About this episode

Susan Su discusses the challenges facing climate tech finance in a volatile global financial landscape influenced by geopolitical events.

The global financial system is undergoing a structural shift into a "volatile new world order," where unpredictability is the norm, and climate tech is uniquely exposed. Venture investor Susan Su says the war in Iran is complicating the landscape. That's because about 40% of the world's capital comes from just four Gulf states, and those states are exploring whether the war allows them to invoke force majeure to legally exit binding financial commitments to fund billion-dollar projects – including energy projects. It's a move that's creating a chilling effect on large, long-term investments. Susan's warning for founders? "Be default alive by any means necessary." With the next 18 to 24 months predicted to be a brutal filtering environment, she recommends extending financial runways to three years, if at all possible. In this episode, Susan talks with Lara about why founders should act urgently and highlights the increasing availability of pockets of catalytic capital and downside-protected debt products as funding options. Credits: Hosted by Lara Pierpoint. Produced and edited by Ross Kenyon and Anne Bailey. Technical direction by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive…

People in this episode

Host: Lara Pierpoint

Guest: Susan Su

Topics covered

• climate tech finance
• global financial system
• venture capital
• investment strategies
• economic impact of war

Keywords

• climate tech
• venture capital
• financial commitments
• force majeure
• investment strategies
• economic volatility
• founders advice

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Latitude Media, Trellis Climate

Places: Iran, Gulf states

More episodes of The Green Blueprint

• Burying trees to save forests? · September 9, 2026 · 45 min
• The microbial solution to our massive copper shortfall · August 26, 2026 · 47 min
• Did someone just figure out how to project finance nuclear? · August 12, 2026 · 49 min
• The missing capital for climate startups: more debt · July 29, 2026 · 44 min
• The ‘brutal reality’ of scaling low-carbon fertilizer · July 15, 2026 · 43 min
• Form Energy's manufacturing breakthrough · July 1, 2026 · 45 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Green Blueprint podcast page.