The work does not end with an agreement at COP21, it begins

Yesterday I watched an interesting panel of engineers and analysts discussing innovation and the technologies needed to limit warming to 2 degrees.

Of course, the point of view differs according to who is talking. Some say there is no way we can achieve 2 degrees without deploying carbon capture and storage at scale and at speed. Others tell us that 100% renewables is within reach if only there were the political will and investment to see it through. Others say we need a mix of all available technologies.

Putting aside the question of who is right, there were some key points on which the speakers all agreed:

1. We already have the technologies we need to achieve 2 degrees. They can be developed further, refined and improved; they can be made more efficient and less costly, but we have them now
2. We need to deploy these technologies at a huge scale
3. We need to do it very quickly – if we continue with “business as usual” we will have missed the 2 degree goal within 20 – 25 years
4. All this technology will cost a vast amount of money

What also emerged was the point that, given the urgency of the task,  we – as a global community - are not going about it in the most efficient way.

Research and development programs  overlap and are duplicated. Funding is patchy and finance can be inefficiently applied. Conflicting regulatory regimes and poorly designed incentive systems can hamper progress. All this happens both within national boundaries and even more so on a global level.

So what? There is nothing new in this. It is just the way things are. Businesses are built to compete. Markets sort things out in the end and from the chaos, winning solutions and providers emerge.

The difference when it comes to the climate is that we do not have an unlimited time window to wait while things sort themselves out. The clock is ticking. The stakes – in the form of severe climate impacts – could not be higher and we are running out of time.

So what part can governments play in harnessing the competitive power of business to achieve the goal in the limited time we have left?

While allowing business to continue to compete, they can provide more co-ordination, more long term policy certainty, and policy and regulatory frameworks that are complementary not conflicting. They can set strategic directions and prioritize the technologies that best support those directions. They can incentivize more smartly, keep a watchful eye on progress and step in quickly if things begin to lag.

All this needs to happen not just on a national basis but also on an international level as well. We should not underestimate the scale of the challenge. A global agreement at COP21 will be something to celebrate, but it is not the end of the job for the governments of the world, it is just the beginning.