What Donald Trump’s Return Means for US Climate Ambition
The US looking out only for itself “shoots a hole in everything we’re trying to accomplish,” hedge-fund billionaire Tom Steyer says on this week’s Zero.
Donald Trump during a campaign event at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, on Jan. 14.
Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
Tom Steyer is a hedge-fund billionaire who made his money investing in distressed assets, including fossil fuel projects. He’s also an avowed climate activist and a major donor to US politicians seeking to tackle climate change. After a short-lived run for president, Steyer in 2021 set up Galvanize Climate Solutions, a firm that invests in companies and technologies promising emissions reductions this decade. It recently raised $1 billion.
Critically, Steyer sees limited tension between his goals today and his past investing focus: Galvanize isn’t just aiming to do right by the planet, he says; it’s a means of showing investors that they don’t have to choose between impact and returns.