Global Thermostat: Closing the Carbon Cycle
Global Thermostat (GT) is a high technology start-up has developed proprietary technology to help stabilize the global climate and close the carbon cycle through direct capture of carbon dioxide from the air. The case provides an opportunity to examine the impact of climate change on society, potential solutions to this complex challenge, and the growth of a start-up high technology company bringing disruptive technology to the marketplace. The case explores issues associated with disruptive technology-driven change in a large, highly successful industry with many powerful vested interests. It concludes with questions surrounding trade-offs between corporate versus social responsibility when addressing climate change. The case discusses challenges associated with growing a start-up high technology company including proof of concept, financing, scaling and globalization are highlighted, as are challenges related to successful navigation of the "technology hype cycle" and commercialization of what promises to be disruptive technology. The case also provides an overview of the energy and the clean technology industries, and their regulatory contexts. It discusses drivers and consequences of environmental degradation attributed to climate change. Motivations and objectives of the prominent co-founders; Graciela Chichilnisky, creator of the carbon market enshrined in the emissions treaty of the United Nations Kyoto Protocol; and Dr. Peter Eisenberger, a distinguished professor of Earth and environmental sciences at Columbia University with deep energy industry experience, and their executive team are explored.