The science is settled. Human activities that emit greenhouse gasses (GHG) are warming the planet and causing devastating climate change. Current GHG emissions levels must be halved by 2030 and net-zero GHG emissions must be reached by 2050 to contain global warming at a sub-catastrophic level. As fossil fuel-based energy production is a leading cause of GHG emissions, clean energy technologies play a vital role in a sustainable future for the planet.

The cost of solar and wind energy has fallen considerably over the past decade and no longer yields a significant cost disadvantage compared to fossil fuels. Next-generation renewable technologies such as waste-to-energy, sustainable fuels, fusion energy, geothermal, wave, and tidal, etc. are still at a nascent stage but can be expected to follow similar declining cost principles as they scale. Next-generation advancements in energy storage, and energy optimization and management are also vital in matching the intermittent supply of renewable energy with inflexible demand.