TED演講者：Stacy Kauk / 斯泰西·考克

演講標(biāo)題：The billion-dollar pollution solution humanity needs right now / 眼下人類所需的億萬環(huán)境污染治理方案

內(nèi)容概要：Could the same mechanism used to accelerate vaccine development work for spurring solutions to the climate crisis? Sustainability innovator Stacy Kauk introduces the billion-dollar fund to supercharge the carbon removal market, which would help build a new industry aimed at drawing down carbon pollution from the air and storing it safely.

用于加速疫苗開發(fā)的機(jī)制能否同樣用于促進(jìn)氣候危機(jī)的解決方案呢？可持續(xù)發(fā)展創(chuàng)新者斯泰西·考克（Stacy Kauk）介紹了為助力碳去除市場(chǎng)發(fā)展而成立的十億美元基金，而這項(xiàng)基金將幫助興建一個(gè)旨在從空氣中吸取碳污染并將其安全儲(chǔ)存的新產(chǎn)業(yè)。

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【1】How much money do we need in order to remove a significant amount of carbon dioxide out of our atmosphere?

需要投入多少資金 才能將大量的二氧化碳 從我們的大氣層中移除呢？

【2】And what are the mechanisms that we should use to spend all of that money?

我們又應(yīng)該以什么樣的方式 來利用這筆資金呢？

【3】I'm the head of sustainability at Shopify, a company you may not know but you might interact with every day because our technology powers millions of online retailers.

我是 Shopify 公司的 可持續(xù)發(fā)展負(fù)責(zé)人。 你可能沒聽說過我們公司, 但搞不好你每天都在和我們打交道, 因?yàn)槲覀優(yōu)閿?shù)百萬 在線零售商提供技術(shù)支持。

【4】In 2019, we wanted to become a carbon-neutral company and be accountable for all of our historical emissions.

在 2019 年, 我們想要成為一家零碳企業(yè), 也要對(duì)我們 先前所有的排放量負(fù)責(zé)到底。

【5】Instead of buying typical, traditional carbon offsets that simply pay someone else to not pollute as much as we already had, we actually wanted to delete our emissions.

我們沒有按慣例購買碳抵消額度, 單單通過付錢來阻止別人 造成和我們一樣的污染, 而是想要徹底抵消我們?cè)斐傻呐欧拧?/p>

【6】It quickly became obvious that carbon removal, those solutions that pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and store it safely, were very expensive and in short supply.

顯然,碳去除技術(shù) 這類將二氧化碳從大氣中捕獲 并安全儲(chǔ)存的解決方案, 成本極高而且還很稀缺。

【7】So to kick-start this almost non-existent market, we launched our sustainability fund and committed to spend a minimum of five million dollars every year on the most promising solutions.

因此,為了啟動(dòng) 這個(gè)幾乎不存在的市場(chǎng), 我們發(fā)起了可持續(xù)發(fā)展基金, 并承諾每年至少將 500 萬美元 投資在最有潛力的碳中和方案上。

【8】Now, obviously we need deep emissions reductions, I'm not disputing that.

毋庸置議,我們現(xiàn)在需要的 顯然是深度減排。

【9】But alongside this, we also need to build the world's capacity to pull ten gigatons of carbon dioxide out of the sky, every year, by 2050.

但與此同時(shí), 我們也需要讓全球 具備每年從大氣 捕獲 100 億噸二氧化碳的能力, 在 2050 年前就要實(shí)現(xiàn)。

【10】Now, at the time, five million was a big number, and it was a really big number to spend on something in its infancy.

在 2019 年, 五百萬是一筆大數(shù)目, 更別說這筆錢只是用于開發(fā)初期上。

【11】And we thought we were doing something significant.

起初我們覺得這項(xiàng)事業(yè)很了不起,

【12】But then we totally hit a wall.

但現(xiàn)實(shí)給了我們當(dāng)頭一棒。

【13】We weren't even thinking at the right scale.

因?yàn)槲覀冞B規(guī)模都沒有考慮對(duì)。

【14】We need to build massive facilities capable of pulling one million tons of carbon dioxide out of the air every year, and we need thousands of them.

