Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Alan Finkel, Black Inc./Quarterly Essay $24.99.
Alan Finkel, a neuroscientist, engineer, entrepreneur and philanthropist, was Australia’s chief scientist from 2016 to 2020.
This intelligible essay “traces a pathway to a clean-energy future for Australia, a crucially important task that I began to dabble in before my five-year term as Australia’s chief scientist began, and which turned out to be a major component of my work in that role, way beyond anything I imagined when I started. I tackle some of the controversial and difficult questions, such as the role of natural gas in the coming decades, and share some confounding personal moments from Australia’s recent climate debate. But my overarching thesis is that just as nineteenth-century technology has brought us to an urgent moment in the history of our planet, 21st century technology will light the way forward.”
Subtitled Australia’s Energy Transition, Getting to Zero is a fundamental guide to how Australia can tackle the climate crisis with pragmatism and resourcefulness. The world is overheating, and despite good intentions and significant efforts, emissions increase nearly every year.
“Change is in the air. I sense we will be living through a technological revolution this decade as exciting as the conquest of space in the 1960s. If Australia handles the challenge well, we can build an economy that takes advantage of the transition. If we cling to the past, we will miss opportunities that the rest of the world will seize.” QE81 notes the challenge is immense, but there are solutions. Finkel maps Australia’s path forward. He explains the solar and wind revolution, and addresses the challenge of intermittent supply. He introduces hydrogen, the energy hope of the future. He traces the rise and rise of the electric car. He shows how we can build a zero-emissions world.
