TPG’s Coulter Says Climate Investing Is More Challenging Than He Expected

(Bloomberg) -- Climate investing isn’t just about the need for solutions, says TPG Inc. Chairman Jim Coulter — it’s about the opportunity.

While aligning the two has been more challenging than he expected, Coulter said Thursday at theBloomberg Green Festival in Seattle, he now anticipates money will start moving “because the opportunity is there.”

Sharply falling prices for clean tech sectors such as solar and batteries have boosted their competitiveness against fossil fuels, ushering them into the mainstream — and making them more attractive to private investment. Solar, for instance, is now a leading new power source in many markets. And crises including the war in Ukraine have underscored the usefulness of renewables to energy security, winning new allies even as demand for fossil fuels has rebounded.

But clean tech has sometimes struggled to win over investors, with a bust in the aughts scaring away so-called “tourists.” Enthusiasm for the sector has also ebbed in recent years, with one report finding investment dropped 20% globally in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2023.

“You can’t be a tourist in climate,” Coulter said. “We have to encourage people to do the work and not fall back on the way things are done.”

The focus now should be on what’s possible, he added. “We may not be moving fast enough, but we’re moving faster.”