按計(jì)劃,我們應(yīng)興建大型處理廠, 每年從大氣 捕獲 100 萬噸二氧化碳,這還只是單座處理廠的處理量, 而我們需要數(shù)千座這樣的處理廠。

【15】And in order to do that, we need project financing of about one billion dollars per plant.

要想實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)目標(biāo), 需要為每座處理廠注資約十億美元。

【16】Now, to put that into perspective, our five-million-dollar annual budget would probably buy about 10,000 tons of carbon removal every year.

要說這是個(gè)什么概念的話, 那我們每年 500 萬美元的預(yù)算, 大概每年只能固碳 1 萬噸。

【17】That's tiny.

少得可憐。

【18】That's only one percent of the annual capacity of the size of the facilities we need.

和處理廠每年所需的處理量比起來, 僅有百分之一。

【19】And like I said, we need thousands of them.

而且,我還說過 我們需要數(shù)千座這樣處理廠。

【20】So we've learned that in order to move the dial on climate and to build the necessary infrastructure, we need more money, way more money.

所以呢,要是真想改善氣候環(huán)境 并且興建必要的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施, 我們需要更多資金, 現(xiàn)有資金遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不足。

【21】And in order to do that, we need collaborations and we need structures that leverage the significant power of capital to create even bigger effects.

籌集資金 就需要各方協(xié)作, 也需要建立一種機(jī)制,將資本的偉力 最大化利用,來實(shí)現(xiàn)更優(yōu)結(jié)果。

【22】So now I'd like to tell you about what we did next.

那么,現(xiàn)在我就講講 我們接下來做了些什么。

【23】It's a mechanism that we launched alongside four other companies.

我們與四家公司聯(lián)合 建立了一種機(jī)制。

【24】It's an AMC.

叫做 AMC。

【25】AMC stands for Advance Market Commitment, and this one’s designed to help guarantee a future market for carbon removal by trying to de-risk the R and D investment

也就是預(yù)先市場(chǎng)承諾機(jī)制, 我們用這一機(jī)制來保障未來的 碳去除市場(chǎng), 具體則是幫助控制研發(fā)投資

【26】and capital expenditures needed to scale carbon removal and grow that industry.

和資本支出的風(fēng)險(xiǎn), 以保障碳去除的規(guī)模化應(yīng)用 以及行業(yè)的整體發(fā)展。

【27】Now, why I think this is such a promising approach is because it's not new.

為什么我覺得這種方案更有希望呢？ 是因?yàn)?AMC 不是什么新奇的概念,

【28】AMCs have been used in the past in the health care sector to encourage and accelerate the development of vaccines.

過去曾用于醫(yī)療衛(wèi)生領(lǐng)域 以激勵(lì)和加速疫苗研發(fā)。

【29】It worked by essentially guaranteeing the economic viability of production by setting a price in advance.

其原理是基本確保了 疫苗生產(chǎn)在經(jīng)濟(jì)上的可行性, 因?yàn)轭A(yù)先定下了價(jià)格。

【30】This meant that companies could justify the R and D resources needed to develop the vaccine as well as the costs associated with bringing it to market.

這樣一來, 疫苗公司研發(fā)疫苗所投入的資源 就有了保障, 疫苗產(chǎn)品 進(jìn)入市場(chǎng)的成本也有據(jù)可依了。

【31】They just needed to know that someone was going to buy their product at a set price.

這些公司其實(shí)只需要心里有底 有人會(huì)以相對(duì)確定的價(jià)格 購買他們的產(chǎn)品。

【32】So this AMC borrows the idea of a purchase guarantee to try to accelerate the development and scaling of carbon removal.

AMC 借用了 購買擔(dān)保的邏輯, 來加速碳去除的研發(fā) 和規(guī)?；瘧?yīng)用。

【33】And to do that, we set up a fund, and it's a pretty big fund.

為此,我們?cè)O(shè)立了一個(gè)基金, 其規(guī)模相當(dāng)可觀。

【34】It’s nearly one billion dollars, and it's called Frontier.

資金總額接近 10 億美元, 名為“前沿 (Frontier)”。

【35】But Frontier has to overcome some significant differences between vaccine development and carbon removal.

但前沿基金仍需 克服疫苗研發(fā)和碳去除 之間的諸多顯著差異。

【36】First, vaccine development has been done for a long time and we've largely worked out the supply chain and infrastructure challenges, the operational issues and the policy definitions.

