, University of Ontario i nstitute of Technology, Canada
The Role of Innovation in Combating Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities
Advanced technologies for capturing or reducing carbon pollution hold great promise for combating climate change, yet many of these technologies do not go beyond prototype stage because private-sector financing cannot accommodate the high capital cost and the time lag before return on investment can be realized. As a result, innovation in energy supply that allows for the continued growth of the global economy and to the much needed fast reduction of GHG emissions, is hindered. Many performance gains remain to be achieved in energy technologies, such as renewable fuels for electricity generation and for vehicles, and efficient use of energy. Yet undertaking the efforts required to produce the innovations needed to transform the performance of the energy sector to mitigate the risks posed by increased emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants may be the greatest challenge humanity faces at this time.