Sanjay Seth | Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for Climate and Equity, EPA
06/28/24 • 30 min
The mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to protect human health and the environment. To accomplish this mission, the EPA strives to develop and enforce regulations, provide grants, study environmental issues, sponsor partnerships, teach people about the environment, and publish information to keep the public informed.
Sanjay Seth is Chief of Staff & Senior Advisor for Climate and Equity for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, which is a 550-person unit of the EPA focused on the New England region. In this role, he supports the Regional Administrator to craft and implement policy, planning, operations, and personnel strategies across all programs, with a focus on climate change, environmental justice, and regional implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act programs.
Show Notes:
[1:25] - Sanjay shares his background and his current role at the EPA. For him, climate work is incredibly exciting but also very challenging.
[4:12] - People who have done the least harm to our climate are experiencing the most grief about its decline.
[5:43] - How do we leverage private capital, promote energy and independence, lower costs, and help communities that have been left behind?
[6:47] - There are three components to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Sanjay explains how the funds are invested in the community.
[10:08] - How is the distribution structured so communities can access these grants and funds?
[13:46] - Sanjay shares some of the recent successes experienced at the EPA.
[17:37] - How does the EPA work with communities to have an impact?
[19:37] - Assisting with technology and increasing access to grants and subgrants are some of the efforts of the EPA.
[21:47] - Working in climate is living in the space between optimism and skepticism to try to figure out how we make lasting progress.
[23:59] - Sanjay discusses some of the challenges he’s seen occur that they have worked on finding solutions for.
[26:30] - There are always going to be challenges and barriers when doing impactful work.
Links and Resources:
The mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to protect human health and the environment. To accomplish this mission, the EPA strives to develop and enforce regulations, provide grants, study environmental issues, sponsor partnerships, teach people about the environment, and publish information to keep the public informed.
Sanjay Seth is Chief of Staff & Senior Advisor for Climate and Equity for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, which is a 550-person unit of the EPA focused on the New England region. In this role, he supports the Regional Administrator to craft and implement policy, planning, operations, and personnel strategies across all programs, with a focus on climate change, environmental justice, and regional implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act programs.
Show Notes:
[1:25] - Sanjay shares his background and his current role at the EPA. For him, climate work is incredibly exciting but also very challenging.
[4:12] - People who have done the least harm to our climate are experiencing the most grief about its decline.
[5:43] - How do we leverage private capital, promote energy and independence, lower costs, and help communities that have been left behind?
[6:47] - There are three components to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Sanjay explains how the funds are invested in the community.
[10:08] - How is the distribution structured so communities can access these grants and funds?
[13:46] - Sanjay shares some of the recent successes experienced at the EPA.
[17:37] - How does the EPA work with communities to have an impact?
[19:37] - Assisting with technology and increasing access to grants and subgrants are some of the efforts of the EPA.
[21:47] - Working in climate is living in the space between optimism and skepticism to try to figure out how we make lasting progress.
[23:59] - Sanjay discusses some of the challenges he’s seen occur that they have worked on finding solutions for.
[26:30] - There are always going to be challenges and barriers when doing impactful work.
Links and Resources:
Previous Episode
Daniel Morris | Clean Energy Lead, Climate Investment Funds
The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) is an enabler of pioneering climate-smart planning and climate action in low and middle-income economies, many of which are the least prepared yet the most prone to the challenges of climate change. CIF responds to the worldwide climate crisis with large-scale, low-cost, and long-term financial solutions to support countries in achieving their climate objectives. It is in the Climate Investment Funds’ core beliefs that helping communities shift faster to clean and green practices strengthens populations’ resilience against climate risks, stabilizes national and regional economies, and paves the way for more sustainable development where no one is left behind.
As the Senior Climate Change Specialist and Clean Energy Lead, Daniel Morris works with the Climate Investment Funds’ partners to help deliver transformational change in the energy systems of developing countries. Daniel’s 12 years of experience in working to build economic and policy solutions to the climate crisis are also derived from his previous roles as an Advisor to the US Executive Director of the World Bank and as a Policy Analyst in the US Treasury. In the latter position, he helped to execute the agency’s responsibilities related to the United States’ climate and energy agenda.
Show Notes:
[1:20] - Daniel shares his background and how he found himself in his current role at CIF.
