BATTELLE GLOBAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY PROGRAM RELEASES COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ESSENTIAL ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE

Washington, DC--At the National Press Club today, James A. Edmonds, Laboratory Fellow and Chief Scientist for the Global Energy Technology Strategy Program, released a landmark report, Global Energy Technology Strategy: Addressing Climate Change, documenting almost a decade of detailed research on the essential role technology will play in addressing the unprecedented global challenge of climate change. The report concludes the cost of stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases can be reduced by trillions of dollars over the course of this century if the present suite of energy technologies is improved and key advanced energy technologies developed and deployed. Lowering cost not only makes it easier to address climate change, but also frees up resources so society can address a myriad of other needs.

This landmark report explores the technology implications of addressing climate change. "Tackling climate change means a fundamental transformation of the entire global energy system--and therefore the entire global economy," says Edmonds.

 

The report examines in detail six technology areas that have the ability to deploy globally under a wide range of potential futures and that individually are capable of cost-effectively reducing tens to hundreds of billions of tons of greenhouse gases over the course of this century:

  • Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage
  • Biotechnology and Biomass
  • Hydrogen Energy and other Advanced Transportation Technology Systems
  • Nuclear Power
  • Wind and Solar Power
  • End-Use Energy Technologies.

The report also examines the critical role to be played by advanced technologies that can cost-effectively reduce non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions.

 

"The role of technology in addressing climate change is complex, involves the entire global energy system, and will evolve over a century or more," said Edmonds. "Any technology strategy begins with the technologies at hand, but the long-term cost and effectiveness of the strategy will depend on technology development and deployment over many decades. Unlike traditional environmental problems, the challenge of climate change grows over time."

 

Examining technologies in the context of market demands and competition, as well as other socioeconomic conditions, yields intriguing insights about the potential of each technology class and the situations in which they can become widely used to address climate change. "The role of any given technology will depend not only on its own performance, but also on the performance of other technologies throughout the energy and economic system, as well as the institutional and cultural setting in which it is developed and deployed. No single technology can solve the climate problem. Not only does a potential technological solution need to be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but it also must provide energy and value added services at a competitive price," says Edmonds. "This last point--about the need to cost-effectively deliver goods and services that consumers want while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gases--is particularly relevant and often distinguishes potential solutions from robust real-world solutions to addressing climate change."

 

The Global Energy Technology Strategy Program is a unique public-private collaboration supporting research on the potential role of energy technologies in addressing the challenge of global climate change. The program has profoundly influenced national and international dialogues about how to best address the challenge posed by climate change.

 

The Global Energy Technology Strategy Program partners include sponsors and collaborators from every part of the globe and from all types of organizations involved in the climate issue: national governments and agencies, the energy industries, nongovernmental organizations, and research institutions. This partnership will continue its work to develop the knowledge necessary to construct and execute a global energy technology strategy within a larger portfolio of strategic responses to the challenge of global climate change, including resolution of scientific uncertainty, development of credible commitments to addressing climate change, and adaptation.

The full report can be found under the "Publications" tab at http://gtsp.battelle.org

 

Battelle is the world's largest non-profit independent research and development organization, with 20,000 employees in more than 120 locations worldwide, including five national laboratories Battelle manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle conducts $3.8 billion in R&D annually through contract research, laboratory management, and technology commercialization. Battelle provides innovative solutions to some of the world's most important problems including global climate change, sustainable energy technologies, high performance materials, next generation healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics, and advanced security solutions for people, infrastructure, and the nation. Battelle has a long history of developing successful commercial products in collaboration with its clients, ranging from products to fight diabetes, cancer, and heart disease to the development of the office copier machine (Xerox). As a non-profit charitable trust with an eye toward the future, Battelle actively supports and promotes science and math education.

 

For more information contact Battelle's National Media Relations Manager Katy Delaney at (410) 306-8638 or at delaneyk@battelle.org.