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I’m recording this as tens of thousands of people and more than 100 heads of state are gathering in Egypt for the COP27 climate summit – the United Nations “conference of the parties.” In his opening remarks at COP27, the UN Secretary General framed the fight against global warming as a battle for human survival; he said “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator... Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish.”

I’m Erika Pagel. I’m the Chief Investment Officer for Sustainable Investing and a portfolio manager at Brown Advisory. As investors, we know that climate risk is real. And we know that we cannot achieve real climate action without a material shift to renewable energy sources. So, as we think about driving toward a lower carbon economy during this NOW series on the energy transition, we want to understand different opportunities and different perspectives across the energy landscape. In this episode we are diving into renewable infrastructure – as it stands today, as well as the opportunities going forward – in the US, in Europe, and in developing economies.

Among renewables, solar power is growing rapidly. In the US, solar is expected to account for almost half of new electric generating capacity this year. Meanwhile, the Inflation Reduction Act is expected to create significant job growth to build out solar and other renewable infrastructure.

Against this backdrop, I sat down with Raghu Belur, the Co-founder and Chief Products Officer of Enphase Energy.

Enphase has revolutionized the solar industry through its super-efficient microinverter technology. The company dominates the US solar residential market and has evolved to focus on “smart” systems that enable homeowners to manage their own energy usage – to save money and create climate resilience.

Raghu is at heart an innovator and – as you will hear – is passionate about the opportunities that solar offers – in terms of economics, job creation, and energy security – as well as climate action. Raghu says “first and foremost, coal needs to go away” and prescribes a future where solar and other renewable energy sources enable people around the world to thrive while decreasing our reliance on fossil fuels.

Let’s dive into the conversation.

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As investors, we know that climate risk is real—and that we cannot achieve real climate action without a material shift to renewable energy sources. So, as we think about driving toward a lower carbon economy, we want to understand different opportunities and perspectives across the energy landscape. In this episode we are diving into renewables and, specifically into solar power. Brown Advisory's Erika Pagel sits down with Raghu Belur, the Co-founder and Chief Products Officer of Enphase Energy, which has revolutionized the solar industry through its super-efficient microinverter technology and dominates the U.S. solar residential market. Erika and Raghu explore solar—in terms of economics, job creation, energy security and climate action.

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