Why are we hosting a yearly climate conference?

By: Hampus Jakobsson

This year is the second year we organize our climate conference The Drop. But in some ways, it is also the first. The way we see it, every year is the first. Every year brings new opportunities.

The climate crisis is one of humanity's biggest collective undertakings, which is (a bit too slowly) dawning on all of us. We know we need to hit all breaks and innovate and fund technologies to halt global warming and reverse the damage. Yet, most of us carry on as if nothing is happening, and we worry and think more about interest rates and inflation, if our kids get into the right college, and today's weather. All these things do matter, but will be rather minimal if we keep warming the planet. 

I know I'm either writing for deaf ears or preaching to the choir. 

The problem is we aren't driving action enough. We are both underestimating the effects to come, and we are expecting "the system" to solve it. We are not ready to give up much of our own lives and habits, and we don't want the government to increase the prices or restrict what we can do. Yet, we want the crisis solved. 

I couldn't muster the energy to read a report of what percentage change we would hit and what degree target. I got angry from listening to politicians and business leaders talk about their goals - set so far into the future that it wouldn't affect them now, but show that they were acting. I knew of so many friends who tried to limit what they did to make the least impact, and like the only person with perfect pitch trying to outsing their amateur choir. 

I wanted action. 

I wanted the same action as if we were invaded. When the US entered the second world war, they changed their whole industry and economy to address the challenge. Every young person wanted to involve themselves in the effort. It was heroic to fight. 

Those people exist today for climate. People who will not stand down. People who try to find every possible career path or move forward to try to address the crisis. I wanted to gather them and did a "climate conference" in Berlin in 2019 called "Manhattan Projects against Climate Breakdown." It became a spark for me to want to only work with people who used whatever tools they had - programming, sales, physics, design, investing, activism, chemistry, marketing, and so forth - to try. 

To try with passion and joy to attempt to bend the curve. To "remove a dent in the universe." 

That conference became my starting point to start Pale blue dot with Heidi and Joel in 2020. 

Last year, we decided to do a conference called The Drop. We wanted many things, but most of all, to gather people who want to invest in addressing the climate crisis. We wanted all climate investors (at least in Europe) to meet and all investors who haven’t dedicated their funds to climate - to be inspired, share notes, and, most of all, connect so we could move faster. 

This year, we have decided that the experiment is no longer an experiment. We will do a yearly conference and gather startups, investors, and mind openers every year. We will curate and design, but it isn't about us, our companies, or - god forbid - our investors or sponsors. Those who run things do so because of passion. It is an invite-only event, but if you want to come, join the waiting list and contact me. 

So, The Drop 2023 will be a day filled with joy, passion, and action - but also serious talks and discussions on how we can invest in solving the crisis. Welcome to Malmö the 7th of September. 

/Hampus