As the recent devastation on our Eastern seaboard highlights, climate change is actively affecting our communities, and the need for rapid, concerted climate action is unprecedented. This means reducing carbon emissions and committing to meeting the United States’ net zero carbon target by 2050. Over the past decade the U.S. has been slowly setting itself up for a major transition towards implementing cleaner technologies, building a stronger, greener economy, and becoming a global leader in sustainable solutions.
Opportunities for Synergies at Scale
The market for climate technology is worth nearly $1 trillion, and is expected to double in the coming decade. To best leverage emerging technologies and fast-track a transition to a less carbon-intensive economy, we must look to find synergies between existing systems and the next generation of processes and technologies. For example, using new sustainable lithium extraction methods like Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) in existing geothermal or fracking operations; implementing large-scale lithium batteries to encourage solar and wind development but also as backups for our aging energy grids; or even installing carbon-capture technology within oil and gas operations to reduce emissions.
Identifying these synergies and exploiting them requires collaboration between stakeholders and experts from different sectors. But what these technologies need is scale, and the financing to help them reach that level. “We need to intentionally seek greater and greater scale. We need to motivate ourselves to go faster and go bigger,” Mark Patel, a senior partner at McKinsey pointed out at New York Climate Week, “If we want to have an impact in a time frame that’s meaningful in terms of CO2 abatement and to have a trajectory for the 2050 goal, it won’t work unless we mix speed with scale.” Decreasing carbon emissions and taking on climate change requires a collective effort – one that can catalyze innovation and drive economic growth at scale.
Collaborating Towards Shared Goals
The recent partnership between General Motors (GM) and Korean automotive manufacturer Hyundai highlights how strategic alliances can accelerate progress and potentially deliver cutting-edge technologies. As the U.S. and the rest of the world pivots toward a greener future with EVs at the forefront, by pooling their resources, expertise, and technologies, it makes sense for major players in the automotive industry to work together as well as with disruptors – Tesla has at different times partnered with Honda and Mercedes-Benz, while Rivian has worked with Ford and Volkswagen.
These types of partnerships help optimize research and identify the synergies we need within supply chains to create more sustainable, efficient, cost-effective EVs. Across respective industries and their value chains there must be more attention paid to where we can easily begin to introduce sustainable processes and figure out the best way forward for development. The U.S. has invested a world-leading $131 billion in climate technology startups since 2018. It is time that we start tapping into the solutions they are developing.
“Given the current state of climate change, it is imperative that all measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change be brought to market at speed and scale,” expressed Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) earlier this year during the signing of a collaborative agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to advance the implementation of climate technology in the U.S.
Building Social and Economic Resilience
Climate change is at our doorstep. As we start to grapple with the scale of the rebuild in the coastal communities in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, we must also look to our net zero goal and actively identify opportunities for climate technology to be implemented. We must collaborate towards building a more resilient, prosperous America. The U.S. is already a front-runner in climate technology startups, to capitalize on this momentum, partnerships need to be made at all levels, private, as exemplified by GM and Hyundai, public, like the USPTO and NOAA, as well as public-private, like the Department of Energy and battery minerals producers.
At a political level, there is no lack of will for climate solutions. Both the Trump and Biden administrations have shown support for climate technology, with varied approaches but a shared commitment to funding solutions. One of the reasons climate change has not been a major debate topic for either party this election cycle is because they are largely aligned on building a strong sustainable economy that leverages U.S. supply chains. This bodes well for the future of climate technology, but also every industry actively seeking to implement it.