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Since Tom Steyer retired from the presidential race in February, he has been busy promoting his favorite climate issue, both politically and civically.
Steyer is an advisor to Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, and a billionaire who once served as a hedge fund manager. Steyer warned that if bold and urgent action is not taken, the planet will face “imminent disaster.” But he said the prospects are not bleak and that humans can still seize development and prosperity from the tiger’s mouth of ecological destruction.
Currently, Steyer has been nominated as a member of Biden’s cabinet. “Fortune” conducted an exclusive interview with him. He explained the Democratic Party’s economic recovery plan, which combines fiscal stimulus and environmental policies to produce results. The interviews ranged from how he interpreted the market to the technological advances that interested him the most, such as electric cars, offshore wind farms, etc.
For the sake of length and brevity, the interview has been edited.
“Fortune”: Is the biggest crisis America faces the new corona pneumonia epidemic or the climate problem?
Tom Steyr: I don’t want to treat them separately. Both reflect our ability to deal with natural events. When it comes to how to deal with facts and science, we must always think about the measures that must be taken to avoid the impact of disasters. Biden’s plan is to solve these problems while changing the status quo of China’s high unemployment rate and creating high-paying middle-class job opportunities. And President Trump did almost nothing.
What will Biden’s election bring?
The biggest thing Biden’s campaign team unveiled is the $ 2 billion “build back better” plan. The plan will rebuild America’s infrastructure within four years and will focus on improving the climate and developing clean energy – not only that, but also building affordable homes and electric vehicle charging stations. In addition, this plan also includes the improvement of millions of residential heating equipment, the rehabilitation of air conditioning systems in office buildings and the reconstruction of the electrical network for the use of renewable energy. Obviously, this is a great infrastructure transformation plan and it is vital for the United States.
But Trump said the cost of this plan is too high, will it destroy the economy?
The facts are the opposite. Have you read Mr. Trump’s tax report? In terms of economics and business, would you listen to it? About five or six years ago, I did two studies called “risky business” with Hank Paulson and Mike Bloomberg, which were supported by CEOs and political leaders. The results of our research show that using clean energy can achieve and create faster economic growth, more and more paying jobs, and a healthier public body, while avoiding climate disasters. This is a “three wins”. Clean energy is cheaper than fossil fuel energy. Trump either didn’t know what he was talking about at all, or he was lying. This is the only possibility.
What price will the country and the planet pay for delaying these measures?
invaluable. Your generation will face this problem every day of your life.
Anything else?
I live in California. So far this year, we have burned more than 4 million acres, and the previous record was 1.9 million acres two years ago. The number of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico has set a record. If you are brave enough, take a look at the effects of melting glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica on sea level. This is not a problem you can wait four years with. The problem will only escalate until we find a way to solve it.
China is making bold commitments to achieve “carbon neutrality” by 2060. What do you think of China making such a statement? Is there any hope for cooperation between the United States and China?
I don’t want the American people to suffer, nor do I think the Chinese leadership wants the Chinese people to suffer the same. We can only solve this problem together. There are huge business and economic opportunities to explore here. We have to catch it, otherwise we can just let it go.
Where should the United States focus its attention?
Consider growth. Is our growth achieved by occupying a small market share in the field of internal combustion engines, or by creating new businesses in areas such as electric vehicles? Will we achieve growth by building new coal-fired power plants? Or is growth to be achieved through the development of new methods of generating clean energy?
Elon Musk will appreciate you “selling” electric cars.
All I can say is that the market is screaming: the market is very, very loud about our development direction. But the Republicans didn’t listen. Perhaps we can look at people’s views on the future, whether it’s the balance sheets of big banks or the valuations of related companies in the free trade market. What we want to emphasize is that we want American energy independence, let’s talk about how to achieve it.
What technologies are you most excited about now?
What we can see now is how powerful the battery is, how much the price of solar power will drop in the next two years, etc. But can you tell me how strong the sea wind is? The answer may be “huge”. Can you tell me the direction of clean hydrogen development? These are game changers.
As a former hedge fund manager, what advice would you give to those wishing to survive a period of economic uncertainty?
I no longer offer investment advice. I always tell people that if you want to do something, do it with all your heart. But what I mean is that in the past, investing has never worked. What we really need is to rebuild this country. Driving, we need to rebuild the infrastructure. This is a great business opportunity. (Chinese Fortune Network)
Compiler: Yang Eryi
Since Tom Steyer left the presidential race in February, he has been busy proselytizing on his favorite topic: the weather. Both the political and the earthly, that is.
