The world needs to transition entirely to clean energy by 2050, and the transition will  require researching and developing new products and services.

For years, those calling for more research and development have been in argument with those calling for more deployment of existing clean energy technologies, but as the years have progressed, we see that we need both.

The group Let’s Fund took a close look at climate change and came to a blunt conclusion: The best place to put donor money is in innovation. 

Long story short, Let’s Fund rated climate policies on three metrics: importance, neglectedness, and tractability, i.e., the level of political effort required to pass it.

Public spending on clean energy R&D came in first:

Although this analysis involves value judgments, particularly when it comes to political economy, Let’s Fund’s core argument for public spending on clean energy R&D is that relative to other policies, it is unquestionably both neglected and vital. Here is what is given to us as their reasoning:

The case for public clean energy R&D spending

Let’s Fund’s conceptual argument for public R&D comes in four parts.

1) Emission reduction in emerging economies matters most.

By 2040, 75 percent of global emissions will come from emerging economies like China and India. Advanced economies could flatline their emissions tomorrow and all would still be lost.

2) Thus, “the best climate policies are those that stimulate clean energy innovation.”

Restraints on growth imposed by international institutions are doomed to failure. The only thing that might work is making a clean energy technology “spillover”. Cheaper clean energy technology is a global public good, and advanced economies are both morally obliged and economically well-positioned to provide it.

3) Public R&D creates the most spillover.

Many policies stimulate clean energy innovation and create global technology spillovers, but the most effective policy is increasing government budgets for public clean energy research and development.

4) Public R&D is woefully neglected but politically tractable.

Just $22 billion a year is spent globally on clean energy R&D. Any advanced economy could substantially, and unilaterally, increase that number. That’s why the researchers call it tractable; it doesn’t require international coordination. Anyone can just go ahead and do it. While Germany could potentially eliminate its production-based emissions entirely and would scarcely make a dent in global emissions, they could, for a tiny fraction of the cost, unilaterally double the global clean energy R&D budget and stimulate far more innovation, with arguably greater impact.

Few countries are on track to fulfill their agreements to increase research spending by 100% by 2025. It looks like they will average about a 50 percent increase. This is a serious problem that faces the world today, although it seems easy to solve, since everyone is in agreement that the idea of increased research and development is a good thing.

But despite this, almost no one really does it, at least not at the scale it warrants. It is perpetually underfunded, long past the time when it was clear that clean energy is vital to a safe human future. The explanation to this may be the free rider problem — everyone benefits from R&D eventually, no matter who pays for it.

The report also cites “action-omission bias” as a culprit: “Emitting carbon directly ourselves is perceived to be morally worse than not taking action to reduce emissions caused by others — though the consequences are the same.”

In terms of climate change, morally speaking, one ton of carbon emissions prevented is equivalent to any other, no matter where it is located. And in terms of local pollution and social damage, a ton prevented in emerging nations is worth more, likely to alleviate more suffering.

Countries around the world that are wealthy, including the US, need to start taking matters into their own hands. The US Climate Research and Development Program hasn't even published any research since 2016! We need to begin to spend much more on research and development on clean energy so that our planet can live for longer than it’s current expected lifespan. 

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/7/11/20688611/climate-change-research-development-innovation

https://www.usgs.gov/land-resources/climate-research-and-development-program