Abstract
© Cambridge University Press 2010.Introduction There is widespread agreement that
achieving the very substantial reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions necessary
to stabilize atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations at 450–550 parts per
million (ppm) will require innovation and large-scale adoption of GHG-reducing technologies
throughout the global energy system (IPCC 2007). The set of necessary technologies
includes those for increased energy efficiency, renewable energy, nuclear power, and
CO2 capture and storage. Alongside strategies aimed at reducing GHG emissions—such
as emission targets in an international context or domestic GHG cap-and-trade systems
or taxes—much discussion has therefore focused on policies that also target technology
directly, including research and development (R&D) activities and technology-specific
mandates and incentives. The associated policy debate is not so much over the importance
of new technology per se in solving the climate problem, but rather over what the
most effective policies and institutions are for achieving the dramatic technological
changes necessary to stabilize GHG concentrations. The scale of the system to be reoriented
is immense. The International Energy Agency (IEA), in its most recent assessment of
energy investment, projects that about $22 trillion of investment in energy-supply
infrastructure will be needed over the 2006–2030 period, or almost $900 billion annually,
on average (IEA 2007b). Note that this does not include expenditures on energy demand-side
technologies (e.g., transportation, appliances, and equipment), which will measure
in the trillions of dollars each year.
Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1017/CBO9780511813207.014
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