Clean tech for a better world
The first hundred years of the industrial age was a period of rapid growth, which fuelled the pace of consumerism that has accelerated further subsequently. Pre-industrial society functioned on the basis of a close physical connection between production facilities, which relied on raw material generated essentially in proximity to where it was converted into goods and services.
Mass production and the rapid technological upgradation of transportation across the globe created a structure and system, which increasingly distanced consumption, production and sources of raw materials from each other in a manner totally unprecedented in human history.
The progress of technology continued to expand the trends that set in during the middle of the 19th century. This wave of the development and dissemination of technology has brought a range of goods and services to the consumer in a manner and a price that is affordable with accessibility. However, we now know that this trend has also resulted in major externalities being imposed on society often in remote corners of the globe.
An important example of this reality is the problem of climate change, which has resulted from a growth in the concentration of greenhouse gases as an outcome of industrialisation and greater production and consumption of goods and services. Even though scientists well over hundred years ago highlighted the danger of greater consumption of fossil fuels leading to warming of the earth, these voices were not heeded till recently.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has, through a series of reports culminating in the most recently completed three Working Group Reports which form part of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, not only highlighted the strong evidence showing human influence on the Earth's climate, but also the serious impacts that are being caused already across the globe.
Most importantly the Working Group-III Report of the IPCC elaborates on several technological solutions that can help to stabilise the Earth's atmosphere, and consequently the climate, within a reasonable period of time. As it happens, effective mitigation measures can be undertaken by adopting technologies that exist already.
However, such action would be possible and effective only if a policy framework is created to facilitate technology development and dissemination. The most important part of such a policy would be to place a price on carbon that would ensure movement towards a low carbon economy across the world.
The IPCC has also provided evidence to show that the cost of effective mitigation actions is essentially very low. In fact, to stabilise the Earth's temperature at an equilibrium level of 20 to 2.40 C, the cost to the global economy by 2030 would amount to only 3% of the GDP. This translates into a reduction of 0.12% of the global GDP on an annual basis. However, if appropriate incentives and disincentives are used by governments, several low carbon technologies could come into existence in the next few years, by which even these costs could be reduced substantially.
The climate change problem can certainly be tackled through effective mitigation measures, which employ a menu of technologies currently available or that are soon to be commercialised, but the evolution of policies that facilitate technology development and large scale use is critical as a prerequisite. The world would have to move to a low carbon technological base not only if the threat of climate change at the global level is to be met effectively but also to minimise local pollution and enhance overall security of energy supply.
A country like India needs a clear technology vision to achieve the benefits of developing clean technologies and using them on a large scale. It is necessary to target technology developments that can provide multiple benefits in the form of limiting greenhouse gas emissions, minimising local pollution, creating energy security and making it possible for rural and urban poor societies to access good quality energy through the deployment of modern technologies.