using the strength of the sun is raised to supply energy grids, powering airplanes with plants and waste, creating *** source of near limitless energy that mimics the stars in the sky. These all might sound like science fiction concepts but they're becoming increasingly real and important in the fight against climate change. The growing field of climate technology is offering some solutions to the problem through innovation and science. So climate technology can be thought of as *** variety of solutions that are meant to help limit the impact of humans on climate and reduce climate change as we go forward. One way is to try to directly limit humans largest influence on the climate system, which is the emissions of carbon dioxide gas of CO two. This can be done by trying to reduce the amount of emissions being spewed out into the atmosphere using tech like renewable energy. It can also be done by sucking the carbon out of the atmosphere by planting trees. They might try to reduce overall energy consumption. For example, switching to LED lights other tech helps us adapt to *** changing planet like engineering hardier crops. Then there's technology that helps us better understand and monitor our changing planet. These technologies are on the rise aided by an increased public awareness funding from government and from venture capital companies like evergreen climate innovations. The reason we came about was because there was *** dramatic funding gap going towards clean energy and climate technologies. Although private funding of climate technology hit *** peak of $40 billion 2021. He thinks more can be done the types of innovations considered climate tech is now more diverse than ever. To clean energy is still very relevant, but we are now looking at technologies and water. We're looking at technologies involving agriculture. We're looking at technologies involving the circular economy, recycling and reuse with thousands of climate technologies, businesses and concepts to choose from which offer the most potential in the fight against climate change. According to projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, wind and solar energy will be the most essential technologies for reducing emissions. By 2030, The cost of solar and wind energy have plummeted in the past few decades, often making them more affordable than running fossil-fuel factories. Both technologies are also easily scalable. You can have *** solar panel the size of *** backpack, install *** few on *** residential rooftop or build an entire solar farm. Another technology that could have *** big impact on climate change by 2030 is carbon sequestration through farming. When plants and crops grow, they capture co two from the air and store it in the soil around them, converting natural habitats into farmlands can slow down this process, causing carbon from the soil to be released back into the air. One sequestration technology is biochar. The char is created from burning leftover biomass in *** controlled way biochar contains *** stable form of carbon from the biomass that can stick around in the soil for *** long time. It also improves crop yield and has been used for thousands of years by many indigenous groups in the amazon. Those technologies are set to have the biggest impact until 2030 but what happens after that when new tech might come to the market for Mr Burke, it's one vital piece of tech that still needs innovation is batteries, you know, long duration batteries tied to the grid to store energy to then use at *** later point in time, there is still *** lot of money in research and innovation taking place in sort of the energy storage sector. He says that innovation is needed in all parts of the battery industry from production right down to disposal. Another technology to watch, according to Mr Burkett is hydrogen power. Carbon free production, hydrogen can be produced by renewable energy and as *** fuel it stores three times more energy than traditional petrol. With the only byproduct being water, innovation is desperately needed in this industry, as hydrogen is *** tricky fuel to work with and is currently very expensive. It's ***, it's *** gas, it's *** molecule that's very difficult to to work with it. You know, it's very slippery, it tends to leak and escape from pipelines and other storage mediums. Mr Bernhardt also mentioned the rise of direct carbon capture as *** buzzy new industry. Certainly there's *** lot of the ability to capture power plant before it goes into the atmosphere and climate. Carbon capture can also be implemented directly sucking carbon straight out of the air. It can either be buried or turned into useful end products in its current form Though, this tech doesn't make *** real impact on global emissions. It also raises ethical eyebrows cap limiting the emission lowering them. One massive breakthrough from December 2022 saw scientists in California create *** nuclear fusion reaction which gave off more energy than it took to trigger it. The fusion reaction is *** huge step forward for clean power, with the potential to produce almost limitless amounts of energy, giving off no greenhouse emissions and producing no radioactive waste. The process is very logistically challenging though, and research into fusion will have to continue for years to come before the technology could become commercially viable from frequent technological breakthroughs to increase funding. Climate tech is *** growing field. So can it save the planet? Definitely not alone. There are organizations and people that are working on policy and advocacy issues. There are people who are working on educating people and changing consumer behavior. There are organizations and people working on land conservation. Those are really, really important issues and approaches to addressing climate without them. Nothing gets done
Clarified: Which technologies will help us fight climate change?
