Climate 50
An annual list of the 50 most impactful climate tech investors worldwide, organized by climate VCs Contrarian Ventures and 2150 with Dealroom data. It blends investment activity, exits and portfolio valuations (85%) with a public vote (15%) and names category winners (early stage, growth, corporate, emerging, public favourite).
- Reliability
- Grade C · 6/12
- Publisher
- Contrarian Ventures
- Ranks
- Venture firms, Climate tech
- Editions
- 6 since 2020
- Method
- Mixed
- How items get in
- Free nomination
- Status
- Active
Editions
How the ranking works
Direct metrics (85% in the 2023 to 2025 lists) cover SDG-aligned investments in the year and over 10 years, exits in the year and over 10 years, counts of portfolio companies in valuation bands, and the share of SDG-aligned investments; only investments matching climate-relevant UN SDGs (#2, #6, #7, #9, #11 to #15) count. Data come from Dealroom.co, supplemented by investor submissions. The indirect metric is a public vote (15%). Variables are log-transformed, winsorised at the 99th percentile and max-normalised.
Weights changed often: 75/25 direct/indirect in the 2020 list (indirect included brand awareness, a founder score and public votes), 80/20 in 2021 (10 metrics), 90/10 in 2022 (8 metrics) and 85/15 from 2023 (7 metrics as described, with valuation bands added).
Ranked positions: Each item has a position (1, 2, 3), with ties allowed. Investors are drawn from Dealroom data, can be nominated on the site ('Nominate Investor'), may submit data to supplement Dealroom, and gain points from a public vote (15% of score in recent editions). The list is organized by two VC firms active in the same market (Contrarian Ventures, which designed the method and appears on the list, and 2150), so organizers are ranked parties. No entry fee was found.
How far to trust it
Superscout grades every ranking on six criteria, each scored 0 to 2. Climate 50 scores 6 of 12, grade C.
- Transparency 1/2
- Metrics and headline weights published; individual metric weights and scores are not.
- Independence 1/2
- Organizer is a ranked VC in the same market.
- Evidence 1/2
- Mixed Dealroom data with a public vote.
- Stability 0/2
- Weights or metric set changed in most editions.
- Coverage 1/2
- Top 50 drawn from Dealroom plus nominations.
- Track record 2/2
- Six editions (2020 to 2025 lists).
History
Founded by Contrarian Ventures in 2020. Lists are labeled by the data year and revealed the following spring: the 2020 list on March 1, 2021; the 2021 list on April 25, 2022; the 2022 list on May 9, 2023; and the 2025 list at the end of April 2026 after voting from February 16 to April 20, 2026. 2150 joined as co-organizer and Energy Tech Summit and Dealroom as partners. Energy Impact Partners has ranked first in four of six lists; Demeter (2024) and Khosla Ventures (2020) are the other leaders.
How it is received
The list is promoted by the organizers and by listed firms. No independent published criticism was found. The main structural concern, visible from the site itself, is that an organizer (Contrarian Ventures) designs the method and appears in every list (22nd in 2025), and that a public vote rewards firms that mobilize their networks.
Strengths
- Full ranked list of 50 published free for every edition.
- Uses Dealroom investment and exit data, not only reputation.
- Separates early stage, growth, corporate and emerging managers.
- Six consecutive annual editions.
Weaknesses
- Organized by VCs that compete in the same market and appear on the list.
- Public vote (10% to 25% depending on year) can be campaigned.
- Weights and metrics changed in most editions.
- Scores and per-metric data are not published.
Open questions
Facts not verified yet. They stay visible so they are not mistaken for settled facts.
- Exact reveal dates of the 2023 and 2024 lists were not found; year precision used.
- Whether Energy Tech Summit is a paying sponsor or an event partner is not stated.
- The site text says 7 metrics but lists 6 direct metrics plus the public score and also refers to '10 direct investor metrics'; the exact count is inconsistent on the page.
- HQ countries for the 2025 list come from the site; 2024 countries come from a page summary and were spot-checked for names only.
Superscout describes Climate 50 independently from the publisher’s own pages and outside coverage, linked below. The rankings belong to Contrarian Ventures.