Listening to climate activists, you’d be forgiven for concluding greenhouse gas emissions are like acid rain: a domestic problem that U.S. legislation can solve. In their view, America must do its part for the global cause by radically slashing its own emissions.
But as Rob Atkinson writes in a commentary piece for InsideSources, even if it were possible to radically slash U.S. emissions with today’s technologies — which it is not because they aren’t adequate or cost-effective in many industries — it still would do little to curb global warming because the United States accounts for just 13.5 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Because global energy use will grow between 16 percent and 52 percent by 2050, even if the United States could waive a magic wand to reach the vaunted target of “net zero,” global emissions would still grow.
So, it’s time to recognize that the climate crisis can only be solved with innovation, and that requires governments to make the RD&D investments that are necessary to make exercising fun and salads tasty. We need a real clean energy innovation agenda to drive down costs and boost performance.
Read the full commentary.
