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As the debate over climate change continues, many figures in the tech industry have been among the most vocal in the fight against it. Now, many of the biggest names in the field are teaming up to form a climate change supergroup.
The Breakthrough Energy Coalition aims to back technology being developed to fight climate change. Involved parties include Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com; Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group; Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft; Jack Ma, founder and chairman of Alibaba Group; Mark Zuckerberg, founder, chairman and CEO of Facebook; and many more.
“The existing system of basic research, clean-energy investment, regulatory frameworks, and subsidies fails to sufficiently mobilize investment in truly transformative energy solutions for the future,” according to a statement on the coalition website. “We can’t wait for the system to change through normal cycles.”
The coalition calls for a public-private partnership between governments, researchers and investors, with an emphasis on being proactive rather than reactive. However, it emphasizes that little progress can be made without the direct involvement of major world governments.
“Only our governments have the mandate to protect the public interest as well as the resources and mechanisms to do this,” the website states. “We know government investment in research can lead to the creation of industries that advance the common good and are driven by private capital… . However, current governmental funding levels for clean energy are simply insufficient to meet the challenges before us.”
The money is where the coalition comes in. This group aims to form a network of private capital to help build a structure that will accelerate the change to an “advanced energy future.”
The announcement of the coalition coincided with the start of the U.N. Climate Change Conference, which took place in Paris from Nov. 30–Dec. 11, 2015, and ended with a global agreement to combat climate change on Dec. 12, 2015.
For more, visit www.breakthroughenergycoalition.com.
About The Author
Matthew Kraus was formerly the director of communications at NECA and senior editor of ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR for five years. He can be reached at [email protected].