首先,疫苗研發(fā)由來已久, 我們已經(jīng)諳熟相關(guān)的供應(yīng)鏈 和基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施問題, 了解實(shí)際運(yùn)營和有關(guān)政策的要點(diǎn)。

【37】But for carbon removal, this is essentially still a new industry that faces all of these hurdles.

碳去除則不然, 這仍是一個(gè)新興產(chǎn)業(yè), 以上問題都是難點(diǎn)。

【38】For example, a lot of carbon removal technologies rely on clean power to operate because if they don't, they'll emit more carbon dioxide than they capture.

就比如, 很多碳去除技術(shù)手段 都依賴清潔能源, 否則的話, 捕獲的二氧化碳 還趕不上運(yùn)行過程中的排放量。

【39】But clean power does not exist today at the scale and distribution we need.

但清潔能源現(xiàn)在的供應(yīng) 還跟不上我們的需求。

【40】Second, vaccines are developed by established companies with deep R and D teams and experience.

第二,疫苗研發(fā), 通常是大公司在做, 他們有卓越的研發(fā)團(tuán)隊(duì)和豐富的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

【41】Whereas today, carbon removal largely exists on paper, in the lab or at the start-up stage, there’s only a handful of companies worldwide right now that are any further along.

但現(xiàn)在, 碳去除技術(shù)要么仍在構(gòu)想, 要么剛開始實(shí)驗(yàn),要么才進(jìn)入初創(chuàng)階段, 相對(duì)進(jìn)入正軌的碳去除技術(shù)公司, 即便是全球范圍內(nèi), 一只手都數(shù)得過來。

【42】Third, the manufacturing facilities for vaccines already exist at scale.

第三,生產(chǎn)疫苗的設(shè)備早已頗具規(guī)模。

【43】But for carbon removal, the largest facility in operation today is Climeworks’s as Orca plant in Iceland.

但碳去除呢, 今天投入運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的最大設(shè)施 位于冰島, 是 Climeworks 公司的 Orca 工廠。

【44】It has an annual capacity of 4,000 tonnes, which is orders of magnitude less than what we need.

其年碳捕獲量達(dá)到了 4000 噸, 和我們所需實(shí)現(xiàn)的還差幾個(gè)數(shù)量級(jí)。

【45】This means that today there's no company or facility in operation that can respond to the demand signal of Frontier.

也就說,現(xiàn)今沒有一家公司、 沒有一處設(shè)備 能夠滿足前沿基金的需求。

【46】So to summarize, for vaccine development, all these companies needed as an incentive was a dollar sign.

總結(jié)而言, 對(duì)于疫苗開發(fā), 只要市場(chǎng)有需求, 各家公司就會(huì)聞風(fēng)而動(dòng)。

【47】They had everything they needed to jump into action and respond.

因?yàn)樗麄內(nèi)f事俱備, 只需要趕快行動(dòng)就好了。

【48】But today, carbon removal needs so much more.

但碳去除則不然,差太多了。

【49】Even though there's a lot of different ways to approach this, I do believe that this is a significant market signal that Shopify, alongside Stripe, Alphabet, Meta and McKinsey Sustainability

雖然改善現(xiàn)狀的方案有很多, 但我仍相信,傳遞市場(chǎng)信號(hào)很重要, Shopify 與 Stripe、甲骨文 (Alphabet)、Meta 麥肯錫可持續(xù)發(fā)展部 (McKinsey Sustainability)

【50】have committed to buying nearly one billion dollars combined of the product.

共同承諾 將會(huì)出資合計(jì)近 10 億美元 購買碳去除技術(shù)產(chǎn)品。

【51】But the carbon removal ecosystem is underdeveloped.

但碳去除產(chǎn)業(yè)生態(tài)仍欠發(fā)達(dá)。

【52】Even though Frontier is essentially helping to underwrite all of the broad investment needed to scale carbon removal, this is an imperfect application of the advance market commitment mechanism because the carbon removal ecosystem is underdeveloped.

