Many technologies in the fight against climate change are still in development
We can still cushion the effects of climate change. This is undisputed, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the challenges that arise are becoming more complex. Even so, we must address these challenges, simply put, it is about the survival of most of us and future generations. The International Energy Agency (IEA) therefore took a look at what technologies would be needed for this.
The results make the difficulty of the climate fight clear. Because most of the technologies that we will need in the future to limit global warming are still at an early stage of development. As a result, these are either difficult (at a high price) or not available at all.
I would like to list a few tools that could benefit us in the future: Batteries to store electricity from inconsistent sources (sun, wind) and to use it when production is low, hydrogen for industrial production or vehicles or biofuels for aircraft (which today usually still cost 1.5 times as much as dirty kerosene).
But other concepts, such as direct air capture (DAC), in which carbon is filtered out of the atmosphere and pressed into the ground, or the use of plants for fuel, are on the advance. With the latter, the aim is to ensure that the CO2 that is created when the plants are burned is removed from the atmosphere when the plants are grown (in the end the fuel would be climate-neutral).
So it’s no wonder that the IEA is calling for greater investment in all of these interesting technologies. In order to achieve the Paris climate goals, we would have to avoid or offset over 50 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year as soon as possible. And that only works if we have the right weapons at hand in the fight against greenhouse gases
Own opinion:
The coronavirus pandemic is slowly coming to an end. So it is high time we faced an even greater threat. Over the next few decades, more people are likely to die each year as a result of climate change than in the entire pandemic. Unfortunately, we don’t see the “incidence” of global warming every day, which is why this change is still happening quietly. We must therefore already be more vigilant in the fight against climate change.
