Decarbonization Today
Decarbonization, the halting of CO2 production and its removal from our atmosphere, is an extremely complex issue. The magnitude of the problem and the solutions (note: solutions - plural) are huge in scale and cost. I want to share a high level view of the various key roles involved in these solutions. This provides insight into the degree of complexity, where the bottlenecks are and will occur as we decarbonize, and the needed coordination across these roles.
In no particular order:
Technologists - These are the people who are creating the physical things that make up the solutions - such as the solar panels, wind turbines, fission and fusion reactors, transmission lines, batteries, carbon capture equipment, etc. They use funding from Politicians and private money from Investors.
Academics - These are the people who, primarily from academia, theorize on what needs to be done. They perform research and share their results through publications and seminars.Politicians (should) look to this research to better formulate their policies. Technologists look to this research to develop the needed things. Regulators look to this research to develop and hone the regulations.Investors look at the research in search of future investment opportunities.
Economists - These are the people who devise the marketplace frameworks from which energy flows through its life cycle starting from its source, through processing, and finally consumption. For example, Economists formulate the competitive marketplace for wholesale and retail electricity, the monopolies associated with transmission, and any resulting externalities.
Politicians - These are the people at all levels of government - Federal, State, County, and City/Town - who are creating the governing policies associated with achieving specific goals. The policies (should) leverage knowledge from Academics and sometimes rely on the things created by Technologists. Sometimes, Politicians provide funding to Technologists. Investors look to the policies in seeking investment opportunities.
Regulators - These are the people who take the policies from Politicians and define the rules by which businesses operate in the marketplaces formulated by Economists. Regulators can be seen to either fuel or stifle innovation for Technologists.
Investors - These are the people who bring private industry money to the table to invest in what Technologists develop. Their goal is simple - make a profit. They look at the things created byTechnologists, the policies by Politicians, the marketplaces formulated by Economists, and regulations defined by Regulators to determine the best place to invest their money to maximize their return.
Behavioral scientists - This is a role I happen to think is not getting enough attention. These are the people who should be given the opportunity to contribute to the policies from Politicians and regulations from Regulators to address how society can and should adapt to the changes coming through the technology from Technologists implemented through marketplace frameworks from Economists. For example, changes will be significant in how people and businesses interact with energy such as where it is purchased (think electric vehicle charging stations) and when it is purchased (think off-peak electricity usage to flatten demand curves). I see this role as greatly needed to ensure we can change our current behaviors and transition to new ways.
You - Your role is crucial to it all. You are the one who: votes for the Politicians; can have a say with Investors; buys what Technologists produce; and are impacted by Regulators. Without you, there is no decarbonization.
Decarbonization is not going to be achieved in a linear fashion. Its path will not be a cookbook recipe. Each of these roles have different contributions that are related and yet they are most often not working collaboratively. On top of it all, there is no one person or group coordinating the contributions across the roles. As a result, achieving decarbonization will take place with mistakes, unexpected delays, and lurches forward.
On the other hand, I believe solutions will continue to arrive, be updated as new technologies are discovered, and be refined by updated policies and regulations. Of course it won't be harmonious. There are too many people involved. However in the end, I for one believe decarbonization will take place.