即便前沿基金基本上已經(jīng)在幫助承擔(dān) 碳去除實(shí)現(xiàn)規(guī)?；璧母黝愅顿Y, 這樣使用預(yù)先市場(chǎng)承諾機(jī)制 仍難盡如人意, 因?yàn)樘既コ鷳B(tài)系統(tǒng)只初具雛形。

【53】However, however, this is exactly what we need to do to supercharge progress by accelerating innovation.

不過, 話說回來,恰恰應(yīng)該如此: 以推動(dòng)創(chuàng)新力促突破。

【54】It is so important to take chances and to experiment.

見機(jī)而作、不斷試驗(yàn)太重要了。

【55】And as buyers of carbon removal, we have an opportunity to stand up and do our part to build for the future, and this commitment does just that.

身為碳去除的買家, 我們有機(jī)會(huì)挺身而出, 為未來做出一份貢獻(xiàn), 這一機(jī)制正為此而設(shè)。

【56】So now we have Frontier, which is the demand pull by providing capital and resources through the advanced market commitment mechanism.

現(xiàn)在呢,前沿基金已經(jīng)落地, 提供資金、資源拉動(dòng)市場(chǎng)需求, 通過預(yù)先市場(chǎng)承諾機(jī)制實(shí)現(xiàn)。

【57】But what about the other side of the equation?

但另一邊呢？

【58】We also need a supply push.

供應(yīng)端同樣需要激勵(lì)。

【59】To start, in addition to all of the new climate companies being launched, we also need companies from existing industries with transferable skills to jump in and start developing carbon removal.

首先, 除了那些新公司接連成立外, 我們還需要來自成熟產(chǎn)業(yè)的公司, 他們具備各類可遷移技能, 可以馬上投身于碳去除技術(shù)。

【60】I'm talking about -- now, don't get mad -- I'm talking about industries like oil and gas, mining, manufacturing, infrastructure and electricity, who all have deep experience building huge projects.

我具體所指的是—— 嗯,請(qǐng)別生氣—— 我具體所指的是這類產(chǎn)業(yè): 石油和天然氣行業(yè)、 采礦業(yè)、制造業(yè)、 基建行業(yè)和電力行業(yè), 這些產(chǎn)業(yè)均對(duì)建設(shè)大型項(xiàng)目駕輕就熟。

【61】That's the massive scale that we need that I was talking about at the beginning.

這種規(guī)模才是我們所需的, 就像我之前提到的一樣。

【62】Alongside this, we also need to build a robust management system to ensure that all of these new carbon-removal solutions are in fact capturing more carbon dioxide than they emit.

另外, 我們還需要穩(wěn)健的管理體系, 用以保證投入使用的碳去除方案 確實(shí)捕獲量大于排放量。

【63】This is kind of along the lines of the quality assurance, quality control and process trials we rely on to ensure that our vaccines are safe and that they work.

這有點(diǎn)像我們所說的質(zhì)保、 品控還有試制工藝, 它們確保疫苗安全、 對(duì)人體有效。

【64】But most importantly, we need more practice doing the actual thing rather than trying to get it perfect on paper.

但最重要的是, 我們要付諸實(shí)踐 而不能只是紙上談兵。

【65】If we don't try, we can't learn, and if we don't learn, we cannot iterate and improve.

不嘗試就無從吸取經(jīng)驗(yàn), 不總結(jié)經(jīng)驗(yàn)就無法迭代、進(jìn)步。

【66】This AMC is technology-neutral.

這一 AMC 是不偏重任何技術(shù)手段的。

【67】Frontier sends out the demand signal, but we do not specify which technology should be used to meet it.

前沿基金向市場(chǎng)發(fā)出需求信號(hào), 對(duì)實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)的任何技術(shù)手段一視同仁。

【68】But what we do specify is the quality standard we expect in order to ensure that real, permanent carbon removal took place at the agreed-upon price.

但我們對(duì)質(zhì)量標(biāo)準(zhǔn)有嚴(yán)格要求, 這是為了保障 永久性的碳去除 能在協(xié)議價(jià)格下落到實(shí)處。

【69】Now this arrangement, we’re hoping, should encourage experimentation and tight iteration cycles that should quickly separate the promising solutions from all of the distractions.

這種安排,我們希望 能激勵(lì)實(shí)驗(yàn)創(chuàng)新、 帶來快節(jié)奏的迭代周期, 也就能快速 讓有潛力有價(jià)值的方案脫穎而出, 淘汰掉其余不理想的。

【70】Now, I’d like to ground this in reality by providing three solid examples of companies who are already on their way and some of them are actually doing the thing.

