Job Opportunities in Climate Tech Despite Political Shifts
Donald Trump has cut funding for clean energy projects and promised to ramp up fossil fuel extraction, but there are still job opportunities for graduates looking to work in climate tech.
Slowing Investment in Climate Tech
The administration's executive orders to halt Biden-era funding for clean energy projects comes at a time when private investment in climate tech is slowing down. In the first quarter of 2024, climate and energy startups raised $20.42 billion in VC funding; as of Q1 in 2025, they're lagging behind in proportion, having raised $10 billion, PitchBook data shows.
All signs point to less money flowing into the clean energy sector. For job seekers looking to break into the climate tech and clean energy sectors in Trump 2.0, thinking more creatively could be key to breaking into the field, according to investors, recruiters, and founders who spoke with Business Insider.
Expanding Opportunities Beyond Energy Transition
Carbon capture startup Carbo Culture takes waste biomass and converts it into biochar, a form of organic charcoal used in soil.
Its cofounder and CEO, Henrietta Moon, told BI that the umbrella of climate tech has expanded in the past decade beyond the energy transition. That means graduates can find opportunities at the intersection of sectors such as fashion, food, and even finance, she said.
"We've seen how the first wave of renewables overshot every prediction in price performance time and time again, and now they are a part of our infrastructure to stay," Moon told BI.
She said new climate technologies are needed to decarbonize the "entire economy," whether it's food, materials, or finance.
"There's plenty to do for new talent who want to roll up their sleeves and learn," Moon added. "The know-how you harness from being part of building a growing industry in a growing market is universally applicable and extremely valuable."
Building Key Skills for a Climate Tech Career
Graduates don't have to immediately jump into a climate-focused role. They could start off by building key soft skills that enable them to land a more fulfilling role in the industry later down the line, said Emma Halls, director at Stem7 Executive Search, a recruitment firm.
"Whatever area of climate tech graduates want to impact, they want to be thinking about what that first step is," Halls told BI. "Because ideally, if they want to contribute and want to add value, they need an expertise and professional skill set behind them."
She added that picking up broader skills and transitioning into a climate role is "what we often see."
Targeting Resilient Areas and Technologies
The clean energy transition spans multiple sectors, creating ample opportunities for graduates in areas such as construction, engineering, or finance, said Juan Muldoon, partner at Energize Capital.
"Some of the largest renewable developers in the world are still growing, and they are still committed to delivering on a massive expansion of several projects," he told BI.
He added that graduates could target "tried and true technologies, such as wind, solar, batteries, the things that are not relying on complex technological development cycles." These are not as sensitive to subsidies because they're already economically competitive and at parity with traditional fossil fuels, Muldoon added.
He said taking a pragmatic approach is key for graduates because "there are times and cycles when the technology is more in vogue."
"Think about pockets of the industry that are still resilient, that still have growth, that still have the underlying, fundamental economic tailwinds of cost competitiveness and areas that are going to be less affected by the rhetoric," he added.
Strategic Approaches in a Shifting Market
Students who are graduating in a market that's pulling back on ESG spending should think strategically about entering climate tech.
Iris Bardon, a business analyst at recycling startup Greyparrot who graduated in 2024, found that the best way to get her foot in the door was to harness how digital innovation could "address tangible environmental and socio-economic challenges with precision and responsibility."
Broad, transferable skills, such as proficiency at interpreting complex datasets, stakeholder management, and strong communication and data analysis skills, "stand out as the top three skills to land a job in this sector," she told BI.
It's also worth preempting which sectors within climate tech will be more in demand in the coming years, said Clara Ricard, an investor at the climate fund Transition. The California wildfires, for example, put the spotlight on the need for technology that can predict and mitigate wildfires.
"In the West Coast in the US, climate risk is a growing concern," Ricard told BI. "Another area that's getting a lot of attention is the industrial transition."
"There's a lot of AI applications in manufacturing or digitizing the manufacturing sector," she added. "If someone is looking to work in a hot tech startup, these solutions can have a meaningful impact in terms of energy efficiency and resource efficiency. They're very exciting."
Exploring Climate-Adjacent Roles
Caroline Grey, the founder of supply chain logistics startup Treefera, Grey, encouraged graduates to expand their horizons and search for climate-adjacent roles. The startup doesn't bill itself as a climate tech company per se, but it has found that a significant portion of its clients come from the carbon tech and energy sectors.
Graduates who want to have a positive climate impact could apply for jobs at startups that sit at the intersection of climate and various other industries, Grey said.
"For us, we have a very scientific team — so definitely, if you're coming from a science point of view, there is an education and degree level in science that's important," she said. "At the end of the day, governments come and go — and regulation takes a long time to settle in and out."