Countries around the world have set themselves ambitious targets to reach net-zero, however it is widely acknowledged that a large proportion of the technologies relied upon are not yet at a technology readiness level to support these goals. In order to help address this, world leaders at the climate summit COP26 in Glasgow have announced a plan to encourage private investment in green technologies.
Technological innovation is likely to be key in countries being able to achieve their climate goals. Many of the technologies that will be required for governments to hit their targets are not yet commercially available and require significant development to increase performance and reduce costs. Private investment and government support are key parts of the innovation ecosystem, and leaders at COP26 in Glasgow announced an initiative to back global markets for green technology. The aim is that with increased support, green technologies will become a more attractive investment and that this, in turn, will stimulate development. The initiative will initially look at the steel, road transport, agriculture, hydrogen and electricity sectors.
Solar Photovoltaic and wind are key parts of the world's future energy mix and both have undergone rapid growth in the last decade, driven by technological innovation. These technologies are now at the stage where they can compete with traditional power generation in terms of cost for certain use cases. The development of these technologies has been driven to a large extent by government support and private investment in these sectors and it is hoped that the plan announced at COP26 last week marks the start of similar journeys for other sectors.
More than 40 world leaders say they will work together to turbo-charge the uptake of clean technologies by imposing worldwide standards and policies.
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