitute energy source market has an estimated 12 billion US. dollar
market in Nigeria alone. (The Aspen Institute, 2021)
Entrepreneurial impact on Agriculture and Food systems:
Agriculture is one of the most crucial areas for climate entrepreneurship in developing
economies. In the developing countries, Agriculture forms as much as 25% of the GDP.
While 19-29% of the global greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture. Agriculture sector holds
immense importance because this sector is on the front line against the changes associated
with climate change as climate change alters precipitation patterns, extremes of weather
condition, pests, disease, etc. Besides, the global demand of food for the expanding
population would rise by 60% in the near future. Now this 19-29% of the global greenhouse
gas emission can be sorted out with a bilateral relationship between the entrepreneurs and the
community. (The Aspen Institute, 2021) Many growth entrepreneurs have explored the
‘agritech’ sector. This agritech sector has focused on various opportunities to improve the
land productivity and dec. the usage of other fossil fuel run machinery by the use of
technological advances.
Whereas not all agritech propels climate adjustment or moderation endeavours, numerous
angles of agritech do have a tall potential to assist agriculturists do their work superior. For
case, ramble checking, versatile phone apps, inaccessible sensors associated to the web of
things (IoT), and moved forward mapping have all made it simpler for rural makers to
progress their working productivity. Measuring the advertise of climate-smart farming hones
– a rising term for hones that address climate alter issues in horticulture - is troublesome, as
these hones are as well shifted to track comprehensively. (Sargani Raza Ghulam, 2020) Be
that as it may, agritech is a progressively prevalent venture division, and ventures are less
demanding to track.
5 | P a g e
Almost 4 fold increase in sector's worth from
2018
Alone India's Agritech sector is estimated to
be of worth 245 US. million dollars
Indian Agritech sector to be doubled by 2022
Agritech in 2019
Entrepreneurship and climate change

The agribusiness and nourishment innovation division, counting climate-smart horticulture,
was esteemed at US $4.7 billion in 2019, a nearly four-fold increment in fair one year, from
2018. A few of the biggest openings in climate agritech show up to be in Sub-Saharan Africa
and India. Speculation in India’s agritech sector was estimated around 245 US. million
dollars in 2019 while this sector was projected more than double within two years. This sort
of data attracts other investors. (The Aspen Institute, 2021)
Entrepreneurial opportunities in Energy sector:
The most vital sector that requires immediate mitigation in terms of climate change includes
the energy sector at the top. As per data, energy usage and production were responsible for
more than 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2016. (The Aspen Institute, 2021) This
sector has a broad variety of opportunities. The focus of entrepreneurs on this sector has
widened the horizon towards the alternative sources of energy. As per the report of
International Energy Agency, it is projected that gross investment in the power sector could
reach 17 trillion US. dollars from 2012-2035 which would include $6.4 trillion in the
renewable energy technologies. (OFFICE OF GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS, 2022) Around
1.3 billion people around the world do not have proper access to electricity. Renewable
energy sources have created vast industry in the form of charcoal making, electric cars, wind
power energy, etc.
The entrepreneurs should aim for following goals while exploring this sector which includes
the following:
 Decrease the emissions from the usual energy generation processes
 Enhance the facilities for renewable energy production
 Reduce the loss of energy due to inefficient infrastructure
 Increase the efficiency of new renewable energy sources
 Maximise the energy storage potential
Although, there are several renewable energy generating options while the solar and wind
energy represent the major portion of this domain. China and India’s SMEs have shown great
potential and enhanced their overall renewable energy generation. Alone these two countries
6 | P a g e
Reduce emission
from energy
production
Enhance the
number of
respective facilities
Enhance efficiency
of renewable
energy sources
Maximise the
energy storage
potential
Entrepreneurship and climate change

have contributed more than 50% of the addition to the global renewable energy production
capacity. Brazil has also been important in these terms; however, Brazilian SMEs have
focused more on the biomass. These numbers show the overall potential for the entrepreneurs
to invest in this sector. This is also encouraging for the entrepreneurs that the International
Energy Agency predicts that the renewable energy sector would see a boom and is estimated
to be of worth between 7-11 trillion US. dollar by 2040. (Talal, 2021)
Prerequisites for this sector:
Although, renewable energy usage has shown promising numbers yet the main issue is yet to
be resolved. There are some prerequisites for the entrepreneurs to invest in this sector. These
prerequisites demand various stakeholders of this sector to be on the same page. In this
context, the issue of efficiency, efficient transmission of energy and infrastructure needs to be
modified to provide an equally eligible alternative as per the existing one. Thus, various
stakeholders like the regional governing bodies, philanthropists, development partners and
entrepreneurs should focus on this issue so that the renewable energy production not only
increases but also provides benefits to the local public right in their households. Extending
this argument, we can analyse the UN Environment program’s report that specifies that
buildings and their construction together are responsible for more than 36% of global energy
use while contribute 39% of global carbon emission annually.
The entrepreneurs and other stakeholders should focus on this issue under the umbrella of
‘Social Entrepreneurship’ where they should try to meet the goals of Paris Climate
Agreement and limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius and improve the energy
consumption in infrastructure sector by 30% by the end of 2030. (The Aspen Institute, 2021)
it is important for the entrepreneurs to have a thorough analysis of that particular social issue
which is going to have the major impact as a result of their entrepreneurial venture. Without a
meticulous market and social issue analysis, it cannot be beneficial for any party.
(Kocharnaya Galina, 2018)
Challenges associated with Climate entrepreneurship:
7 | P a g e
Construction industry
consumes more than
36% of global energy
Construction industry
contributes around
39% of global
greenhouse gases
Under PCA, sectors
needs to improve
these numbers by
30% by 2030
Entrepreneurship and climate change