With global warming already disrupting ecosystems and human life, technology has the potential to slow climate change and even save our changing planet
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Updated: 12:17 PM CST Jan 6, 2023
Climate change poses an ever-apparent challenge for life on our planet as we know it, but technology offers an exciting new opportunity to combat the global problem and create solutions to help us protect the planet. Which technologies will be the most important and most broadly used in the future remains to be seen.What is climate change?The burning of fossil fuels, like oil and coal, to produce energy has increased the amount of carbon dioxide or CO2 gas in our atmosphere. According to NASA, human activity has increased the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by 50 percent since the industrial revolution began in the 1700s. Usually, greenhouse gases like CO2 and methane in the atmosphere help absorb heat energy from the sun's rays, trapping it and radiating its heat, helping to keep the Earth warm. However, the increase in these gases is causing the planet to warm up too much. Earth’s temperature has risen by 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880. The increased global temperature has severe knock-on effects, changing weather patterns, destroying important habitats and changing life on the planet. Reducing the rate of warming and slowing the effects of climate change is a collective responsibility, and climate technology offers a way to help.What is climate technology?Climate technology comes in many forms, from well-known tech like solar panels and wind turbines to lesser-known innovations like biochar and hydrogen fuel. The technology fits into several types of categories. There is tech that reduces or stops emissions being released and tech that removes existing emissions from the atmosphere. Then there’s tech that improves energy efficiency, tech that helps us adapt to a changing planet, as well as tech that helps improve our understanding of our planet. Which technologies are the most effective?The broad categories of climate tech include thousands of brilliant inventions and ideas, all sharing the common goal of reducing the impacts of climate change. The scale of the impact and the immediacy with which we can implement these technologies vary drastically.According to a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations climate change body, there are three types of climate technology that have the most potential to reduce emissions by 2030. In terms of renewable technologies, wind and solar power can make the deepest cuts to net emissions in the short term. Research, increased demand and innovation have made wind and solar energy one of the cheapest energy sources out there, cheaper even than fossil fuels. Both technologies are scalable, meaning their size and strength can be varied for different purposes, whether that be a solar farm powering a town or a few solar cells on a residential rooftop. Carbon sequestration, or the process of capturing carbon through farming, is also set to have an impact. There are various types of technologies available that help store CO2 that may be released in the agricultural industry, with one promising technology being biochar, a type of carbon-rich soil made from waste plants. Tech innovation to come...Those technologies are currently up and running, already making a mark on reducing emissions. Newer technologies, though, are still in development and need lots more funding and innovation before they can make real changes. According to Erik Birkerts, climate expert and CEO of nonprofit climate venture capital fund Evergreen Climate Innovations, both batteries and hydrogen fuel are technologies to watch for. One of the issues with renewable energy sources is storing power. If the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing, batteries will have to be relied upon to release excess energy from a good day. Those batteries, though, are difficult to make, and innovation is needed to create batteries that are efficient, cheap and long-lasting. Hydrogen fuel is another technology in need of research but holds massive potential. Hydrogen, the lightest element, can be produced in a number of different ways, from refining natural gas to splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. When it is used as a fuel, it can store three times more energy than traditional gas, and when it burns, its only byproduct is pure water. However, given its tiny size and lightness, it is difficult to store as it tends to leak, and it is also highly explosive. Another climate expert, Dr. Jase Bernhardt, a professor at Hofstra University, also mentioned carbon capture as a buzzy new climate tech industry. Direct carbon capture is a technique that uses big fans to suck carbon directly out of the air and then store it. It can also be used in power plants to capture carbon dioxide before it enters the atmosphere. While the technology sounds revolutionary, it is a long way from being effective and making a dent in global emissions. Other innovations, such as the recent breakthrough in nuclear fusion, offer a glimpse of hope for a clean energy future but are still decades away from implementation.The future of climate technologyClimate technology is essential in the fight against climate change. Investors, researchers and entrepreneurs know that and are working hard to innovate existing tech and bring new ideas to market. In 2021, private funding of climate tech hit a peak of $40B, but Birkerts of Evergreen Climate Innovations wants more investors to hop on board. “When you look at the overall flow of venture capital in early-stage investing, clean energy and climate technology receives just a very, very small percentage of that funding,” he said. He has hope, though, for the future of climate technology and the change it could make in our world.“For us to reach net zero, massive transformation has to take place in the economy, and that massive transformation also has to take place in a way where it's not exacting a major sacrifice. That's where innovation really shines. It's a way of doing something better, faster, cheaper, and in this case, more environmentally, consciously.”
