For a technology-led climate policy
Friday, 25 December 2009
IN an article, the world famous McGill University's School of Environment makes the case for abandoning emission reduction targets in favour of a technology-led climate policy. Let the global technology race begin to set out an alternative route to emission reductions -- one that, unlike the emission-reduction target approach, has really the capability of eventually stabilising climate. The fixation on near-term targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the climate meeting in Copenhagen has resulted in insufficient attention towards the technological means of achieving them. Instead of making emission reduction targets and commitments to them as the centerpiece of climate policy, researchers suggest an alternative technology-led approach.
A technology-led climate policy would replace emissions targets with credible long-term global commitments to invest in energy research and development (R&D). Such commitments would be financed by a low, $5.00 per tonne charge on emitted carbon dioxide. Over time the charge would gradually rise, doubling, say, every ten years, thereby providing inducements to deploy and diffuse low carbon technologies when they are ready.
Researchers argue that a technology-led climate policy is needed because stabilising climate is a huge technological challenge and the solution of ready-to-deploy, scalable low carbon technologies is far from being a reality. An energy technology revolution, which would transform our energy and energy-using systems, is required in order to eliminate the threat to the global climate system of increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon.
If the road from Copenhagen is to be paved with success, something very different than impossible-to-keep commitments to emissions reductions-targets are needed.
Avik Sengupta
Biochemistry, McGill University,
Montreal, Canada
(avik.sengupta@mail.mcgill.ca)
A technology-led climate policy would replace emissions targets with credible long-term global commitments to invest in energy research and development (R&D). Such commitments would be financed by a low, $5.00 per tonne charge on emitted carbon dioxide. Over time the charge would gradually rise, doubling, say, every ten years, thereby providing inducements to deploy and diffuse low carbon technologies when they are ready.
Researchers argue that a technology-led climate policy is needed because stabilising climate is a huge technological challenge and the solution of ready-to-deploy, scalable low carbon technologies is far from being a reality. An energy technology revolution, which would transform our energy and energy-using systems, is required in order to eliminate the threat to the global climate system of increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon.
If the road from Copenhagen is to be paved with success, something very different than impossible-to-keep commitments to emissions reductions-targets are needed.
Avik Sengupta
Biochemistry, McGill University,
Montreal, Canada
(avik.sengupta@mail.mcgill.ca)