New technologies will be required to prevent catastrophic climate change, US climate envoy John Kerry has admitted.
Half of all reductions in carbon emissions will need to come from systems that have yet to be invented, Kerry said, comparing the fight to reduce emissions to global efforts to develop Covid-19 vaccines.
"Fifty per cent of the reductions we have to make to get to net-zero by 2050 or 2045 are going to come from technologies that we don't yet have," Kerry said.
"That's part of the challenge. But look at what we did to push the creation of vaccines, look at what we did to go to the moon, look at what we did to invent the internet."
"We're going to find our way to zero emissions"
Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr yesterday, Kerry added: "We know how to invent and innovate. And we're going to put every effort we have into making this transition happen as fast as possible." Kerry cited "green" hydrogen, which is hydrogen extracted from water using a chemical process powered by renewable energy, as a potential replacement for fossil fuels.
He also suggested nuclear power, pointing out that philanthropist Bill Gates has founded a company called TerraPower to develop small nuclear reactors.
"There are a lot of possibilities out there," he said. "Bill Gates is pursuing a small, modular next-generation nuclear capacity. We're going to find our way to zero emissions as fast as possible."

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