Climate change poses an ever-apparent challenge for life on our planet as we know it, but technology offers an exciting new opportunity to combat the global problem and create solutions to help us protect the planet. Which technologies will be the most important and most broadly used in the future remains to be seen.
What is climate change?
The burning of fossil fuels, like oil and coal, to produce energy has increased the amount of carbon dioxide or CO2 gas in our atmosphere. According to NASA, human activity has increased the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by 50 percent since the industrial revolution began in the 1700s. Usually, greenhouse gases like CO2 and methane in the atmosphere help absorb heat energy from the sun's rays, trapping it and radiating its heat, helping to keep the Earth warm. However, the increase in these gases is causing the planet to warm up too much. Earth’s temperature has risen by 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880. The increased global temperature has severe knock-on effects, changing weather patterns, destroying important habitats and changing life on the planet. Reducing the rate of warming and slowing the effects of climate change is a collective responsibility, and climate technology offers a way to help.
What is climate technology?
Climate technology comes in many forms, from well-known tech like solar panels and wind turbines to lesser-known innovations like biochar and hydrogen fuel. The technology fits into several types of categories. There is tech that reduces or stops emissions being released and tech that removes existing emissions from the atmosphere. Then there’s tech that improves energy efficiency, tech that helps us adapt to a changing planet, as well as tech that helps improve our understanding of our planet.
Which technologies are the most effective?
The broad categories of climate tech include thousands of brilliant inventions and ideas, all sharing the common goal of reducing the impacts of climate change. The scale of the impact and the immediacy with which we can implement these technologies vary drastically.
According to a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations climate change body, there are three types of climate technology that have the most potential to reduce emissions by 2030. In terms of renewable technologies, wind and solar power can make the deepest cuts to net emissions in the short term. Research, increased demand and innovation have made wind and solar energy one of the cheapest energy sources out there, cheaper even than fossil fuels. Both technologies are scalable, meaning their size and strength can be varied for different purposes, whether that be a solar farm powering a town or a few solar cells on a residential rooftop. Carbon sequestration, or the process of capturing carbon through farming, is also set to have an impact. There are various types of technologies available that help store CO2 that may be released in the agricultural industry, with one promising technology being biochar, a type of carbon-rich soil made from waste plants.
Tech innovation to come...
Those technologies are currently up and running, already making a mark on reducing emissions. Newer technologies, though, are still in development and need lots more funding and innovation before they can make real changes.
According to Erik Birkerts, climate expert and CEO of nonprofit climate venture capital fund Evergreen Climate Innovations, both batteries and hydrogen fuel are technologies to watch for. One of the issues with renewable energy sources is storing power. If the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing, batteries will have to be relied upon to release excess energy from a good day. Those batteries, though, are difficult to make, and innovation is needed to create batteries that are efficient, cheap and long-lasting.
Hydrogen fuel is another technology in need of research but holds massive potential. Hydrogen, the lightest element, can be produced in a number of different ways, from refining natural gas to splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. When it is used as a fuel, it can store three times more energy than traditional gas, and when it burns, its only byproduct is pure water. However, given its tiny size and lightness, it is difficult to store as it tends to leak, and it is also highly explosive.
Another climate expert, Dr. Jase Bernhardt, a professor at Hofstra University, also mentioned carbon capture as a buzzy new climate tech industry. Direct carbon capture is a technique that uses big fans to suck carbon directly out of the air and then store it. It can also be used in power plants to capture carbon dioxide before it enters the atmosphere. While the technology sounds revolutionary, it is a long way from being effective and making a dent in global emissions.
Other innovations, such as the recent breakthrough in nuclear fusion, offer a glimpse of hope for a clean energy future but are still decades away from implementation.
The future of climate technology
Climate technology is essential in the fight against climate change. Investors, researchers and entrepreneurs know that and are working hard to innovate existing tech and bring new ideas to market. In 2021, private funding of climate tech hit a peak of $40B, but Birkerts of Evergreen Climate Innovations wants more investors to hop on board.
“When you look at the overall flow of venture capital in early-stage investing, clean energy and climate technology receives just a very, very small percentage of that funding,” he said.
He has hope, though, for the future of climate technology and the change it could make in our world.
“For us to reach net zero, massive transformation has to take place in the economy, and that massive transformation also has to take place in a way where it's not exacting a major sacrifice. That's where innovation really shines. It's a way of doing something better, faster, cheaper, and in this case, more environmentally, consciously.”
