The 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021 reaffirmed global aspirations to reduce net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions dramatically by 2050. But as David Hart and Hoyu Chong write in Nature Energy, achieving Glasgow’s goals will require accelerated innovation and rapid scale-up of nascent energy and climate technologies. In September 2022, the United States will host some 30 national energy and climate ministers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to consider how their governments should respond to this innovation imperative.
Although the Glasgow conferees established an array of promising initiatives, leading nations will need to invest more in climate innovation, diversify their portfolios, and cooperate more effectively to achieve their stated goals. The Pittsburgh meeting should bolster the momentum of key Glasgow initiatives and strive to fill critical gaps in such areas as capital-intensive demonstration projects and innovation-friendly trade in carbon-intensive goods.
Read the commentary in Nature Energy.
