The UN Climate Summit in Lima achieved little, just like the previous meetings for more than 20 years. As the saying goes, “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” For the past 20 years, the traditional climate approach has been clear and single-minded: we must subsidize the deployment of renewable sources of energy, such as wind turbines and solar cells to reduce our CO2 emissions – the so-called reduction pathway. Yet, today, after endless climate summits and good intentions, the world gets just 0.4 per cent of its energy from solar and wind power. CO2 emissions continue to rise. Last month, the International Energy Agency issued its first prognosis for 2040. Even in the extraordinarily optimistic scenario that all governments live up to all their green promises, in 26 years, sun and wind will supply just 2.2 per cent of the world’s energy. As Jim Hansen from NASA, Al Gore’s climate advisor, says: “Suggesting that renewables will let us phase rapidly off fossil fuels in the United States, China, India, or the world as a whole is almost the equivalent of believing in the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy.” After 20 years of debate, grand promises, and pompous rhetoric, we have just 0.4 per cent of our favorite solution, and in the next 24 years we might have another 1.8 per cent. It is time to find a smarter way forward. My new article in Candas Globe and Mail newspaper: theglobeandmail/globe-debate/why-innovation-is-the-best-path-to-a-climate-solution/article22100934/
Posted on: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 16:04:33 +0000
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