What is Climate tech? Why is it needed? Can Climate tech really make a difference in reversing climate change? Well Climate tech is a term used to address the environmental issues/challenges and the new inventions used to address them and to find a solution for them. According to the

EU taxonomy, climate tech refers to innovative products, services, and technologies that address the major climatic issues for sustainable activities, it basically refers to any technology, product, or solution designed specifically to address climate change and its impacts. It covers a wide range of innovations, from renewable energy systems, carbon capture, and sustainable transportation, climate-adaptive farming, eco-friendly production methods, and environmental tracking systems. Changes caused by climate change include Global warming, Rise in sea levels, Ocean acidification, Water scarcity, Agriculture disruption, Extreme weather events and many many more.

WHY IS THERE A NEED FOR CLIMATE TECH STARTUPS

With the worsening of conditions, Climate tech startups are becoming a need. It would be impossible to tackle these climatic changes without advancement in climate technology. A broad category of innovations specifically designed to address climate change is a need. Climate tech startups are thought to be future global shapers that have the power to reshape how we produce food, generate energy, and travel, but many still struggle to scale at the pace the world needs. Despite these challenges, they attract growing interest from investors and policymakers. Resilient, high performing startups offer valuable lessons for the wider entrepreneurship ecosystem. Through a rigorous selection process, three standout Climat Tech Run startups tackling land, water, and air challenges were identified for their innovation, progress, and potential between COP27 and COP28.

POWER STOVE; A Cost-effective, environmentally sustainable power solution (A Case Study)

Around 900 million Africans and 2.4 billion around the globe struggled to access clean energy. While traditional cooking methods caused a lot of health problems and diseases like HIV, AIDS, and tuberculosis due to indoor air pollution. This was becoming a major issue and health concern for the people. In response to this urgent challenge, Powerstove introduced an innovative, sustainable cooking solution designed to transform everyday kitchens.

Powerstove is a Nigerian climate tech startup providing affordable, smoke free biomass cookstoves that cook five times faster than traditional stoves, generate electricity for devices, and cut energy costs by 70%. Using wood waste pellets, the stoves reduce harmful indoor air pollution, aligning with UN SDGs 3, 5, 7, and 11. Through a pay as you cook model and IoT monitoring, users can also earn income from carbon credits, improving health, sustainability, and livelihoods. For more on clean energy innovations in emerging markets, see this article on wind energy solutions in Pakistan.

KUMULUS WATER; Turning sunlight and air into your water supply (A Case Study)

Kumulus water, a climate tech startup, is tackling global water scarcity, affecting 2 billion people by producing clean drinking water from air humidity and atmosphere using solar power or the grid. Their flagship capsule-like device generates 30 to 120 liters per day, meeting WHO and EU standards. With a goal to serve one million people daily by 2027, they’ve secured 5 patents, over 2,000 preorders, and installed units in Tunisia, France, and Spain. Partnering with hotels, businesses, and schools, Kumulus combines smart design, strong research, and a mission to make clean water accessible for all. Explore similar eco-entrepreneurship challenges addressing water and energy access.

KEY FEATURES AND BENEFITS:

• 30L of fresh water from air per day
• Remotely controlled and monitored
• Easy to use through LED screen
• Maintenance & service handled by Kumulus

IN 2023

Water produced                          CO2 removed                          Plastic avoided

   260,000L                                    8,000Kg                                  5,000

https://www.kumuluswater.com/product                   

HIGH IMPACT OPPORTUNITIES FOR STARTUPS

Climate tech is moving fast, and startups are at the center of this transformation. In 2025, several powerful trends are reshaping how climate focused companies innovate, grow, and attract funding. These shifts aren’t just about technology, they’re also driven by market demands, government policies, and the urgent need to fight climate change. Check out opportunities for AgriTech and ClimateTech startups in Pakistan.

1. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a way of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which could help tackle global warming. Capturing and storing carbon is becoming a key focus for many startups, especially in heavy industries like oil, gas, cement, and steel. Direct air capture (DAC) solutions are gaining momentum as countries push toward net zero goals. While high costs remain a challenge, new funding opportunities are encouraging startups to find more affordable, scalable ways to make CCS a reality.

2. Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES)

Long duration energy storage (LDES) is defined as a technology storing energy in various forms including chemical, thermal, mechanical, or electrochemical. These resources dispatch energy or heat for a long period of time, ranging from 8 hours, to days, weeks, or seasons. LDES is critical for decarbonising the energy sectors. Renewable energy needs reliable storage to work at scale. Startups are developing advanced storage solutions, like vanadium redox flow and iron air batteries, that can store power for hours or even days. As countries set stricter renewable energy targets, these solutions will be critical in keeping the grid stable and energy flowing, even when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.

3. Sustainable Agriculture and Food Tech

Sustainable agriculture focuses on practices that reduce harm to the environment, conserve resources, and assist long term food production. Food technology uses scientific advances to improve food production, processing, and distribution. These both fields are set to shape the future of agriculture by making it more efficient and environmental friendly. Startups are stepping in with innovations like vertical farming, precision agriculture, and agroforestry. These technologies help farmers save water, use fewer chemicals, and produce food more sustainably, especially important in drought prone areas. Discover 2025 opportunities and challenges for AgriTech startups in Pakistan.

4. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Driven Environmental Insights

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming environmental monitoring by predicting disasters, identifying sources of pollution, and tracking air and water quality more accurately and to improve environment management such as making predictions, providing detailed analysis, and helping reduce risks. It is helping climate tech companies make smarter decisions faster. Startups that use AI for climate risk prediction, environmental monitoring, and resource optimization are in high demand. Geospatial AI, in particular, is attracting investment as it provides industries and governments with detailed, actionable climate data which is needed to solve large scale problems and to offer better solutions.

TOP CHALLENGES FACED BY CLIMATE TECH STARTUPS

Climate tech is an expanding field, but startups in this space face unique hurdles that can slow down their growth. From high implementation costs to tricky regulations, these challenges require smart strategies and great problem solving. Some of the biggest obstacles these startups face are:

1. High Research and Development (R&D) Costs

The development and deployment of climate technologies are expensive. From R&D to production, many startups face high operational costs, making it difficult to stay afloat during early stages.

How to Overcome:

• Use project financing options to ease initial costs.
• Adopt technology solutions that streamline operations and reduce expenses.

2. Navigating Regulatory Challenges

Climate tech companies face complex and varied regulation, they can delay product development and delay growth potential, this means long waits for permits or strict standards that are costly to meet. For some startups, this uncertainty makes it harder to attract investors and get new technologies out into the market. Explore how budget changes and taxes are adding to startup challenges in 2026.

How to Overcome: 

• Work with policy makers to understand energy and climatic rules.
• Built partnerships with tech companies in the same sector.

3. Securing Enough Funding

While investor interest in climate tech is growing, many climate startups still struggle to secure sufficient funding, particularly during the early stages. Although interest in climate tech is growing, raising money can still be hard especially in the early stages. Many investors want fast returns, but climate tech projects often take years to reach the market. Startups also have to show both environmental and financial benefits, which can make pitching harder. Many turn to alternative funding like government programs, impact investors, or green bonds to fill the gap. See recent setbacks in VC funding for climate tech in Pakistan.

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