As organizations look for ways to urgently address the current environmental crisis, climate technologies – a variety of innovative technologies that include renewables, batteries, low-carbon hydrogen, carbon capture, and alternative fuels – have emerged as an important way to do so.
In this Capgemini Research Institute report, Climate Technology: Harnessing the power of technology for a sustainable futureWe explore climate technologies in depth, and recognize their importance in addressing climate and environmental issues.
Climate technologies have become crucial in formulating an effective response to today's sustainability challenges. Organization leaders agree with this sentiment, with three-quarters of executives surveyed saying their organizations would not achieve their sustainability goals without climate technology. Not only will the reach of these technologies matter, but their impact will also be significant, with 37% of executives expecting climate technology to help their organizations achieve 37% of their decarbonisation/net zero goals.
Despite the great potential of climate technology solutions, cost is currently a major barrier to their widespread adoption. The current green premiums for adopting climate technology – for example, the cost difference between low-carbon products and their high-emissions alternatives – are often large. For this reason, we still have a long way to go to make climate technology solutions commercially viable.
One solution to these cost challenges is the use of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital twins. They can be used to reduce development costs, increase efficiency, and accelerate innovation processes. Among these technologies, executives view AI as the most promising technology for accelerating climate technology adoption, with 77% placing it in this category. It is worth noting that 71% of organizations have already recognized the cost benefits of using digital technologies to scale climate technology.
We conclude this report with recommendations for organizations to accelerate the adoption of climate technology in order to achieve their sustainability goals – including four actions as well as three enablers that organizations can implement to this end. Download the full report to learn more about climate technology and its essential role in enabling organizations to create a sustainable future.
