Bill Gates calls for energy miracles
Bill Gates called for investment in zero carbon technologies at the TED event
Microsoft founder Bill Gates is calling for "energy miracles" to help achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Speaking at the annual TED Summit in the US last week, he said that developed nations will need to completely decarbonise the energy they use within 40 years to avert the worst effects of climate change.
He added that reducing carbon emissions by between 50% and 80% by 2050 will be insufficient and more investment in researching green technologies is needed to help meet more ambitious targets.
However, he said that current levels of spending on zero carbon technologies are "ridiculously" low.
Take action
- Tackle the energy crisis with small steps
- Energy issues in focus
Mr Gates is himself investing in a nuclear technology project, an area he claims is often ignored by green tech investors.
The TerraPower project is a new Traveling Wave Reactor that promises to generate power from waste radioactive material. It burns uranium waste slowly, meaning a 60-year supply could be added to a reactor at once and not touched for decades.
According to Mr Gates, spent uranium supplies in the US alone could power the nation for 100 years.
Comments
That's awesome. Imagine if you can use spend uranium to power the nation for 100 years, why would you need to spend more money in burning fossil fuel. The time is right to start investing in TerraPower.