How Cleantech Startups Are Using Tech To Tackle The Climate Crisis

The disparity and mismatch between countries emitting greenhouse gases and countries suffering from climate disasters is startling. Afghanistan emits under 0.03% but is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. On the flip side, the USA, one of the most advanced and developed countries in the world, contributes 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. Since 1850, the USA has emitted over 500 Bn tonnes of greenhouse gases. 

Developed countries must adopt sustainable practices as soon as possible. Even though per capita emissions in lower-income third-world countries are very low, it is the poor and countries near the equator that are paying the price for rising temperatures. Billions of dollars are being invested as a show of faith in our scientific communities to find solutions. The magic to curing climate change lies in our ability as a species for ingenious innovations. 

Green Cement 

The world is expected to add more than 2 Tn square feet of new building space by 2060. That is equivalent to adding another New York City every month for the next 40 years. Thus, the materials that we use to build our homes ought to be unpolluting. 

Limestone emits a large amount of CO2 during the cement-making process. Some companies are now redirecting this CO2 to the beginning of the manufacturing process, making the cement much more durable, and emitting very little CO2 thereafter. If we replaced all of the cement we use today with green cement, it would be equivalent to removing 100 Mn cars from the road and planting 500 Mn acres of trees each year.

Lab-Grown Meat 

Around 24% of greenhouse gas emissions are from the agriculture and livestock sectors. Meat accounts for 60% of emissions from food production. Since grazing animals requires a lot of land, the meat industry is the biggest contributor to deforestation. Livestock is also responsible for methane production, a gas that has 20 times more warming power than CO2. Lab meat is created by proliferating animal cells in a controlled lab environment. Lab-grown meat has come very close to mimicking the flavour of real meat. 

Plant-based meats have also become quite trendy. Mock meat companies are gaining traction with customers and funding from investors. McDonald’s has made plant-based meat available in stores in countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany, and it’s only a matter of time before it becomes commonplace.

Carbon Capture & Storage

Direct air capture systems suck large amounts of polluted air out of the environment. The fact that it is far too expensive to build has been a major impediment to its spread. In 2021, 40 Mn tons of CO2 were captured by CCS projects. That is just 0.1% of our total emissions. By 2030, it is expected we will expand our carbon capture capacity by six times. 

These systems need to be near the source of emissions, so the key lies in making the economics of it attractive, incentivising companies to undertake such expensive projects. Many oil and gas companies now use CCS and sell the captured CO2 to other industries that can use it, such as soft drink and fertiliser companies.  

Significant advances in energy storage and battery efficiencies have also made renewable energy and EVs a part of the average person’s daily life. The key is to make advanced technology affordable and accessible to consumers and businesses and to familiarise them over time so that these breakthroughs do not remain niche and alien concepts.