Climate and Capital - What Actually Drives Capital Towards Climate Solutions?

​Climate and Capital: What Actually Drives Capital Toward Climate Solutions?

​Climate technologies continue to attract significant attention, yet many promising solutions still struggle to access the capital needed to scale. What drives investment decisions in today's climate economy? Where are investors deploying capital, where are they pulling back, and what would it take to unlock substantially greater investment in climate solutions?

​Join a candid discussion featuring leaders from public finance, institutional investing, venture capital, wealth management, and climate innovation. This panel will explore how different capital providers evaluate climate opportunities, the trends they are seeing across asset classes, and the real-world constraints that shape allocation decisions.

​Panelists will discuss:

• ​Emerging trends in climate investing across venture capital, public markets, institutional portfolios, and catalytic finance

• ​How investment and allocation decisions are made—and why climate does not yet command a larger share of capital

• ​The role of risk, returns, policy, fiduciary responsibility, and market signals in directing investment flows

• ​What innovations, incentives, and market developments could accelerate capital deployment toward climate solutions

​Whether you're an investor, founder, policymaker, corporate leader, or climate professional, this session will provide an inside look at how capital actually moves—and what it will take to finance the transition at the scale and speed required.

​Moderator
Edward Chu, Arizona State University

​Featured Speakers

• ​Kathleen Hebert, Board Member, E8 Angel Investors

• ​Hilary Wiek, CFA, CAIA, Pitchbook

• ​Jonathan Azoff, Snocap

• ​Eli Lieberman, Executive Director, Washington State Green Bank

• ​TBA

​Date & Time
Wednesday, 9:00–11:00 AM

​Location
901 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98164, United States

​Agenda

​09:00 – 09:15 Registration, coffee & networking

​09:15 – 10:15 Panel discussion

​10:15 – 10:30 Audience Q&A

​10:30 – 11:00 Networking session

​Bios:

​Edward Chu serves as the Deputy Director General of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University (ASU). This first-of-its-kind, comprehensive university-based initiative integrates research, education, and action to advance planetary health, sustainability, and global habitability. At a decisive moment demanding rapid, coordinated climate action, he leads strategic initiatives to bridge the gaps between scientific discovery, economics, and human behavior to co-create scalable solutions. By bringing transdisciplinary leaders together to understand Earth’s systems as an interconnected whole, he drives the deployment of resilient, equitable approaches to energy, food, water, and infrastructure. A recognized leader in environmental management and systemic change, he joined ASU following a distinguished 30-year career in senior executive roles at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University, bringing a deeply grounded perspective on translating cutting-edge climate research into actionable environmental solutions.

​Kathleen Hebert is a member of the Board of Element 8 (E8), an early stage cleantech investment organization. At E8, she has chaired the screening committee, lead diligence teams, and was a manager of the Decarbon8 Fund from 2021-2024. Deeply involved in clean technology innovation and sustainability, she is part of the emeritus board of The Nature Conservancy of Washington, a board member of the Clean Energy Transition Institute, and was a 2015 Northwest Conservation Philanthropy Fellow with a focus on Water Sustainability. Prior to her climate roles, Kathleen was at Microsoft from 1988 until 2003, ultimately leading the Business Applications product division as a Corporate Vice President. Earlier, she was a strategy consultant for Fortune 500 companies at The Boston Consulting Group. She holds an A.B. in Mathematics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Stanford University.

​Hilary Wiek, CFA, CAIA, is a principal analyst at PitchBook, where she covers PitchBook’s fund strategies and performance, publishing primary research on the alternatives space and contributing to core report development. Wiek also covers ESG and impact investing. She has over 20 years of experience in asset owner, manager, and advisory roles. Prior to joining PitchBook, Wiek was the director of investments at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations, where she handled portfolio management, impact/ESG, investment diligence, and monitoring and investment operations. Before that, she held senior positions at Segal Rogerscasey, the South Carolina Retirement Systems Investment Commission, Buckingham Financial Group, Dayton Power & Light, and KeyCorp.

​Wiek received a master’s degree in finance and economics from Case Western Reserve University and a bachelor’s degree in business leadership and finance from the University of Puget Sound. She is based in PitchBook’s Seattle office.

​Jonathan Azoff is a software engineering leader with over twenty years of experience across social, gaming, real estate, fitness, logistics, and fintech, having built several venture-backed startups and achieved two notable exits to Zillow and Disney. He is the inventor of Goat-2-Meeting (2M+ ARR), the primary architect behind Omni (25M in XRP raised), and formerly led multiple engineering teams at Carta (7B valuation) focused on tools for venture capital. He helped bring The 9Zero Climate Innovation Hub to Seattle, and serves as board member and major sponsor across impact organizations like Sweet Farm, Work on Climate and The Climate Film Festival.

​He's an uncompromising advocate of great storytelling, having fun while doing good, and not taking himself seriously.

​Eli Lieberman brings a rich background in renewable energy financing and green bank development. Prior to his role as the Executive Director of the Washington State Green Bank, his leadership roles include serving as the director of clean energy financing and interim chief investment officer for Michigan Saves, the nation’s first nonprofit green bank, where he was responsible for building strategic relationships and designing and implementing new financing products. Eli also has extensive experience in the public sector, serving as the manager of the Sustainable Energy Trust with the Washington State Housing Finance Commission and addressing climate change through a carbon pricing program with the Washington Department of Ecology.

​By registering for this event, you agree to share your information with the event organizers, PNW Climate Week, and Climatebase / the Climate Week Network. You may receive updates from these organizations, and can opt out at any time in accordance with their respective privacy policies.