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Indonesian energy startup CarbonShare enables both non-state entities and individuals to participate in the nation's carbon reduction efforts through effective greenhouse gas projects and tree planting initiatives.
Faela Sufa, CEO of CarbonShare, present her work at the 42Geeks event, which connects leaders of start-ups. She said, “If the Earth warms and then exceeds the ideal warming target, more than 2 degrees Celsius for instance, there will be food shortages, there will be flooding everywhere. It’s a simple fact.”
“I buy a house in Jakarta and then when I’m older, the house’s value will drop, because it floods everywhere in Jakarta. I don’t want to think about those things when I’m old,” she said.
Green Financing Gap
CarbonShare is a tech start-up founded on a mission to offer easier solutions for businesses and individuals to balance their carbon footprint. Faela explained further on the subject.
One of the major challenges in global decarbonization efforts is the cost. McKinsey & Company's research suggests that an additional annual investment of approximately US$2 trillion is needed to achieve the goal of the Paris Agreement and limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by 2030.
A pressing question on everyone's mind is: Who will finance this? Indonesia's state budget is incapable of absorbing even a small portion of this cost. “CarbonShare was built because we see that there is a financing gap. And it’s a chicken and egg question, even until now,” Faela said.
She pointed out, “For a problem as simple as renewable energy, it’s not that simple. Even if we take one part out of many decarbonization initiatives, for renewable energy, Indonesia needs hundreds of billions of rupiah annually, and the state budget can only cover 10% or 30% of it.”
Female-led energy startup
At the end of the day, CarbonShare believes that polluters should pay. The start-up therefore enables everyone from non-state actors to individual customers to contribute to the country’s carbon reduction program, through greenhouse gas projects and tree planting initiatives.
It is also worth noted that in a sector that is historically male dominated, Faela is thankful that the start-up ecosystem is more lenient toward female-led businesses. All members on the board of directors are women at CarbonShare, as are most of its employees.
“Actually, the energy business is more male dominated. In the start-up scene, I think everyone is more welcoming than more conventional businesses. In energy, for instance, it is still very rare to find females, especially from the older generation. But in the start-up scene, women are more common.” said Faela.
