Brianna Welsh: Accelerating the Clean Energy Transition
This week, the TTI Interview Series covers our member Brianna Welsh. Brianna is the Co-Founder & Managing Director of Reneum - a blockchain-based climate investment platform, powered by the renewable energy-backed GREN token.
In this interview, Brianna offers us an insight into the advantages of using Web3 to help upscale the renewable energy problem occurring in developing countries.
Investing into fully traceable renewable energy projects
Brianna, tell us more about Reneum and what you focus on?
Reneum is a climate investment marketplace to green Web3. A Sindicatum Renewable Energy company, and backed by Outlier Ventures & Polygon, Reneum offers a solution to the challenge of renewable energy development and procurement in emerging markets worldwide.
Our renewable energy token called GREN, which allows buyers to invest into fully traceable renewable energy projects in emerging markets, and directly power the energy transition. In exchange for the GREN token, buyers receive a green polar bear-designed NFT, called the Eisbaer - with governance rights, community membership and project-specific voting, it is the first socially-identifiable green label. It is the only no bs, non-greenwashing, certified environmentally-impactful climate token that actually encourages a positive and aspirational community built around values rather than simply punishing polluters.
Renewable energy-backed tokens
Why are you working on Renuem?
Last week’s IPCC report highlighted just how important it is to cull the burning of fossil fuels — the chief driver of the climate crisis — yet the world’s dependency on fossil fuels is set to get even worse in the coming decades.
This reality, to many, indicates inaction — leading to an internationally-experienced sense of betrayal from political and corporate leaders. “Ecological Grief” is an experience so pervasive that it has its own Wikipedia page. “Climate Anxiety” and “Climate Psychology” are even being studied as new fields of psychiatric research.
In order to evolve away from this path, annual clean energy investment into emerging markets needs to 7x; from less than $150 billion in 2020 to more than $1 trillion per year by 2030, to reach net-zero emissions in 2050. But despite the science mapping a clear path to success, many markets haven’t agreed to “turn off the taps” of fossil fuel reservoirs. Why you ask?
It’s a money problem. And a coordination problem. They need financing from capital markets, and they can’t access it. Emerging economies account for 2/3rd of the world’s population but only 1/5th of global clean energy, and just 1/10th of global financial wealth. “There is no shortage of money worldwide, but it is not finding its way to the countries, sectors and projects where it is most needed”, said Fatih Birol, IEA executive director. Our energy future hinges on the decisions made primarily in emerging economies, which ultimately comes down to how we mobilize our money.
In many parts of the world, renewable energy uptake is often hamstrung by the inability of
developers to secure financing from capital markets, particularly in many of the markets that most need and want it. Reneum can bridge thefinancing gap and play a crucial role in driving necessary investment. Reneum’s GREN token proceeds go directly to the renewable energy project owners — solar and wind farms globally — to help them maintain operations.
Reneum is marketplace to green Web3, starting with a renewable energy-backed token called GREN that allows individuals and corporates to offset their energy pollution. Purchasing GREN tokens helps users participate in, and accelerate, the energy transition by driving capital directly to renewable energy producers who need it most.
At Reneum, we see an opportunity to unleash the potential of blockchain technology to establish an entirely new operating system for climate finance. Based on the concepts of traditional environmental markets, we use decentralized networks to transcend the limitations of the current market for an entirely Web3-native re-conception of value. By focusing exclusively on emerging markets, Reneum activates an underserved economy for the first time
Narrating the climate crisis
What is the greatest challenge you face to scale your impact?
The climate crisis is unfortunately mired with misinformation, confusion, and broad distrust. Helping to inform stakeholders, partners and policymakers on the data underpinning our business model and our mission is crucial for our adoption and impact. More important than any commercial or technical buildout, nailing the narrative of our why and how and establishing a community of trusted advocates is our biggest challenge.
The 3-word Impact Mantra
What are the 3 words that you try to remember every day to support you on your impact journey?
1. Purpose
2. Action
3. Passion
TTI Networking
Who are you looking to connect with at TTI?
Any entrepreneur, investor, or company owner committed to the cause of climate action.
