#17: Why we must understand the present with Nat Bullard

The presentation: Decarbonization: Stocks and flows, abundance and scarcity, net zero

In 1995, a Morgan Stanley analyst named Mary Meeker released a report called The Internet Trends Report. In 2001 it became a slide deck. Each year the release of the annual Mary Meeker deck was eagerly devoured by those trying to understand what's going on in technology1. It informed public market and venture capital investment decisions, led to board room strategy shifts, and rippled across the industry.

Those of us interested in climate and the societal and infrastructural response to climate now have our annual trend report. Beginning in 2020, Nat Bullard began publishing a presentation about the state of decarbonization, and this last years deck, his 4th, is probably one of the most useful artifacts one could consume if they wanted to understand what happened in 2023.

In this wide ranging conversation with Nat we intentionally spend little time on the content of the deck, but instead focus on how and why he makes this each year. Who it’s for, and how the process of making it each year makes him think about the moment we're in right now. We also talk about big life transitions, raising kids in Singapore, and how to feel about all of this as the years march on.

Nat has spent nearly two decades at the intersection of climate, technology, strategy, and capital markets. He worked at BloombergNEF and Bloomberg Green for over 13 years, and finished his time at BloombergNEF as the Chief Content Officer.

If you want more Nat unpacking a few select slides of the deck, I highly recommend the excellent two-parter on Catalyst with Shayle Kann.

Referenced:

• Nat’s presentation

• Introducing Stepchange

Get connected:

• Nat - LinkedIn | X

• Ben - LinkedIn | ⁠Climate Papa⁠

To get in touch, email ⁠ben@climatepapa.com⁠

Music: Slynk & Lazy Syrup Orchestra - Mellow Kinda Hype (Balkan Bump Remix)