Steyer, an adviser to Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, warns that the planet faces imminent calamity if bold and urgent action is not taken. But it’s not all doom and gloom, says Steyer, a billionaire and former hedge fund manager. Humanity can still snatch prosperity from the jaws of eco-devastation.
Fortune caught up with Steyer, whose name has been proposed for a possible placement in Biden’s cabinet. He explained the economic recovery plans of the Democratic ballot, which unite the financial stimulus and environmental policy. The discussion ranged from how Steyer is reading markets to which technological advancements he is most excited about (see: EVs, offshore wind farms, and more).
Here’s that conversation, edited and condensed for clarity.
Fortuna: What is the biggest crisis facing this country, COVID or the weather?
Tom Steyer: I don’t separate them. It is our ability to manage the natural world. It’s about dealing with the facts, dealing with the science, and considering what you need to do to avoid disaster. Joe Biden intends to deal with them in a way that also addresses our high unemployment rates and the need to create high-paying middle-class jobs. Trump has done nothing but smell.
What would a Biden presidency entail?
The biggest thing Biden’s campaign has come up with is the $ 2 trillion “rebuild better” plan to rebuild America’s infrastructure over four years for climate and clean energy, but it doesn’t stop there. It includes the construction of affordable housing and charging stations for electric vehicles. It includes the air conditioning of millions of houses, the remodeling of air conditioning systems in commercial buildings and the reconstruction of the network so that it can absorb renewable energy. It is a big infrastructure business. This is essential.
The president says the plan costs too much and will destroy the economy.
The exact opposite is true. Did you read Mr. Trump’s taxes? Are you going to listen to this guy about business or economics? I did two studies five or six years ago with Hank Paulson and Mike Bloomberg with the support of American CEOs and political leaders called “risky businesses” to show that the switch to clean energy leads to faster growth, more higher paying jobs and better Health. avoiding climate disaster. It’s a win, win, win. Clean energy is cheaper than fossil fuel energy. Trump doesn’t know what he’s talking about or he’s lying. Those are the only possibilities.
What is the cost to the country – or the planet – of delaying action?
Incalculable. Your generation will have to deal with this every day for the rest of their lives.
Say more.
I live in California. We have had over 4 million acres burned so far this year. The record before this was two years ago, 1.9 million acres. The Gulf has a record number of hurricanes. If you have a strong stomach, read about how the now considered unstoppable melting of the Greenland and Antarctic glaciers will affect sea level. This is not a problem you can wait four years with. No, this problem will continue to increase until we get over it.
China is making bold commitments. Your goal is to be “carbon neutral” by 2060. Do you believe or trust China’s leadership when it makes such pronouncements? Is there any hope that the United States and China will work together?
I don’t want the people of the United States to suffer horribly, and I don’t think the Chinese leadership wants the people of China to suffer horribly. We can only solve this together. There is a great commercial and economic opportunity at stake here. We can take advantage of it or not.
Where should the United States focus its attention?
Think about growth. Will growth come if we take a marginal market share in the internal combustion business, or will it come if we create an entirely new business in things like electric vehicles? Are we going to grow with new coal plants? Or are we going to achieve growth by coming up with completely new and clean ways to generate electricity?
Elon Musk would appreciate your promoting EVs.
All I can say is that the market is speaking very loudly here, very, very loud in terms of where we are going. The Republican Party doesn’t listen. Just take a look at where people think the future is, whether it’s the balance sheets of our largest banks or the valuations of companies on free trade exchanges. We say that we want America to be energy independent. Let’s talk about how we are going to do that.
What technologies are you most excited about right now?
We can see how much better the battery is going to be and where solar prices will go in the next year or two. But can you really tell me how big offshore wind is? It could be huge. Can you really tell me where we are going with clean hydrogen? That’s a game changer.
As a former hedge fund manager, what advice could you give to people looking to get through this time of economic uncertainty?
I don’t really give investment advice anymore. I always tell people, if you want to do it, do it full time, be fully committed. But I will say this. Investing in the past has never worked. We literally need to rebuild this country. Drive and take a look. We need to rebuild the infrastructure and we have to do it in an accelerated way. This is a great business opportunity.
