Global Apollo Programme

Last updated

The Global Apollo Programme was a historic call for a major global science and economics research programme to make carbon-free baseload electricity less costly than electricity from coal by the year 2025. [1]

Contents

Inspiration and aims

Launched in June 2015, the project - named for the Apollo Program, which brought together thousands of scientists and engineers to put mankind on the moon - calls for developed nations to commit to spending 0.02% of their GDP, for 10 years, to fund co-ordinated research to solve the challenge. This equates to $150 billion over a decade, roughly the same cost committed to the Apollo Program in 2015 money. [2] [3] Some developed nations, including the UK, already meet the GDP percentage target spend, but many do not and there is little international coordination to maximise the results. [1]

It has been modelled on the more recent International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, an international research collaborative that is credited with greatly and swiftly improving the quality and economics of semiconductor manufacture. [4]

Key areas of focus

Key people

Launch report authors

The initiative is spearheaded by the chemist Professor Sir David King, former Government Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government. [7] Amongst the Apollo group are economists Professor Lord Stern (author of The Stern Review) and Lord O'Donnell (former Cabinet Secretary), businessmen Lord Turner and Lord Browne (former Chief Executive of BP), cosmologist and astrophysicist Professor Lord Rees (former President of the Royal Society) and labour economist Lord Layard. [8]

Endorsers

The following were signatories on an open letter published to The Guardian newspaper, alongside the launch report authors, in September 2015. [9]

Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Professor of Sustainable Development and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University has separately publicly endorsed the programme. [10]

Professor Sir David King has publicly stated that Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi is "keen" on the programme. [1]

Reaction

At last - an authoritative, practical and comprehensible plan that could avert the catastrophe that is threatening our planet.
Sir David Attenborough,official launch at the Royal Society on 2 June 2015 [11] [12]
[Research and development in renewables] should be like the Manhattan Project and the Apollo Project in the sense that the government should put in a serious amount of R&D.
Bill Gates, spearhead of Mission Innovation, 25 June 2015 [13]
We will work together and with other interested countries to raise the overall coordination and transparency of clean energy research, development and demonstration... We ask our Energy Ministers to take forward these initiatives...
Leaders of the G7, 41st G7 summit, Schloss Elmau, June 2015 [14]
Foremost, governments need to fund research and development for low-carbon energy technologies at Apollo-program levels of commitment... The required funding of this ultimate public good is too great a risk with too little a reward for private companies. But it is easily fundable by governments.
Professor Steven Pinker, Harvard University [15]

Key dates

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renewable energy</span> Energy that is collected from renewable resources

Renewable energy is energy from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. Renewable resources include sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy sources are sustainable, some are not. For example, some biomass sources are considered unsustainable at current rates of exploitation. Renewable energy is often used for electricity generation, heating and cooling. Renewable energy projects are typically large-scale, but they are also suited to rural and remote areas and developing countries, where energy is often crucial in human development. Renewable energy is often deployed together with further electrification, which has several benefits: electricity can move heat or objects efficiently, and is clean at the point of consumption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Attenborough</span> British broadcaster and naturalist (born 1926)

Sir David Frederick Attenborough is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural history documentary series forming the Life collection, a comprehensive survey of animal and plant life on Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Energy Agency</span> Autonomous intergovernmental organisation

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation, established in 1974, that provides policy recommendations, analysis and data on the entire global energy sector. The 31 member countries and 11 association countries of the IEA represent 75% of global energy demand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable energy</span>

Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenhouse gas emissions and social and economic aspects such as energy poverty. Renewable energy sources such as wind, hydroelectric power, solar, and geothermal energy are generally far more sustainable than fossil fuel sources. However, some renewable energy projects, such as the clearing of forests to produce biofuels, can cause severe environmental damage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell</span>

Jonathan Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell is a British businessman and academic who was Chairman of the Financial Services Authority during the global financial crisis, serving from 2008 until its abolition in March 2013. He is a former Chairman of the Pensions Commission and the Committee on Climate Change, as well as a former Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry. He has described himself in a BBC HARDtalk interview with Stephen Sackur as a 'technocrat'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford</span> British economist and academic (born 1946)

Nicholas Herbert Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford, is a British economist, banker, and academic. He is the IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government and Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics (LSE), and 2010 Professor of Collège de France. He was President of the British Academy from 2013 to 2017, and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Climate Group</span> UK climate change organization

The Climate Group is a non-profit organisation that works with businesses and government leaders around the world to address climate change. The Group has programmes focusing on renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Launched in 2004, the organisation operates globally with offices in the UK (headquarters), the United States and India.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC), originally named the Committee on Climate Change, is an independent non-departmental public body, formed under the Climate Change Act (2008) to advise the United Kingdom and devolved Governments and Parliaments on tackling and preparing for climate change. The Committee provides advice on setting carbon budgets, and reports regularly to the Parliaments and Assemblies on the progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Notably, in 2019 the CCC recommended the adoption of a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the United Kingdom by 2050. On 27 June 2019 the British Parliament amended the Climate Change Act (2008) to include a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. The CCC also advises and comments on the UK's progress on Climate change adaptation through updates to Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renewable energy commercialization</span> Deployment of technologies harnessing easily replenished natural resources

Renewable energy commercialization involves the deployment of three generations of renewable energy technologies dating back more than 100 years. First-generation technologies, which are already mature and economically competitive, include biomass, hydroelectricity, geothermal power and heat. Second-generation technologies are market-ready and are being deployed at the present time; they include solar heating, photovoltaics, wind power, solar thermal power stations, and modern forms of bioenergy. Third-generation technologies require continued R&D efforts in order to make large contributions on a global scale and include advanced biomass gasification, hot-dry-rock geothermal power, and ocean energy. As of 2012, renewable energy accounts for about half of new nameplate electrical capacity installed and costs are continuing to fall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fossil fuel phase-out</span>

Fossil fuel phase-out is the gradual reduction of the use and production of fossil fuels to zero, to reduce deaths and illness from air pollution, limit climate change, and to strengthen energy independence. It is part of the ongoing renewable energy transition.

