Getting Better In The Messy Middle

Ted Nordhaus is the Executive Director of the Breakthrough Institute, an environmental research center in Berkeley, California. About 20 years ago, Nordhaus published an essay arguing that environmentalism, as we had come to know it then, was viewing climate change completely wrong. His theory was that environmentalists saw climate change as a pollution problem. Pollution, in this view, could be controlled by taxes or by regulating carbon emissions. Nordhaus, however, saw the issue as a technology and infrastructure problem requiring public investment in innovation.

Ted Nordhaus, Executive Director of the Breakthrough Institute

Now two decades later, we can say that Nordhaus was generally right, and at the most recent Climate Week in New York City, it was not difficult to spot the signs and signals of innovation in virtually every corner of the climate change conversation.

America’s $370 billion Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was a widely cited case in point. The IRA is now the world’s largest clean energy investment fund, leveraging the power of tax credits to encourage innovation and adoption vs. taxes on carbon to discourage use of fossil fuels. In other words, the IRA is a “carrots” program, not a burdensome stack of regulatory “sticks.” U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak reminded Climate Week attendees that the department’s “Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate” is now a $17 billion fund meant to catalyze innovation.

Perhaps no other comment from the event proved Nordhaus’ point more than Tom Reichart’s, the CEO of ERM, which is one of the country’s largest sustainability consulting firms. He said, “We are in the ‘messy middle’ of the net-zero transition, working to balance possibility and optimism with the reality of how much work needs to be done – and fast.”

Welcome to the wide path – our world’s best shot at achieving net zero emissions by the middle of this century. It’s not always smooth but it is full of “messy” innovation that is carrying the climate change conversation forward like never before. At Climate Week, technologies ranging from AI-driven energy optimization strategies to new battery innovations were presented, as were more ambitious conversations like scattering sulfur dioxide in the stratosphere to block sunlight. Skepticism on this particular geo-engineering approach runs high, and yet, the subject was even given air time.

Once maligned nuclear energy continued its revival as well. In a joint statement, 14 of the world’s largest financial institutions, including Bank of America, Barclays and Goldman Sachs, expressed support for the nuclear industry, a sentiment driven largely by the enormous energy demands from AI. On the liquid fuels front, aviation, which accounts for 2.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, made news. Sustainable aviation fuel, also known as SAF, can reduce emissions from flying by between 70 and 90 percent. It’s more expensive than traditional jet fuel but attitudes for its use are changing. A study released at Climate Week claimed that “willingness to pay” – a marker of significance for the industry, has risen significantly. This means consumers and airlines are more open than ever to sustainable travel.

All of this innovation is encouraging and necessary. Tucker Perkins, president and CEO of the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), devoted an entire chapter to the topic of innovation in his book, Path to Zero: 12 Climate Conversations That Changed the World, citing advancements in everything from better paint to better transmission wires, to better hydrogen and even petroleum. One area, however, that deserves “better” attention is public permitting of clean energy projects.

The SAF study mentioned above shows how consumer attitudes are changing. That, however, is not the case with public policy. Data shows that local opposition, and not federal review, is the biggest obstacle facing clean energy infrastructure. According to one survey, many wind and solar projects experience significant delays while 30% of projects are canceled altogether, citing local ordinances, interconnection and opposition as leading causes.

Climate Week’s many presentations provided hope for a net zero future. However, the need for, as Perkins says in his book, “better arguments” remains. Streamlined permitting, public and private investment, clear regulatory frameworks, and public communication will be with us at every step on the journey to net zero, so we owe it to ourselves to use this “messy middle” moment to get better one small step at a time.

Learn more about propane and renewable propane’s role in a clean energy future.