[4:25] - It is important to Daniel to do good work that makes a difference.
[7:09] - Starting out as a consultant, he was able to establish some networking and the opportunity to learn more about CIF before being fully employed there.
[8:36] - Especially early in your career, take advantage of any opportunity you come across that can build your skills.
[9:56] - Understand the strengths of all the team members.
[12:34] - Daniel discusses the work streams and structures at CIF.
[13:56] - CIF partners with governments and multilateral development banks to develop country-led investment plans.
[16:27] - Daniel describes some of the programs at CIF and the focuses of each.
[17:48] - CIF covers a range of climate innovations, and Daniel oversees Clean Energy.
[21:53] - It is not a universal access model.
[23:27] - Daniel explains the changes and growth since the start of CIF.
[26:56] - From a commercial viability standpoint, what can CIF offer?
[30:15] - Daniel describes the enthusiasm and motivation for developing countries looking for clean energy.
[33:42] - Reflecting on his career path, Daniel shares the advice he would give himself at different stages in the development.
Links and Resources:
Next Episode
Amy Duffuor | Co-Founder & General Partner, Azolla Ventures
Azolla Ventures invests in breakthroughs that could avert catastrophic climate change. They focus on ventures at the earliest stages, where risk and reward are highest. Their priority is impact first: every investment holds the potential for large-scale greenhouse gas reductions and a more just climate for all. Founded by Prime Coalition and enabled by catalytic capital, they seek out bold entrepreneurs from all corners and embrace opportunities outside of venture norms.
Amy Duffuor is the co-founder and General Partner of Azolla Ventures. She is also a Managing Director at Prime Impact Fund, Azolla Ventures’ predecessor vehicle. Her professional background spans business, finance, and impact across three continents. Amy has served as a board member for Azolla Ventures portfolio companies Heaten and Carbon Reform, as well as Prime Impact Fund portfolio companies Clean Crop Technologies, Noon Energy, and Ovipost.
In addition, Amy serves on the board of the Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC); the Leadership Council of Activate, a nonprofit that empowers scientists to bring their research to market to address climate change; the Advisory Council of ReFED, a national nonprofit focused on food waste; and the Advisory Board of GreenTech Noir, a global community for Black people working in sustainability and climate tech.
Show Notes:
[01:16] - Amy walks us through the co-founding of Azolla Ventures and how it began with the Prime Coalition and a mission to use catalytic capital to drive climate innovation.
[02:09] - Catalytic capital is tax exempt, structurally patient and more flexible, and it can be used to de-risk technologies for downstream investors.
[05:13] - Azolla Ventures helps lessen risk through a unique funding model that combines both catalytic capital with more traditional venture capital.
[07:04] - They invest in pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds in hardware based companies. Hardware requires a longer investing horizon.
[07:26] - There are three key evaluation investment criteria that underscore the importance of catalytic capital in their model. 1. Gigaton scale climate impact. 2. Additionality. 3. Attractiveness to downstream commercial capital.
[12:26] - There are often other investors investing alongside Azolla Ventures. They try to be thoughtful about how they put these syndicates together.
[14:39] - Amy talks about how Azolla sources potential investment partners.
[16:14] - Azolla has a unique process that begins with a pitch to a member, then a full-team pitch, then it's time for the investment advisory committee who help with the last two steps of additionality and downstream funding.
[20:09] - Most companies raise rounds with 18 to 24 months of runway.
[21:34] - First tip is to understand what stage your company is at and realize it may not be the right stage for venture capital.
[22:43] - Be confident about demonstrating your expertise but humble about what you don't know.
[23:58] - Be coachable and agile.
[24:38] - The driving motivation for Azolla is large-scale climate impact.
[26:08] - Challenges include the long investment horizon and capital intensity and the project financing valley of death.
[29:05] - Founders need to be commercially minded and focus on customers and partners towards the later stages.
[29:53] - Amy's advice is don't be so focused on the job, be focused on the skill sets that you're gaining.
Links and Resources:
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/the-zenergy-podcast-climate-leadership-finance-and-technology-389986/sanjay-seth-chief-of-staff-and-senior-advisor-for-climate-and-equity-e-57598506"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to sanjay seth | chief of staff and senior advisor for climate and equity, epa on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy