Technology will be crucial in global climate action. The fact that any significant efforts to limit warming to less than 2oC above pre-industrial levels will come to an end quickly by 2100 has become critical. The time has come to close the window. According to the IEA, a paradigm shift across human consumption indicators will be required to avoid catastrophic climate change – and within time periods that appear unfulfilled in a regular scenario as a corporation.
Some technologies are already in place to help humanity combat climate change, while others are on the horizon. Many companies have invented or are developing carbon-capture technologies that can’shoot’ atmospheric carbon dioxide underground, sequester it, or deliver it to industry for raw material utilisation. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the most significant contributor to climate change to date, has increased by roughly half of what it was before industrialization, highlighting the potential for carbon capture.
Many other alternatives are being developed
While food scientists and companies like Impossible Foods are working on meat substitutes, agricultural research will most likely lead the world into low carbohydrate farming. Solar Foods creates a flour substitute by combining water and bacteria hydrogen (yet to be licenced for commercial purposes). The development of milk, fish, and egg images is discussed using biological algorithms in order to reduce their carbon footprint. Solidia is creating cement, adding the carbon dioxide curing proposed, and potentially reducing emissions by one-third when compared to current processes.
The cement industry is a major emitter, consuming 4 gigatonnes of CO2 per year; zero-emission cement would be heavenly manna. Zelp, based in the United Kingdom, is developing wearables for cattle in order to reduce methane emissions (the gas is 85X more heat-absorbing than carbon dioxide and grazers account for one-third of global emissions).
There is an explosion in climate technology that nations must accelerate, from hydrogen-powered ships developed by Scandinavian countries (maritime transport accounts for 2.5 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions) to tidal energy, from Arborea’s ‘Bionic Blue’ leaves that trap carbon dioxide through photosynthesis to more efficient BlueDot Photonics solar cells.
The technology that, according to a group of International Nature Energy scientists, makes current levels of use “less damaging” is most likely not the solution. The idea is that high-income countries should focus on economic stability rather than economic expansion, while low-income countries work to alleviate poverty through emissions trading. However, according to the United Nations Climate Change Body’s Technology Executive Committee, technology and innovation can only be facilitated in a climate effort. With many new generation technologies on board, the Green Digital Coalition of Europe represents this mindset, and it encourages businesses to commit to green actions. It is time for affluent countries to push for more ambitious, committed funding than has previously been seen to implement climate-related technology in developing and underdeveloped countries.
Leave a Reply