Are there any kinds of rewarding/meaningful careers that exist in the finance/climate change space?
I know there is obviously the entrepreneurial/ start-up space, but outside of this, are there any careers that come to mind that do meaningful work towards climate change and deal with finance/business related work?
I have explored some on ESG but from what I have read around, it seems that this is essentially a BS public relations type gig to make the company and people feel good about the work they're doing.
What are some careers at the intersection of climate change and finance and what does the pay look like for different roles?
I'm guessing you're reading about the corporate sustainability / ESG mission of a firm which is a lot different than the swath of impact/sustainable investing opportunities available
Sustainable asset management is a huge space and just about every large firm will have a presence. Also impact investing (look up KKR Impact fund), renewable PE, climate IB (there are some BB groups cropping up, also places like Big Path Capital which is smaller but an interesting concept)
I'd say the downside is a lot of these areas can be hard to break into
I see. Yeah I've just gone through numerous threads mentioning ESG and the replies are overwhelmingly critical of the fraudulent nature of ESG and how it's a joke etc etc. I'll check out some of the other things you mentioned though. Thanks!
Got it, ESG is a bit controversial and WSO isn't always the most... well-rounded on those types of topics. Take it with a grain of salt. Lots of interesting finance careers in the space
SVB, Signature Bank, and FTX collapsed within 4 months of each other. All 3 were ultra-focused on ESG and had very good scores--FTX had a higher governance score than Exxon-Mobil. For that matter, Exxon-Mobil has a better ESG score than Tesla, which founded the electric vehicle revolution. So yeah, it's a fraud.
Instead of throwing MS at me for pointing out the total absurdity of a system that would grant a better governance score to FTX than Exxon-Mobil and a better overall ESG score to an oil company than to an electric vehicle manufacturer, why don't you defend your statement that we should take criticism of ESG with a "grain of salt." Don't the facts indicate that we should take anything "green" with a grain of salt and anything attached to ESG with a grain of salt?
You are simply derailing a prospect's career advice thread... I was pointing out to a college student that WSO has a lot of one-sided discourse (true). ESG discussion is very political and you are cherry-picking stats. I have no opinion on the ESG scores, and probably agree they are BS, but was telling the prospect some career areas to look into within the broader climate finance space. You are being immature calling the entire thing a fraud and throwing MS at everyone.
There are certainly some legitimate areas of sustainable investing. Renewable PE is a huge growth area for infra PE for example. KKR Impact invests in a huge range of companies... one of their first was a HVAC company in Singapore to help bring energy costs down for the local community (how dare they!).
You should speak to someone who actually works in infra or impact investing... the news headlines and random stats picked out of wherever do not encompass the entire sustainable investing story.
It might also be worth looking into project finance / tax equity as a lot of that world finances solar/battery/wind projects.
there's also the corporate PPA (power purchase agreement) route. A lot of tech companies are creating corporate PPAs where they buy clean energy.
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My friend owns this company:
THiNKGREEN! Global Advisors, Inc. is an investment bank and financial services advisory firm dedicated to the Cleantech industry and renewable projects. We provide institutional capital raising, Mergers & Acquisitions advisory, equipment leasing, and government funding services to Clean Technology companies, both private and public. We also offer services to investment banks and institutional investors such as venture capitalists, private equity funds, insurance companies and hedge funds. Our team consists of professionals with backgrounds in investment banking, portfolio management, structured finance, government policy, science and engineering. We specialize in helping next-generation Green Technology companies develop their business plans and accelerate the growth of shareholder value.
His LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinedwardbrooks/
This is such a fraud. Every financial services firm is happy to service the "cleantech industry" so long as the risk profile is commensurate with the risk profile required by the investors. There isn't an investment bank, commercial bank, BDC, etc. in America that would turn down a good deal in the clean tech space. All this company really is doing is marketing to potential investors and trying to set itself apart.
Fraud? Bro calm down dude and show a little respect.
Which is what normal companies do anyway? You're making yourself look stupid by calling out fraud.
Affordable housing development
So difficult to get making an impact and making a living line up
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