Can Technology Save Us From Climate Catastrophe?
The Answer Depends on Five Complicated Questions
As the dangers of climate change become increasingly apparent and documented by scientists, one proposed strategy for avoiding disaster is generating increasing public support: invest heavily in technological innovation. The most prominent advocate for this view is the Microsoft billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates. In summarizing his book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster” he notes that to get to zero emissions by 2050 “we need to find ways to generate and store clean electricity, grow food, make things, move around, and heat and cool our buildings without releasing greenhouse gases.” To do this, he notes, some existing technologies (e.g., batteries) need to come down in cost, while others currently “don’t exist at all.”
Analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA) similarly concludes, “Reaching net zero by 2050 requires rapid deployment of available technologies as well as widespread use of technologies that are not on the market yet.” In their scenario to reach net zero by 2050, “almost half the reductions come from technologies that are currently at the demonstration or prototype phase.” This includes innovations like hydrogen fuel generated entirely with renewable energy, and a range of devices for removing, storing, and utilizing CO2 (CCUS)…