Climate entrepreneurship is a promising domain; however, this sector has its own share of
barriers, challenges which need to be addressed to cope the situation in a bilaterally beneficial
way. Lack of leadership is also considered to be one of the most contributing factors in
climate entrepreneurship.
Some of the challenges involve the following:
 Finance: The renewable energy sector demands research and development at a whole
new next level investment which is one of the main issues in this sector to be
established. Access to uninterrupted finance is a major barrier for the entrepreneurs
specially in the developing economies. Climate technologies and innovation attract
masses in terms of social benefits while it appears to be a risky investment for the
traditional investors who are indeed more comfortable with the already existing
technologies. In this context, initial finance to aid the small tech innovators is very
difficult. While this initial investment is already difficult, however, the regional
government policies also pose threat to the developing technologies and the
associated sponsors.
Besides, this sector cannot rely on a single investor rather it needs joint ventures to
provide finance at various level of development. Multiple sources of finance would
not endanger the venture with the lack of investment at any certain point. This implies
that there's a require for profoundly risk-tolerant R&D financing up front, taken after
by understanding early-stage capital for piloting and demonstration, and after that
more adaptable shapes of capital for sending and commercialization.
 Unsupportive regulations: The overall idea of renewable energy sources cannot be
dejected by some logical reason. However, there is still a wide gap between its
acceptance in the usual practice in the society. Besides, there are many countries who
8 | P a g e
Access to Finance
Unsupportive/unclear regulations
Capacity limitations
Challenges
Entrepreneurship and climate change
Lack of trust in climate entrepreneurship as
a secure investment
Climate entrepreneurship requires advance
level R&D
Requires multiple investors
Issue of Finance

rely on their fossil fuel associated revenue. These countries would not like another
alternative source of energy to substitute their usual source. In this context, campaigns
are needed to be launched at international and national level to cope this issue.
Governments should specially emphasize the topics like climate change and a dire
need of renewable energy source to substitute. Besides, every country must have and
strictly should follow a roadmap for green practice. As unclear and inadequate
regulations make the whole process tainted. Not every ‘go green’ logo company
follows social entrepreneurship so governments should provide proper and clear
regulations in this regard.
 Capacity limitations: The lack of capacity can cause hinderances to climate
entrepreneurs as most of the countries have regulations on micro, SMEs while not
every country supports such enterprises or ventures that aim to social benefit or
environment. (qmsuk.com, 2021)
Conclusion:
Climate change is a serious global level issue which needs to be addressed by the
international and national level governing bodies. The greenhouse gasses shape a kind of
cover over the surface of the soil and don't let the reflected vitality waves to take off the soil
air or maybe these waves are caught within the earth’s climate. As a result of this
entanglement, temperature of the locale gets expanded. The planet soil is approximately 1.5
Celsius hotter than the 19th century whereas the sum of carbon dioxide has risen
approximately 50%. (BBC.com, 2021) Alone these numbers are enough to represent the
gravity of issue. It goes without exaggeration that climate change needs collateral efforts
from entrepreneurs, governments and international funding bodies. All of these stakeholders
should be on a same page to cope this issue in a constructive manner. (Kuntum, 2021) As
mentioned before, in my opinion ‘For-profit’ entrepreneurial approach would be a better and
promising way to address this issue as the sector has enormous number of profit-making
domains as explained in the previous sections. Various international forums are in their
working to address this issue and provide a roadmap to direct the mankind to a better
alternative future. (The Aspen Institute, 2021)
9 | P a g e
Entrepreneurship and climate change

Works Cited
BBC.com, 2021. What is climate change? A really simple guide. [Online]
Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-24021772
IFC.org, 2022. IFC's Work in Climate Business. [Online]
Available at:
https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/Topics_Ext_Content/IFC_External_Corporate_Site/
Climate+Business
Kocharnaya Galina, D. O. D. I., 2018. Formation of Entrepreneurial Climate as a Factor of
Social and Economic Development of the Region. SHS Web of Conferences.
Kuntum, M., 2021. How to make climate entrepreneurship work for climate action in
Southeast Asia?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.sei.org/perspectives/how-to-make-climate-entrepreneurship-work-
for-climate-action-in-southeast-asia/
OFFICE OF GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS, 2022. Climate Entrepreneurship for Economic
Development (CEED). [Online]
Available at: https://www.state.gov/climate-entrepreneurship-for-economic-development-
ceed/
qmsuk.com, 2021. WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO BUSINESS’ ENVIRONMENTAL
AMBITIONS?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.qmsuk.com/news/what-are-the-barriers-to-business-environmental-
ambitions
Renee, C., 2019. How Climate Change Impacts the Economy. [Online]
Available at: https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2019/06/20/climate-change-economy-
impacts/
Sargani Raza Ghulam, Z. D. R. M. H. W. Y., 2020. Sustainable Entrepreneurship in the
Agriculture Sector: The Nexus of the Triple Bottom Line Measurement Approach.
Sustainability.
Talal, R., 2021. How Entrepreneurs Could Shape The Climate Change Battle. [Online]
Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/03/03/how-
entrepreneurs-could-shape-the-climate-change-battle/?sh=720b12d928f3
10 | P a g e
Entrepreneurship and climate change

The Aspen Institute, 2021. Climate Entrepreneurship in Developing Economies, s.l.: Aspen
Network of Development Entrepreneurs.
11 | P a g e
Entrepreneurship and climate change