(MENAFN- The Conversation) President Joe Biden's first detailed is slated to be released on May 28, and it will include to fight climate change.
An sent to Congress included US$10 billion in nondefense spending on clean energy innovation – a 35% increase over 2021. How Congress responds to the details coming out now, particularly the proposed investments in climate research and development, to the nation's and the world's ability to lower emissions.
Biden's – with greenhouse gas emissions falling to net-zero by 2050 – without dramatically improved technology.
For example, right now there are no technologies ready to be deployed on a global scale to eliminate emissions from many essential agricultural and industrial activities. Three examples are animal agriculture, cement production and steel production, which together account for over a quarter of all global emissions.
has been devoted to innovation policy, and I served on the White House staff under President Barack Obama. I've seen how smart public policies and savvy federal investments can help accelerate the innovation process.
At the National Renewable Energy Lab, Annalise Maughan makes components for research and development of a solid-state battery. Progress, but yawning gaps
There's no question that the world is making progress on clean energy. , allowing them to displace coal and natural gas in many locations to provide much cleaner electricity. Electric vehicles are as well.
But as promising as these technologies are, they will still leave the world far short of net-zero emissions, even if they continue to develop rapidly.
The International Energy Agency, whose members include the world's largest economies, developed a model to show how the world can while ensuring a basic standard of living for all people. The model incorporates more than 400 technologies and rates them by their current readiness level.
It found that almost half the emissions reductions between now and 2050 would come from technologies that are either still in the prototype phase or just being demonstrated. Another 40% would come from technologies that have recently entered the market and have not necessarily reached full cost parity with conventional resources. Most other energy and climate system modelers reach similar conclusions.
Innovation is particularly essential for the . For example:
, the world's most widely used material, causes about 8% of global emissions. It is typically produced in kilns that are fired to very high temperatures with natural gas. It also undergoes a chemical reaction that releases carbon dioxide. Emerging solutions include during production, to low-carbon materials and new processes altogether. But none of these options is ready yet to scale up to meet the challenge of dramatically reducing emissions at a reasonable cost.
, which produces 7% of global emissions, has similar challenges and solutions, with particular emphasis on using hydrogen in the production process. In Sweden, for instance, the (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology) demonstration plant will use hydrogen produced through electrolysis, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen to avoid emissions. It's still expensive, though. Production to be 20%-30% higher than conventional methods.
is the source of 12% or more of global emissions. Livestock and manure emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Fossil fuels and fertilizers are also used to grow feed crops, and forests may be destroyed to accommodate grazing. These challenges require a different set of solutions, which might include new practices for , and , along with reducing meat consumption.
– responsible for 2% of global emissions – requires high-powered engines to provide thrust over a short period of time. That energy demand is hard to meet with batteries compared to fuel combustion, especially for long-haul flights. While some entrepreneurs are pursuing , other possibilities for emissions-free flights could include or from hydrogen and captured carbon.
, currently 2% of emissions, may also switch to or hydrogen-powered to drive electric motors. , which rely on heavy trucks and equipment for moving freight, will require similar solutions.
Putting it all together
The argument for innovation is not an argument against deployment of climate solutions that already work. Deployment spurs innovation. That's how wind and solar became cheaper, and why electric vehicles are likely to follow suit as more of them get on the road.
But to accelerate innovation in sectors that now lack them.
Companies will rarely try to solve climate challenges with their own money because the payoff is too distant and uncertain. Government regulation and charging companies a fee if they emit greenhouse gases may help close part of the innovation gap, but it is not a substitute for public investments in innovation.
Fuel taxes provide an analogy. They have for decades been much higher in Europe than in the United States. As a result, European car dealers offered smaller and more efficient cars than did their American counterparts. But until very recently, no European carmaker offered EVs. It took focused policies, like Norway's large government incentives, as well as the startup Tesla's ingenuity – which was aided by U.S. federal and state policies – for the EV market to take off.
Things are looking up
Heeding the evidence, the Biden administration has to quadruple clean energy research in four years, and its infrastructure proposal includes numerous large-scale energy and climate technology demonstration projects.
At the recent , Biden also announced a revival of , a global initiative set up in parallel with the Paris climate agreement to spark public and private investment.
Although climate policy is highly polarized in the United States, innovation receives . Large majorities from both parties endorse it in public polls. So do organizations ranging from to the tax- and regulation-averse .
Innovation can be a slow, complex process, as the decades-long story of renewable energy development shows. It's now to pass a budget that will move climate innovation faster. The shows there is no time to waste.
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