Half of emissions cuts will come from future tech, says John Kerry

(The Guardian, 16 May 2021) US climate envoy says people will not have to give up quality of life to achieve some of net zero goals.

The US climate envoy, John Kerry, has said 50% of the carbon reductions needed to get to net zero will come from technologies that have not yet been invented, and said people “don’t have to give up a quality of life” in order to cut emissions.

He said Americans would “not necessarily” have to eat less meat, because of research being done into the way cattle are herded and fed in order to reduce methane emissions.

“You don’t have to give up a quality of life to achieve some of the things that we know we have to achieve. That’s the brilliance of some of the things that we know how to do,” he told BBC One’s Andrew Marr show. “I am told by scientists that 50% of the reductions we have to make to get to net zero are going to come from technologies that we don’t yet have. That’s just a reality.

“And people who are realistic about this understand that’s part of the challenge. So we have to get there sooner rather than later.”

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The Guardian, 16 May 2021: Half of emissions cuts will come from future tech, says John Kerry