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Op-Ed: American innovators, not
regulators, will solve climate change
[The Center Square] Quill Robinson |
American Conservation Coalition
President Joe Biden has pledged to cut America's
greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. He intends to meet this
ambitious target through a wave of new federal spending and government
programs. Yet, our best hope for reducing carbon emissions isn't new
government spending. It's a technological sea-change – one that can only
come from the private sector. |
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 Government is slowing progress against climate change by
imposing regulations that prevent emissions-lowering technologies from reaching
the market. If our leaders really want to save the planet, they need to get out
of the way of entrepreneurs who can actually do so.
One would expect the government to embrace technology with the
potential to cut carbon pollution. President Biden himself has promised to "spur
American technological innovation" as part of his climate agenda.
Unfortunately, some of the most promising green-tech breakthroughs face severe
headwinds as a result of misguided or antiquated federal policies.
One such technology – profiled in "They Say It Can't Be Done," a new documentary
on the relationship between innovators and regulations – is an artificial tree
developed by Arizona State University physicist and engineer Klaus Lackner.
These man-made trees contain a special plastic resin that can absorb carbon
dioxide and release it when submerged in water. They're 1,000 times more
effective at taking in carbon dioxide from the air than natural trees. Once
captured, this carbon dioxide can then be reclaimed and converted into fuel.
 Lackner's design could be scaled to produce units that each remove a metric ton
of carbon dioxide daily. The main stumbling block is the lack of clear
regulations surrounding carbon capture technologies.
Until a uniform federal framework exists, the process of bringing this
technology to market will remain impossibly complicated and fraught with risk.
Or consider technologies that could reduce the need for large-scale livestock
farming. Raising billions of chickens, pigs, and cattle requires vast amounts of
water, feed and land. The resulting carbon footprint is massive – about 7.1
gigatons of greenhouse gases a year.
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Here too, new technologies could help reduce
emissions. Researchers are designing cell-cultured meat produced in
the lab rather than the feedlot. This lab-grown protein is safe,
healthy and far less carbon-intensive than traditionally farmed
meat.
One start-up that makes lab-grown meat, Eat Just
Inc., has obtained approval to sell its cell-cultured chicken in
Singapore. But it's still waiting on the green light from American
regulators. According to the firm's founder, it could be another
year – or more – before U.S. approval comes through.
For an industry as capital-intensive as cultured meat production,
this sluggish approval process can make it impossible for a start-up
to launch and get its products to market.
High-tech solutions like these are precisely what's required to
protect our planet from the threat of climate change. While it's
impossible to say whether lab-grown meat or artificial trees are the
best solution, an accessible and level regulatory playing field
allows the best innovations to thrive.
Too many Americans believe that when it comes to climate change,
only the government is up to the task. The fact is, the main barrier
to large-scale adoption of sustainable technologies isn't a lack of
government involvement, but too much – or at least the wrong kind.
In order to make good on his promise to reduce the nation's carbon
footprint, the president and his team will need to recognize how
government obstructs the development and deployment of technology
that can fulfill that promise.
Quill Robinson is the American Conservation
Coalition's vice president of government affairs. This piece
originally ran in TechCrunch.
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