Serge de Gheldere

Activist, Business adviser, Business leader, Change agent, Connector, Designer, Educator/Teacher, Engineer, Entrepreneur, Environmentalist, Foodie, Idea generator, Investor, Parent, Photographer

The transition away from fossil fuels is often framed as sacrifice. I see the opposite. Done well, it could be one of the biggest economic upgrades of this century — creating better cities, new industries, and greater independence from regimes we would rather not rely on. As a climate entrepreneur, activist and investor, I focus on turning that transition into something practical. Twenty years ago I was among the early Europeans trained by Al Gore through the Climate Project (now the Climate Reality Project). Before the decarbonization wave was obvious, I built Futureproofed from the ground up and later sold it to Sweco, one of Europe’s largest engineering consultancies. I also founded Klimaatzaak, a citizen climate lawsuit with 58,000 co-plaintiffs that led to a court ruling requiring Belgium to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030. Today I explore how capital, policy and storytelling can accelerate the rise of a new power generation.

Family, my dog, wind and mountains — kitesurfing the North Sea, backcountry snowboarding in La Grave — shooting film, good food, music (especially Prince), and the curious business of decarbonization.

We are witnessing the rise of a new power generation. New energy, new industries and new leaders replacing fossil incumbents. I work on that shift as a climate entrepreneur, through one of the world’s largest citizen climate lawsuits – and by exploring how storytelling might change the narrative.

Business case of decarbonisation, Carbon footprint, Carbon management SaaS, Climate litigation, Decarbonisation roadmaps, Information architecture, SaaS development, Storytelling, Systems Thinking

My TED story started in classrooms. Around 2007 I began showing TED Talks to engineering students. Later they became part of our Sunday evenings at home with the kids. Years later I had the privilege of giving two TEDx talks. In 2024 I attended the TED Countdown gathering in Brussels on dilemmas in the green transition. TED 2025 was my first full TED conference, I'm glad to be back. These days I’m curious how storytelling and investing might help accelerate the rise of a new power generation.

Reading wind, snow and terrain. Reading the room and spotting patterns. Also that Buddy Guy (I think) once saw me play in his club one Sunday afternoon, in the nineties. And that I make excellent Parmigiana di melanzane.