Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this episode of Climate Confident, I sit down with Johanna Wolfson, co-founder and general partner at Azolla Ventures, to explore how climate tech investing needs to evolve, fast.
Azolla Ventures is doing venture capital differently, using what’s known as catalytic capital - money designed to take on greater risk to fund breakthrough technologies that traditional investors often ignore. Johanna and I unpack how this model can unlock gigaton-scale impact by backing early-stage innovations in carbon removal, shipping decarbonisation, geothermal energy, and bioplastics.
We also talk about the uncomfortable truths in climate finance, from the “returns-first” mindset that still dominates the industry to the urgent need to fund solutions tackling methane and nitrous oxide, two of the most damaging greenhouse gases.
Johanna shares her perspective on the current investment mood, the risks of a “pause” when we have negative time to spare, and why adaptation and resilience technologies are set to become the next big wave of climate innovation.
If you care about where climate capital flows - and what kind of world that creates - this is an episode you won’t want to miss.
🎧 Listen to the full Climate Confident podcast here: climateconfidentpodcast.com
👉 Subscribe for more conversations with the people building a cleaner, fairer, more resilient future.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:15 What is catalytic capital?
06:45 The Azolla event - and its symbolism
08:00 The state of climate tech investing in 2025
14:00 Sectors falling out of favour - and why that’s a mistake
18:30 Why methane and nitrous oxide are the next big challenge
29:00 The rise of adaptation and resilience tech
36:00 Climate interventions and the road ahead
Keywords: climate tech investing, climate finance, catalytic capital, impact investing, sustainable innovation, venture capital, methane reduction, resilience technology, adaptation and resilience, emissions reduction, gigaton impact, Azolla Ventures, Johanna Wolfson, Climate Confident podcast
In this episode of Climate Confident, I sit down with Johanna Wolfson, co-founder and general partner at Azolla Ventures, to explore how climate tech investing needs to evolve, fast.
Azolla Ventures is doing venture capital differently, using what’s known as catalytic capital - money designed to take on greater risk to fund breakthrough technologies that traditional investors often ignore. Johanna and I unpack how this model can unlock gigaton-scale impact by backing early-stage innovations in carbon removal, shipping decarbonisation, geothermal energy, and bioplastics.
We also talk about the uncomfortable truths in climate finance, from the “returns-first” mindset that still dominates the industry to the urgent need to fund solutions tackling methane and nitrous oxide, two of the most damaging greenhouse gases.
Johanna shares her perspective on the current investment mood, the risks of a “pause” when we have negative time to spare, and why adaptation and resilience technologies are set to become the next big wave of climate innovation.
If you care about where climate capital flows - and what kind of world that creates - this is an episode you won’t want to miss.
🎧 Listen to the full Climate Confident podcast here: climateconfidentpodcast.com
👉 Subscribe for more conversations with the people building a cleaner, fairer, more resilient future.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:15 What is catalytic capital?
06:45 The Azolla event - and its symbolism
08:00 The state of climate tech investing in 2025
14:00 Sectors falling out of favour - and why that’s a mistake
18:30 Why methane and nitrous oxide are the next big challenge
29:00 The rise of adaptation and resilience tech
36:00 Climate interventions and the road ahead
Keywords: climate tech investing, climate finance, catalytic capital, impact investing, sustainable innovation, venture capital, methane reduction, resilience technology, adaptation and resilience, emissions reduction, gigaton impact, Azolla Ventures, Johanna Wolfson, Climate Confident podcast
