18th Jun 2024 Gemini 1.5 Pro
In this episode of The Regeneration Will Be Funded, host Matthew Monaghan speaks with Tom Chi, founder and managing partner of At One Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage deep tech for climate and environment. Chi discusses his framework of three epics of ecological technologies, highlighting investment opportunities within each. This summary explores Chi's perspective on the limitations of current approaches to sustainability, the potential of working with nature's metabolic flows, and the role of venture capital in driving systemic change.
Chi argues that our current economic system, existing in "Epic Zero," is fundamentally incompatible with planetary health. He emphasizes that the pursuit of economic advantage often translates to extracting more from nature with fewer resources, leading to unsustainable practices. While acknowledging the progress made in areas like renewable energy, Chi cautions against viewing them as silver bullets. He criticizes the overemphasis on "sexy" technologies and highlights the need for a nuanced understanding of resource limitations and potential unintended consequences.
"Are we similarly fooling ourselves when we talk about 100% clean energy and the green economy in terms of, you know, we're going to just use solar panels and windmills and whatever? EVs to solve this problem?"
Chi emphasizes the importance of material productivity, the first epoch in his framework. He advocates for technologies that maximize economic output while minimizing resource use and pollution. By aligning unit economics with environmental economics, Chi believes we can leverage the inherent drive of capitalism to create a more sustainable future. He illustrates this through At One Ventures' investments in companies like Alchemy Technologies, which offers a radically more efficient and environmentally friendly textile dyeing process.
Chi acknowledges the limitations of simply making capitalism more efficient. He argues that we need to go beyond material productivity and fundamentally rethink our relationship with nature. He proposes a shift from viewing the economy as a collection of nouns to understanding it as a system of verbs, recognizing the importance of supporting nature's metabolic flows. However, he cautions against advocating for the immediate dismantling of capitalism.
"But I think the better metaphor is we need to compost late stage capitalism. There's a lot of nutrients in there. There's actually some parts of the system that work all right."
Chi advocates for a more gradual approach, comparing the process to composting. He believes we should identify and nurture pockets of the existing system that are working well, gradually transforming them into something more sustainable. He sees venture capital playing a crucial role in this process, as it can provide the necessary capital and speed of innovation to outpace the inertia of traditional industries and regulatory frameworks.
Chi introduces Epic Two, which centers on understanding and working with nature's metabolic flows. He argues that by shifting our focus from extracting resources to supporting the processes that generate those resources, we can unlock new forms of economic leverage. He highlights the example of ancient Hawaiians, who managed their land based on watersheds (ahupua'a), ensuring that their practices were aligned with the natural flow of water and resources.
"And that led to food systems, land management systems that not only were productive, it actually improved the net productivity of the land, even compared to what nature had already created there."
Chi emphasizes that this approach requires a fundamental shift in mindset from nouns to verbs. He cites Dendra Systems, a company that uses drones for ecosystem restoration, as an example of this approach in action. He explains that by restoring mangrove forests, Dendra Systems provides valuable ecosystem services that ultimately save governments and businesses money by mitigating the downstream effects of environmental degradation.
Chi believes that showcasing successful examples of working with nature's metabolic flows is crucial to driving broader adoption. He argues that people are more likely to embrace new approaches when they see tangible economic benefits. He points to the case of Myanmar, where the government chose to invest in mangrove restoration after realizing it was more cost-effective than addressing the social and economic problems caused by their initial destruction.
"I don't think that we're going to win philosophically first. Right. You're going to win economically first. And then people will be like, how did that work?"
Chi acknowledges the limitations of relying solely on economic incentives and government intervention. He criticizes the current state of carbon markets, arguing that they are overly focused on financial engineering and lack a genuine connection to the work of ecosystem restoration. He calls for greater emphasis on "getting your boots dirty" and supporting initiatives that demonstrate real-world impact.
Chi briefly introduces Epic Three, the most challenging but ultimately the most aligned with the fundamental principles of life in the universe: maximizing diverse nutrient flows. He explains that life continually seeks to diversify and expand the flow of nutrients through ecosystems. He argues that by understanding and supporting these processes at various scales, we can create an economy that is not only sustainable but also regenerative.
"So the purpose of life in the universe is to maximize diverse nutrient flows and to savor every photon and savor every water molecule toward the goal of maximizing diverse nutrient flows."
Chi acknowledges that achieving this level of integration with nature will require a significant shift in our understanding and appreciation of ecological complexity. He encourages listeners to engage with experts in various fields, to learn from those who are actively working to restore and regenerate ecosystems, and to contribute to the collective effort of building a future where humanity exists in harmony with nature.
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