Establishment of an emissions trading scheme without appropriate investment in new technologies will threaten Australia’s economic health.

Advanced technology, accompanied by behavioural change, can provide the major solutions needed to achieve a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions but, without this advance in technology, emissions targets and trading will drive investment away.

Measures must be adopted to strongly encourage investment in new and improved technology that will reduce carbon dioxide releases to atmosphere and improve energy efficiency.

The Garnaut Climate Change Review Interim Report observes that stringent emissions targets and trading will need to be complemented by commitments by high-income countries “to finance climate-related public goods, with a particular focus on development of new technologies”.

Without such investment, stringent targets will be impossible to meet efficiently with currently available technologies, and this will result in a reduction in the level of economic activity in Australia.

Imposing targets without providing assistance to develop the enabling technologies to achieve them could have the unintended consequences of closing down energy intensive industries in Australia and seeing investment migrate to more lenient regimes.

We must have a rapid uptake of low-emissions technologies in conjunction with emission reduction targets and we need urgent action to develop much of the necessary technology in Australia, with consequent economic benefits.

Any emissions trading scheme must be underpinned “by measures to correct market failures or weaknesses related to innovation, research and development. Full commercial scale deployment is also critical.

The Interim Report identifies significant market failures relating to innovation in low- emission energy technologies and suggests the largest market failure is in the incentives to build the first few full-scale commercial plants. Significant government support will be needed to reduce early mover risks and costs in this area.

Australia will need to canvas the full suite of relevant technology domains to optimise its adaptation to climate change, including:

Energy conservation – There is scope for dramatically enhanced energy conservation in industry, commerce and the domestic sector. Promising technologies such as advanced variable-speed motors; sophisticated intelligent control systems; advanced building design, services and materials; and smart lighting systems could provide energy savings of 30-40 per cent with no loss of functionality. Incentives are needed to accelerate the adoption of these measures. The potential of advanced lower-carbon-footprint metallurgical processes is also considerable.

Clean coal technologies – More rapid development of ‘clean coal’ technologies is needed, including improved combustion systems, but especially carbon capture and sequestration. Should these technologies prove successful they will inevitably add significantly to electricity price (even without carbon trading).

Solar energy – Significantly improved less-costly solar panels for integrated roofing systems would enable homes to become distributed micro power stations (at say 2-3kW each). Solar water heating should be required for new houses. Low cost concentrating systems, both photovoltaic and thermal, are needed. Australia is a world leader in silicon photovoltaic technology and this should be our prime focus.

Nuclear energy – Removal of barriers to nuclear energy in Australia would require enhanced public information, as well as education and training of engineers, technologists and managers. Our present nuclear capabilities are very limited. The present political impasse may be overcome as the low-emissions benefits become more apparent and the risks are perceived to be manageable.

Other energy sources – There are significant opportunities for geothermal power generation in Australia, but significant investment is needed. Lower-cost, higher-power wind systems are needed, together with improved predictive models for siting and estimation of output. More research is required in the development of the hydrogen economy, including low-cost hydrogen storage and advanced hydrogen fuel cells.

Electric vehicles – Transport emissions can be lowered by accelerating the take-up of electric vehicles, moving quickly to plug in (and feed out) electric vehicles with advanced batteries and superior performance.

Dr Trevor Evans is CEO of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.