FUTURE TECHNOLOGY IN CLIMATE CHANGE
Writing the report for the 2nd ‘Future Technology Series’ for the London Technology Club (www.londontechnologyclub.com) we explained how space isnt just Capstones for billionaires. Space captures the imagination of so many – as well as affect our day to lives in so many more ways than people first think.
The full report can be uploaded from the LTC website CLICK HERE published in February 2020.
Climate targets are clear, but we urgently need to move from awareness to action. Technology and innovation are the key to net zero acceleration and adaptation.
The point of this report is not to spend time dwelling on what we already know. It is beyond doubt that global warming poses severe risks to communities and ecosystems this century—the first impacts are already noticeable. Changing weather patterns are disrupting the usual balance of nature. Human-caused global warming is happening now and will worsen as long as we continue to add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
Climate change is our defining fight.
Pledges to strive for ‘net zero’ by governments, institutions and businesses are one thing. Taking immediate action is another. If 10 GtCO2 needs to be removed annually from the atmosphere by 2050, a clear transition is required to meet an energy system that is net zero. But this isn’t about slowly working out what to do in 20 years’ time. The level of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) this decade will determine whether the temperature rise can be limited to 1.5°C.
This report looks at who is taking action now, and how. There is an imperative to increase the scale and the speed of investments. Technology solutions to achieve climate neutrality will be needed across every sector of the global economy. Despite reductions, some emissions will be unavoidable and some sectors are hard to decarbonise, so we must consider how the remaining emissions can be neutralised.
This report explains why the direction of travel is promising: the European Union’s Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) and the US Inflation Reduction Act have clear advantages and provide certain tailwinds for climate tech founders and investors. Currently, $22 trillion of assets have a net zero target.
But even with the most ambitious possible reduction in gross emissions, it is almost certain that cumulative CO2 emissions between now and 2050 will exceed the carbon budget consistent with a 1.5°C climate objective. It might be necessary to generate sufficient net negative emissions in the second half of the 21st century to reverse the climate-warming effects of overshooting the cumulative budget. Therefore, guided by Vidavo Ventures, our partner for this report, we will explore four themes here:
1) Action - What can be pursued without delay to reduce GHG emissions?
2) Acceleration - How do we accelerate and scale up proven renewable technologies and remove the GHGs already in the atmosphere to achieve an actual planetary turning point?
3) Adaptation - How do we prepare humanity (i.e., through increased resilience and decreased vulnerability) for the inevitable impacts and adverse effects of climate change?
4) Accountability - What are the conditions to ensure that net zero emissions (NZEs) become a reality, and who must be part of this effort?
There is plenty of information about items 1, 2 and even 4, but far less is known about 3. I write this report feeling anxious about the fact we are experiencing the most consequential decade of our generation: the climate emergency decade.
Yet I also remind myself and readers that addressing this challenge is not only desirable for everyone on the planet, but it’s technically possible too. Governments, major seasoned investors, big tech and big oil are all looking to seize the unprecedented economic opportunity this challenge brings, with some calling it the ‘Climate Trillion’. A new wave of climate entrepreneurs is identifying and building climate change technologies that can lead to stable energy supplies and universal energy access. For humanity’s future, environmentally sound technology and innovation must be woven into the very fabric of climate leadership and solutions by governments and the private sector alike. The challenge, according to the United Nations, is that the net zero economy is expected to require $90 trillion in capital by 2030. We must ensure that we get people, policy and the pennies aligned.