Innovation below the radar of market leaders and lobbyists

Rather than big flagship projects, “subversive innovations” could prove more successful in making a breakthrough in the decarbonisation of the world’s economies, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview. “These are innovations that would basically be introduced below the radar of market leaders, defenders of the status quo of who possesses what, and lobbyists, and that would be too strong to be trampled when finally noticed”, said Schellnhuber. The feed-in tariffs for renewable energies under the German Renewable Energy Act (EEG) were an example of this. They would have never been introduced had the coal industry known that they would bring down solar PV costs so much, said Schellnhuber, adding that Chinese intervention had also played a role in bringing down the price.

For background, read the CLEW dossier The reform of the Renewable Energy Act.