Hi, I’m Djoann Fal. I convene The Adaptive Economy by Atlas, a data-driven, positive, and most importantly solution-based business newsletter to help us understand how our lives, societies, and political economy will change under the force of rapidly changing climate and technology innovation. Congratulations, you are now among the 7000+ forward-thinking business leaders staying ahead of the curve by knowing in which industry to dedicate your time, money, and assets as you enter the 4th industrial era.

“I don’t read your newsletter.” 

Alright, you can watch it instead...

In January we launched the first episodes of our Atlas Podcast, showcasing underdog impact tech heroes taking concrete actions to solve the environmental, economic, technological, and social challenges of our generation. Welcoming the experienced media TV anchor Jett Gunther for joining the Atlas team! We will include one (ish) podcast episode per newsletter for your pleasure! Help us by following us here!

Click here to follow the page & watch our interviews of impact tech founders!

Life insurance for 7.8 billion people: Earth.

In the media, on the news, we always hear that the climate situation is getting worse and that’s our fault, to us consumers to consume, eat beef, using our cars, buying houses, and spending on electricity.

To be honest, I always find it very hard to take it in - yes that beef I eat every week, that’s my fault - and respond to it (with actions).

Well, most of us buy health insurance, if they can. We have car insurance, in case we crash. Even if it's not clear whether I’m gonna crash, we are not planning to but I still buy insurance to alleviate that risk.

Your house is insured against fire, right? Of course, you hope it doesn’t burn down but some do and you are covered. So I mean there are plenty of things we insure ourselves against in life.

But climate, where you have thousands of scientists telling you every day that the prépondérance of the evidence, that massive evidence convinces them beyond a doubt: the standard that we use against criminal cases in court...

Well beyond a reasonable doubt, it is clear that humanity is contributing to climate change and crisis.

So, I have a simple question: why aren’t we buying insurance for the currently happening climate crisis?

Well, some people are…

And they make a lot of money from doing it… Let’s understand how.

Making money harnessing the (climate tech) wave

From sovereign funds to individuals, investors are driving demand for responsible and sustainable investments… Because that’s where the profits are highest in the next coming years.

ESG investments are defined with a clear intent to generate a measurable positive social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. Impact investments occur across asset classes and investment amounts and target financial returns that range from below market to risk-adjusted market rate. Impact-fund managers, who invest mainly in privately held businesses, are having trouble finding companies that are ready to put large amounts of capital to work. Impact investing became an increasingly popular model for socially-conscious high net worth individuals. Increasingly, ESG investors are also seeking to understand the impact of their investments. Thus, a new blend of ESG and Green investing* is emerging.

*Green investment refers to approaches that seek to invest capital in environmental assets, whether these are funds/bonds, companies, infrastructure, or projects. Typically this might include low carbon power generation and vehicles, smart grids, energy efficiency, pollution control, recycling, waste management and waste of energy, process innovation, and other technologies and processes that contribute to solving particular environmental problems.

Confronting climate change will help our economic recovery

During the great depression and after World War II, the world set out to create a new order with the explicit mandate to prevent the tragedy from happening again. As we hear the loud creaking of strained institutions that protected us throughout the 20th century, the great lockdown presents the same option for a great reset with an equal consequence—for our environment, for our health, for a sustainable future.

One of our challenges now is to fix today’s economy and put people back to work while still investing in our environmental future by decoupling economic growth from carbon emissions once and for all. We can focus on making environmental gains permanent without losing economic dynamism. For the first time in human history, we have the technology and human ingenuity to find the environmental and social solutions the world so badly needs. We are only limited by our collective will to do so. We have learned these past weeks that we have the capacity, willingness, and creativity to change our ways much more quickly than we could have ever imagined. Now, we need to keep that collective will and apply it to the biggest world problems.

By embracing the ESG agenda, we can look to price negative externalities rightly, build sustainable infrastructure that propels economic vitality through new technology, clean electricity generation, and sustainable methods of production. That is how we can respond to tragedies like COVID-19, the Australian wildfires, East African droughts, South Asian floods, and countless others we have seen so recently. It will undoubtedly take a massive public-private partnership of unprecedented scale, but as we have learned, we can transform the way we work and behave.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many to reconsider the link between the environment, society, good governance, and profit. That has sharpened minds on the need for greater focus on ESG criteria and Green investments, so-called “The Climate Tech market”. Many also now see the disruption as an opportunity to rebuild greener economies…

Building a portfolio and a better world?

Lots of my colleagues told me they were looking for a way to put their savings money to work with better returns than real estate or crypto. Some other of my acquaintances told me they wanted to use their wealth to be in a position of influence. Some others simply told me they wanted to be ahead of the curve and invest in the next big thing.

On February 16, with 42 of my closest business friends, we will be launching Atlas Syndicate Fund One. An angel investment vehicle that will enable the members of our syndicate to invest in the world's top-performing impact tech, cleantech & deeptech funds as well as invest in some promising ESG companies in the region.

At Atlas, we do not want to approach the climate crisis as a problem: Atlas wants to approach the climate crisis as a market - a multi-trillion-dollar market - in which products are becoming available to resolve the market demand.

In this market, because of the timely nature of the situation, efficient products are rare, highly in demand and highly mediatized. 

Hence companies making these products are 10x ing their sales every year and the early investors of these companies are turning billionaires.

This is why I’m glad to announce that with Atlas, we are enabling angel investors to get together and become impact angel investors, making money from investing in companies solving the climate crisis & designing the future of work. How cool? Learn more by watching our soft launch event on the 16th Feb.

On that day, we will be:

• Live interviewing top people like the former head of the 2 billion dollar ESG UNDP fund or the head of the World Economic Forum Center for the 4th industrial revolution.

• Having an exclusive networking launch with the first billionaire supporter of the club, some influencers and, some impact angel investors who signed up last a few months already and a lot of potential candidates

• RSVP here or join us online celebrating the birthday of Atlas (& Djoann)!

Be part of our online launch!