We Actually Have a Shot at Stopping the Climate Crisis | Asmeret Asefaw Berhe | TED

Eighty percent filthy.

That's how much energy the American population still derives

from fossil fuels.

Deployment of clean energy,

even at today's rapidly accelerating pace,

is simply not enough to halt the climate crisis.

Going forward,

if we're going to reduce the risk of overshoot of global temperature

beyond two degrees C,

we also have to reduce the amount of CO2 that remains in the atmosphere.

The team I lead, the US Department of Energy's Office of Science,

is part of an unprecedented national effort

to get us to net-zero emissions by 2050.

To achieve our goals,

we're aiming to establish a transformative ecosystem of innovation

that achieves major innovations in science and technology

for carbon dioxide removal.

Innovations and policy and regulations to enable the nascent sector

on carbon dioxide removal to grow

and innovations to engage more people in our quest to finding

and implementing sweeping solutions.

We need major breakthroughs across multiple arenas,

and we need it fast.

So how do we go about this?

Energy Earthshots.

The Biden-Harris administration's Earthshot initiative

is inspired by President Kennedy's Moonshot initiative

that aimed to land a man on the moon.

I think that's a perfect model for what we need to achieve here.

To achieve the goals of the Moonshot initiative,

the nation needed to establish a new,

expansive ecosystem of innovation in space technologies.

It required an all-hands-on-deck approach that included government,

included educators,

private sector, industry

and, of course, scientists and engineers and more.

Now with the Department of Energy,

we're launching a similarly ambitious effort

to enable a portfolio of approaches

that range from basic science to application of science

to technology development

and for large-scale deployment.

These approaches are needed to balance the benefits,

trade offs and limitations

of several climate and clean energy pathways

that are needed to accelerate the timeline for achieving the solutions that we need.

We've launched seven Earthshots so far.

But as a soil scientist,

I'm particularly excited to tell you today about the Carbon Negative Shot.

This shot depends on a strong science foundation

to enable durable,

scalable and responsible carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere

at a cost of less than 100 dollars per metric ton of CO2 equivalent,

including accounting for full life cycle of emissions within a decade.

But we need to be able to measure and verify it too.

Achieving the goals of the Carbon Negative Shot

requires that we advance and employ nature-based solutions

and engineer new technologies.

On one hand,

we get to learn from nature

to enhance the ability of plants to take up atmospheric CO2

and promote soil carbon sequestration,

which we can enable via land use change and land management.

On the other hand,

we aim to advance fundamental material and chemical sciences

to develop capabilities

for energy-efficient capture of CO2 from dilute sources.

This includes development of direct air capture sorbents

for ambient CO2

and systems that are needed to durably store the captured carbon.

But that's not all we need.

We also need a human-centered component to the Carbon Negative Shot

to ensure an equitable transition towards a decarbonized energy system.

We need to make sure that we realize the full benefits

of all these capabilities we're putting out.

And in addition to removing legacy CO2 from the atmosphere,

the goals that we're pursuing as part of the Carbon Negative Shot

also have multiple potential additional co-benefits,

including improving soil health

for communities who depend on soil for their livelihood,

reducing air pollution

and creation of good jobs.

But to realize all these benefits,

we need to make sure that people from all walks of life are at the table

when critical decisions are being made about our climate goals

and how we achieve these goals.

For me, as an academic,

and now a leader for a major science agency for the nation,

this means we need to significantly revamp our support

for broadening participation efforts in STEM.

We need to continue to contribute towards building a vibrant STEM workforce

for the nation.

A workforce that will abide by principles of environmental justice

at every step of the process.

We need this to make sure that the science we're enabling

works for society.

Achieving our global climate goals

requires rapid acceleration of deployment of clean energy

and innovations in carbon dioxide removal.

I'm convinced the Earthshots are our best shot for achieving our goals.

Just like the Moonshot landed us on the Moon,

ahead of schedule.

And any success that we register on these efforts

will not just contribute to removing legacy CO2 from the atmosphere

and halting the climate crisis.

It will also contribute to building a better,

more equitable and cleaner world.

Thank you.

(Applause)