Can we mitigate two stressors (depressed economic circumstances and climate change) by leveraging solutions in one towards the other?
Let's consider the following assumptions:
Here are some of the Energy Watch Group key findings:
The estimated global spending needed by 2050 on renewable sources and electrification is $110 trillion (2% of global GDP during that period) of which $95 trillion is already committed. 100% renewable will employ 35 million worldwide (from 9.8 million today) [Source: Irena] The questions we need to address:
A latent majority (61% in the U.S. [ABC News/Stanford 2018]) supports climate change mitigation, but the size of the committed minority (e.g. Greta Thunberg school strikes, Green New Deal proponents) needs to cross a critical threshold to have an marked effect on policy makers. Are socioeconomically depressed areas the right targets to reach a tipping point? Do we have access to economically feasible technologies? How do we amplify success and develop a band-wagon effect with positive feedback? Answers to these questions require an integrated, multidisciplinary approach: engineering for technology selections and complex systems analysis, from design experts for packaging, logos, and instruction manuals, business/finance for financial modeling, social/political sciences for community approach programming, and education specialists for education modeling. A fascinating and worthwhile project. |