Energy subsidies are measures that keep prices for customers below market levels, or for suppliers above market levels, or reduce costs for customers and suppliers. Energy subsidies may be direct cash transfers to suppliers, customers, or related bodies, as well as indirect support mechanisms, such as tax exemptions and rebates, price controls, trade restrictions, and limits on market access.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green growth</span> Economic growth that is environmentally sustainable

Green growth is a term to describe a hypothetical path of economic growth that is environmentally sustainable. It is based on the understanding that as long as economic growth remains a predominant goal, a decoupling of economic growth from resource use and adverse environmental impacts is required. As such, green growth is closely related to the concepts of green economy and low-carbon or sustainable development. A main driver for green growth is the transition towards sustainable energy systems. Advocates of green growth policies argue that well-implemented green policies can create opportunities for employment in sectors such as renewable energy, green agriculture, or sustainable forestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin K. Sovacool</span> American academic

Benjamin K. Sovacool is an American academic who is director of the Institute for Global Sustainability at Boston University as well as Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University. He was formerly Director of the Danish Center for Energy Technology at the Department of Business Development and Technology and a professor of social sciences at Aarhus University. He is also professor of energy policy at the University of Sussex, where he formerly directed the Center on Innovation and Energy Demand and the Sussex Energy Group. He has written on energy policy, environmental issues, and science and technology policy. Sovacool is also the editor-in-chief of Energy Research & Social Science.

The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment is a research institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science founded in May 2008. The centre is a partner of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College and acts as an umbrella body for LSE's overall research contributions to the field of climate change and its impact on the environment. Furthermore, the institute oversees the activities of the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP), a partnership between LSE and the University of Leeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">41st G7 summit</span> 2015 international leaders meeting

The 41st G7 summit was held in Schloss Elmau, Krün, Bavaria, Germany on 7–8 June 2015. In March 2014 the remaining members of the G8 declared that a meaningful discussion was currently not possible with Russia, and since then meetings have continued under the G7 name.

Mission Innovation is a global initiative to accelerate public and private clean energy innovation to address climate change, make clean energy affordable to consumers, and create green jobs and commercial opportunities.

Himanshu Gupta is an Indian American energy policy expert, engineer and entrepreneur in climate change. He is the co-founder and CEO of ClimateAI, which was recognized in 2022 by TIME magazine as one of the greatest innovations of that year.

Green recovery packages are proposed environmental, regulatory and fiscal reforms to build prosperity in the wake of an economic crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic or the Global Financial Crisis. They pertain to fiscal measures that intend to recover economic growth while also positively benefitting the environment, including measures for renewable energy, efficient energy use, nature based solutions, sustainable transport, green innovation and green jobs, amongst others.

<i>Extinction: The Facts</i> Documentary film by David Attenborough

Extinction: The Facts is a 2020 documentary film by the natural historian David Attenborough which aired on the BBC. It depicts the continuing sixth mass extinction, caused by humans, and the consequences of biodiversity loss and climate change. It also suggests positive action which can be taken to halt or reverse these effects. With a peak viewership of roughly 4.5 million on its premiere, the programme received positive critical reception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">48th G7 summit</span> 48th annual summit of G7 nations

The 48th G7 summit was held from 26 to 28 June 2022 in Schloss Elmau, Krün, Bavarian Alps, Germany. Germany previously hosted a G7 summit in 2015 at Schloss Elmau.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Carrington, Damian. "Global Apollo programme seeks to make clean energy cheaper than coal". The Guardian . No. 2 June 2015. Guardian News Media . Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  2. "A Budgetary Analysis of NASA's New Vision for Space Exploration" (PDF). Congressional Budget Office . Congress of the United States. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2006. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  3. Clark, Pilita (2 June 2015). "$150bn needed to save world from climate change, warn scientists". Financial Times . Pearson PLC . Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  4. "Summary - the organisation of the Programme". Global Apollo Programme. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  5. Rundle, Michael (2 June 2015). "How The 'Apollo Programme' For Energy Might Just Save The Planet". WIRED. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  6. Stern, Nicholas (2015). Why Are We Waiting? The Logic, Urgency, and Promise of Tackling Climate Change (1st ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. p. 267. ISBN   978-0-262-02918-6.
  7. Harrabin, Roger (2 June 2015). "'Moon shot' call on clean energy". BBC News . British Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  8. Coghlan, Andy (2 June 2015). "New Apollo programme wants moonshot budget to boost renewables". NewScientist. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  9. Letters. "Help the Global Apollo Programme make clean energy cheaper than coal". The Guardian . No. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  10. Sachs, Jeffrey. "Our generation's moonshot: A clean-energy world by 2050". MarketWatch . Dow Jones & Company . Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  11. "Parliamentary Business, House of Lords". Hansard. Column 313. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  12. "Push to make renewables cheaper". Yahoo! News. Press Association. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  13. Adams, Christopher; Thornhill, John (25 June 2015). "Gates to double investment in renewable energy projects". Financial Times . Pearson PLC . Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  14. 1 2 "Leadersʼ Declaration, G7 Summit, 7–8 June 2015" (PDF). G7 Germany 2015 Schloss Elmau. Group of Seven (G7) . Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  15. Pinker, Steven; Goldstein, Joshua S. "Inconvenient truths for the environmental movement". The Boston Globe . No. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.