Better Place sails roiling Aussie seas

In the middle of the Copenhagen conference, the seemingly inevitable Aussie cap & trade bill is sunk, for now, but Better Place positions itself.

But the continuing uncertainty over cap-and-trade has stunted development of a new energy economy as Australian green tech startups fail or decamp for California and other more hospitable climes.
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One Silicon Valley green tech startup that has entered the Australian market seems to have learned how to play the Aussie game. Shai Agassi, founder of electric car infrastructure company Better Place, has shown himself an astute observer of local politics when negotiating deals in various countries.

Better Place Australia hired as its chief executive a former Labor legislator, Evan Thornley, and as its marketing executive a former aide to the premier of New South Wales, Ben Keneally. (On Friday, Keneally’s American-born wife, Kristina Keneally, became the new premier, or governor, of Australia’s most populous state.)

Which goes to show that as the climate change debate moves from the legislature to the electorate, green tech companies’ political savvy will increasingly become as important as their technological know-how.

Read the whole article for interesting details on the Australian politics, which generally appear favorable to action on climate given that Australia is experiencing the impacts big time already.

Rafael @www.climateatbay.net