John Doerr on Climate Investing, Google and a Plan for Net Zero

Harry Stebbings speaks with Kleiner Perkins chairman John Doerr in February 2022 about climate investing, Google, governance and Doerr’s book Speed & Scale. Financial values and deadlines in the conversation are historical statements, not current valuations or a progress report.

Doerr recalls that in 2006–2007 his firm pursued climate and energy alongside mobile applications and cloud computing. It backed iPhone app entrepreneurs through the iFund as well as climate ventures. Climate investments needed more time and capital to produce returns, he says.

Across several funds, Doerr recalls investing roughly $1 billion in about 70 climate-related companies, with holdings then valued at about $3 billion. He describes the effort as difficult but financially worthwhile and says it provided lessons for a later wave of electric vehicles, batteries, wind and solar.

Stebbings asks whether climate investment requires a dedicated fund. Doerr does not prescribe a structure for the whole industry. He recounts a separate pandemic-preparedness fund, whose returns he says were poor, and argues that sector focus can help investors understand and support founders.

Focus also creates portfolio risk. Doerr recalls that Chinese competition devastated six Kleiner solar-panel investments, while Enphase, a microinverter company, offset those losses. He invokes Tom Perkins’s venture maxim: losses are limited to the capital invested, while successful investments can return many multiples.

On timing, Doerr says being early can be costly, but he generally prefers it to being too late. He offers Google as a counterexample to simple rules: a search company could succeed despite many predecessors.

Doerr recalls that a $12 million investment bought 12% of Google. In his first meeting with Larry Page and Sergey Brin, he asked how large the vision could become. Page said $10 billion in revenue, rather than market value, because search could become much more useful and important.

The investment was controversial within the partnership. Doerr recalls objections to the roughly $100 million valuation, the founders’ limited business experience and the lack of a clear revenue model. The distinctive asset was PageRank, which used links between pages to help rank search relevance.

He describes the later advertising model: ads were separated from content, ranked for relevance and sold through an auction. His account illustrates how a strong technical product and a business model came together over time.

Asked how to avoid letting previous failures determine every new decision, Doerr invokes the idea of a “prepared mind.” Investors should read, learn and understand the technology behind an opportunity, he says, so they can evaluate what founders are actually proposing.

Doerr contrasts the climate-investing landscape of the interview with 2006–2007. He points to visible damage from fires, floods and droughts, and to emerging large businesses in clean energy and related fields. He regards the transition away from fossil fuels as a major investment opportunity as well as an obligation.

He argues that climate change worsens global inequity: people who contributed least can be among those most exposed and least equipped to respond. In his view, the United States has a responsibility both to demonstrate decarbonization and to help lower the cost for others.

Doerr uses the idea of a “green premium,” the extra cost of a cleaner option, to frame adoption. His book sets a goal for electric vehicles to reach price and performance parity with combustion vehicles, with illustrative US and India/China price targets and dates. These were goals in the 2022 discussion, not verified outcomes.

Speed & Scale sets out six major objectives. First, electrify transport and decarbonize the electricity grid through sources such as wind, solar and safe nuclear power. Second, change food systems, including reducing food waste and consumption of meat and dairy.

The remaining objectives are to protect nature, clean up industrial production such as steel and cement, and remove residual carbon after emissions are cut. Doerr says direct air capture and sequestration were then expensive and would need to become economically viable.

He applies objectives and key results, or OKRs: each broad objective is paired with specific, measurable and time-bound results. Doerr credits Intel mentor Andy Grove with the system and says he has encouraged organizations from startups to Google to use it.

The book also includes stories from entrepreneurs, young activists, Indigenous leaders and policymakers. Doerr says the quantified plan addresses the reader’s head, while stories provide motivation and make the work memorable.

Stebbings asks what happens if governments do not share the same urgency. Doerr says government action is indispensable and concentrates on the largest emitting countries. He argues that individual actions alone are insufficient at the scale of the problem.

Doerr cites a 2019 UN estimate of 59 gigatons of annual greenhouse-gas emissions and calls for reaching net zero by 2050 and getting halfway by 2030. He calculates that steep annual reductions would be needed from 2022 onward. These are his historical figures and proposed trajectory, not a current measurement.

Asked whether he is hopeful, Doerr distinguishes hope from optimism. He points to climate movements led by young people, including Greta Thunberg’s school strikes, as an example of public pressure that he believes can become political action.

One of his proposed key results is for climate to become a top-two voting issue in the 20 largest emitting countries by 2025. He says the goal needs a detailed plan for achieving it, not just a statement of ambition. The deadline is part of his 2022 plan, not a claim that it was achieved.

Doerr also points to Walmart’s supply-chain goals as an example of business leadership. He believes businesses, youth, entrepreneurs and investors can push governments toward greater action, and calls for more elected officials who support net zero.

Stebbings asks about listening. Doerr describes active listening as reflecting back what another person has said, often in the form of a question, to deepen the conversation and check understanding.

As a board member, he prefers questions to instructions. He suggests arriving with three to five questions, including some the team has not considered, and hopes at least one will prove genuinely useful.

On recruiting, Doerr says he enjoys people and the work of finding a fit between a candidate and a team. He sees a venture as the hopes and ambitions of a group, and believes a committed investor can help attract leaders by communicating conviction and support.

Asked for an investment he is proud of, Doerr returns to Enphase and credits the partnership rather than himself alone. He recalls a $29 million investment that was worth about $1 billion at the time of the interview, and says the company went through serious financial difficulties on its way to scale.

Stebbings asks whether every fund should invest in climate, given his own expertise in enterprise software rather than climate technology. Doerr answers that not every fund should become a dedicated climate fund.

Instead, Doerr suggests applying existing expertise to the transition: software investors might examine climate accounting, marketplaces or supply-chain tools. He mentions Watershed as an example and encourages investors to develop an informed view of how the transition could affect their own fields.