John Kerry: The US Envoy on Climate Has Been Reprimanded for Enthusiasm and Support for Cleantech

John Kerry has been mocked for stating that to stabilize climate, tech that has not yet been functional would be vital.

While on the BBC Andrew Marr show, he claimed the one was leading the world on climate change right now in the US, and it’s also shutting down coal-fired power stations, but thinking that Americans needed to alter their consumption patterns was deemed unnecessary by him.

He said: “You don’t have to give up the quality of life to achieve some of the things we want to achieve.

“I’m told by scientists that 50% of the reductions we have to make (to get to near-zero emissions) by 2050 or 2045 are going to come from technologies we don’t yet have.”

Julian Allwood, professor of engineering and the environment at the University of Cambridge, told BBC News: “New energy infrastructure technologies can’t have a significant effect on global emissions in the time we have left to act.”

All new energy-infrastructure technology has used at least 30-100 years from creation to just 5% penetration of markets

Julian Allwood says the most important innovations will come in areas such as remote working

“Firstly,” he said, “the new idea is developed from the laboratory through increasing pilot scales to initial introduction to national systems.

“We have to solve physical and operational issues, solve problems with integration, develop legal and environmental regulations, understand financing requirements and explore social consent as the first accidents occur.

“Growth then occurs at a linear rate, as government appetite for risk is constrained, and the incumbent technology fights to avoid closure.”

He said no new electricity generating technology has ever exceeded an average rate of 2% of national demand per year brought up by any country

“Despite politicians’ wishful thinking,” he continued, “the most important innovation opportunities will be not about new technologies, but new businesses in areas such as remote working.”

Jen Baxter, a spokeswoman for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, agreed that John Kerry’s timescale “seems very optimistic.”.

Some crucial innovations such as gathering carbon residue from power stations  or removal of CO2 directly that are

not yet fit for the market.

So, instead of seeking help or having hope in new start technology, the world should use those it already has.