The Drive to Decarbonize

Clean energy is now cheaper than coal, and its uptake is accelerating. But can we get to zero emissions in time? Investor and technologist Ramez Naam joins Azeem Azhar to discuss how technological innovation and economies of scale are accelerating us towards a zero-carbon future, as well as the major challenges that remain.

They also cover:

• The virtuous cycle that drove the falling price of clean energy.
• How the Covid-19 pandemic could be an opportunity for massive government investment in clean energy infrastructure.
• Three strategies to overcome the renewable energy storage problem.
• Why industrial production of steel, concrete, and plastics remains the biggest challenge.

Further reading:

• “The Third Phase of Clean Energy Will Be the Most Disruptive Yet” (Rameez Naam, 2019)
• “Solar Power Is Sustainable for the Economy, Too” (Wired, 2020)
• “How Germany helped make renewable energy cheap for the rest of the world” (Vox, 2020)
• “How industry can move toward a low-carbon future” (McKinsey, 2018)

@ramez
@azeem
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