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Worries about energy policies dominated the opening day of this year's SF Climate Week.

Why it matters: The event is a pulse on the Silicon Valley climate tech ecosystem.

The big picture: The bulk of attention has been focused on the Trump administration cuts and new orders, but attendees also cited challenges stemming from climate narratives and weak market conditions.

Former Vice President Al Gore cautioned that the Trump administration is trying everything it can to halt the clean energy transition, during a fierce speech Monday to kick off SF Climate Week.

Zoom in: "We have to treat this moment as a call to action," said Gore, who also co-founded climate tech investment firm Generation Investment Management. "This is an all-hands on deck moment." 

"Now is the time to look at every aspect of your businesses, your investments and your civic engagement to determine whether or not you can contribute even more to solving the climate crisis," said Gore.

Gore also railed the fossil fuel industry, calling the oil and gas industry "the wealthiest and most powerful industry lobby in the history of the world," and "the effective global hegemon."

The intrigue: Gore referred to direct air capture as a "ridiculously expensive and hilariously impractical" technology.

Gore wasn't the only one who publicly derided DAC. In another Climate Week event organized by Climactic VC, author and entrepreneur Paul Hawken also called DAC "hilarious" because of its energy intensity. 

"You can't fix entropy with entropy. It's physically impossible," said Hawken.

Climactic VC's event featured Hawken and political analyst and entrepreneur Van Jones, who discussed the shortcomings of climate narratives. 

How climate change has been communicated to the public has been "a massive failure," riddled with buzzwords and things that don't make sense to the average person, said Hawken. 

Zoom out: The Trump administration's pausing of IRA programs and cuts at the Department of Energy has led to a "diaspora" of DOE employees looking for new opportunities.

Many former DOE workers are attending events during the week. More than 3,500 DOE staffers are reportedly planning to leave in the coming days.

"There is a great diaspora of LPO [Loans Programs Office] people spreading out into the field. We're very on fire for what we've done in the last couple years, and want to keep that momentum going," said Susan Gladwin, a former Senior Advisor for the DOE's Loans Program's Office. 

Follow the money: Some climate startups took the opportunity of SF Climate Week to announce new funding rounds. 

Exowatt, which makes a solar storage product for data centers, announced a $70 million Series A round led by Felicis and including $35 million in debt from HSBC Innovation Banking and other lendors. 

What's next: Climate tech investors and startups will be holding events all week at SF Climate Week. 

Reporter's notebook: Gore, DAC attack & DOE diaspora

Former Vice President Al Gore gives a keynote address at the San Francisco Climate Week opening ceremony.

Worries about energy policies dominated the opening day of this year&#x27;s SF Climate Week.Why it matters: The event is a pulse on the Silicon Valley climate tech ecosystem.

Reporter's notebook: Gore, DAC attack & DOE diaspora

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