Billions pledged for clean energy research at Paris climate talks
Clean energy technology is the key to fighting global warming, world leaders at high-stakes climate negotiations in Paris will be told.
Government and business leaders will pledge billions of euro to research and develop a technical fix to the planet’s climate woes.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates, US president Barack Obama and French president Francois Hollande will launch a joint initiative today after a diplomatic push in recent weeks ahead of the Paris climate conference.
A key goal is to bring down the cost of cleaner energy. At least 19 governments and 28 leading world investors, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, billionaires George Soros and Saudi Prince Alaweed bin Talal, and Jack Ma of China’s Alibaba, have signed on so far.
“It’s quite a big deal,” said Jennifer Morgan, global climate director for the World Resources Institute.
“It brings a new kind of burst of energy into the conference right at the beginning on something very important.”
The UN climate summit formally opened on Sunday afternoon with a minute of silence for the victims of this month’s Paris attacks and vows not to let terrorism derail efforts to slow or stop climate change.
But a few miles away, police trying to secure the nation against new violence sprayed tear gas on protesters who defied a ban on demonstrations and threw projectiles.
A big sticking point at the climate talks will be money, including how much rich countries should invest to help poor countries cope with climate change.
The amount that should be invested in renewable energy, and how much traditional oil and gas producers stand to lose if countries agree to forever reduce emissions, will also be discussed.
The new initiative is twofold – a public-private project called Mission Innovation, led by governments, and a Gates-led investor group called the Breakthrough Energy Initiative.
The governments pledge to double their spending on low or no-carbon energy over the next five years, according to Brian Deese, senior adviser to Mr Obama on climate and energy issues.
They include leading energy producers and consumers, such as the US China, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada, France and Norway.
