Solar panels (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bizutesfaye
Bjorn Lomborg acknowledges that climate change is real, but he has no respect for those who are searching for solutions and implementing them as quickly as possible. (“The Real Costs of Wind and Solar,” Review-Journal, May 26.) Instead, he focuses only on the challenges and limitations of the technologies that address the current situation.
For example, he cites insufficient battery storage as the biggest obstacle to reliable renewable energy like solar and wind, yet innovations in all kinds of battery storage in the power grid and transportation are progressing well.
VW, Nissan and Toyota have all said they will begin using solid-state batteries within the next three to four years that will drastically reduce lithium use. These new batteries will have ranges of 620 to 700 miles or more and charge in just 10 minutes.
Batteries aren't the only answer to solving the problem of unreliable solar and wind power. Energy storage innovators of all kinds are working to solve the problem. Bloomberg reports that global transition investments will reach $1.8 trillion in 2023, while the International Monetary Fund reports that global subsidies will reach $7 trillion in 2022. Is clean energy worth the development costs? Absolutely. Given the alternative of an uninhabitable climate, the possibilities are endless.
The costs of loss and damage from extreme weather are astronomical. Celebrating all the scientific, technological and business innovators tackling the challenges of our time is a good way to speed up solutions. There is no time for delay.
