Su: FT reported major Gulf economies reviewed invoking force majeure on commitments
Susan Su · The $6 trillion threat to climate tech finance · May 6, 2026 · at 12:14
Venture partner Susan Su discusses the financial repercussions of geopolitical conflict in the Middle East on global capital and climate tech finance.
0:00 / 0:17exact quote · 17.2s
720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“In early March, the Financial Times reported that the three of the four major Gulf economies were collectively Doing an internal review of whether they could invoke force majeure on their financial commitments.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Susan Su
Su: Energy history consists of additions, not replacements of fossil fuels
“In all of history, we've never really had a true energy transition. We've just had energy additions, and the president of the S&P, and also awesome fossil fuel historian and energy thinker, Daniel Yergin, Says this a lot, right? Like we've only ever had additi…”
Su: Captive coal plants supply 60% of energy for Chinese solar manufacturing
“So it's kind of like you know, behind the meter for coal for a solar facility. So it's accounting for, I've seen some estimates, accounting for 60% of the energy used to produce these solar panels.”
Su: Climate tech models assuming €100 carbon prices carry major political risk
“If you're building, I don't know if you're a crazy person, and you're unfortunately building a DAC company right now, or Green Steel, and your revenue model assumed a 100 euro per ton carbon price in perpetuity, You're taking on political risk whether you ackn…”
Su: Invoking force majeure in sovereign investments lacks modern precedent
“Invoking force majeure in sovereign investment agreements would be without modern precedent.”
Su: Window for quick return to normal Gulf capital flows has passed
“Obviously short contained conflicts tend to see repatriation for a few quarters, but then, like, resume business as usual, but honestly, Lara, I think that ship has sailed.”
Su: Weak 2021 returns leave climate GPs struggling to raise follow-on funds
“So LPs who wrote checks into climate funds in 2021 or 22 to 22 are looking at kind of a lack of returns that don't necessarily support re-ups today, which means that subsequently a lot of climate GPs, not all, but a lot, are then struggling to go out and raise…”