為了加以佐證, 我給大家找三個(gè)有力例證: 這三家公司都在朝這個(gè)方向努力, 其中的兩家已經(jīng)基本成型了。

【71】First, we have Climeworks, operating in Iceland.

第一,于冰島建廠的 Climeworks。

【72】They use direct air capture machines to filter carbon dioxide out of the air and capture it for storage.

這家公司采用直接空氣碳捕獲 (DAC) 設(shè)備 過濾空氣中的二氧化碳, 將其捕獲并儲(chǔ)存。

【73】And they've now since broken ground on their next-scale facility, which should be able to pull 36,000 tons of CO2 out of the air.

現(xiàn)在,他們已經(jīng)著手 建造更大規(guī)模的設(shè)備, 去除二氧化碳能力預(yù)計(jì) 可達(dá)到 3 萬 6 千噸。

【74】Next, we have Running Tide, who sink kelp deep into the open ocean to lock away carbon dioxide that's been captured through photosynthesis.

第二,Running Tide, 他們向深海投放海藻, 利用光合作用 捕獲并封存二氧化碳。

【75】They’re currently working through their first-scale deployment, and they're building all of the measurement, quantification and monitoring systems at the same time.

Running Tide 目前正在部署 首次大規(guī)模投放, 同時(shí)也在完善測(cè)度、 量化和檢測(cè)系統(tǒng), 兩邊工作同時(shí)進(jìn)行。

【76】And third, we have Heirloom, who plan to accelerate the natural capacity of limestone to react with and capture carbon dioxide and lock it away.

第三,Heirloom, 該公司試圖增強(qiáng) 石灰石在自然條件下 與二氧化碳反應(yīng)并將其吸收的能力, 借此封存二氧化碳。

【77】And now they plan to do this by accelerating the natural absorption rates of the rock from approximately a year to just days.

現(xiàn)在,他們的目標(biāo)是 加速石灰石吸收二氧化碳的速度, 將原本耗時(shí)一年的過程 縮短到僅僅數(shù)天完成。

【78】They're set to break ground on their first commercial-scale facility in the United States in 2023.

Heirloom 首個(gè)具備工業(yè)規(guī)模的設(shè)施 將于 2023 年在美國動(dòng)工。

【79】Now, there are many other companies that are starting to emerge that I could have mentioned here.

當(dāng)然,還有很多其他公司 也在不斷取得進(jìn)展, 有機(jī)會(huì)的話我也想一一介紹。

【80】However, from these three examples, what you can see is the diversity of solutions.

不過,從我所提到的三家公司中, 大家就能大致了解 碳去除技術(shù)手段的多樣性。

【81】And we're agnostic about that.

我們對(duì)其也不盡了解。

【82】All that matters is that they achieve the results within the set parameters.

重點(diǎn)在于,這些技術(shù)手段都能 按既定要求實(shí)現(xiàn)碳去除。

【83】Now, before I end, I must address the question of our own operations.

好了,在結(jié)束之前, 我必須要再聊聊我們公司 是如何運(yùn)營的。

【84】So to start, Shopify is a carbon-neutral company, and we've committed to kick-starting the carbon-removal market.

首先呢, Shopify 是一家零碳企業(yè), 我們以幫助啟動(dòng)并完善 碳去除市場(chǎng)為使命。

【85】Our business is all about helping millions of entrepreneurs succeed.

所有的努力都是為了 服務(wù)數(shù)百萬企業(yè)家。

【86】And today, they're experiencing so many challenges.

今時(shí)今日,企業(yè)家們 面臨的挑戰(zhàn)太多了。

【87】We have an opportunity to help them become carbon-neutral and to leverage carbon removal in order to future-proof their businesses, which in turn safeguards ours.

而 Shopify 有機(jī)會(huì) 幫助他們實(shí)現(xiàn)零碳排放, 有機(jī)會(huì)充分利用碳去除 以保障這些企業(yè)的長足發(fā)展, 最終也是為了我們所有人的美好明天。

【88】Now, not a lot of them have climate teams.

很多企業(yè)還沒有配備氣候團(tuán)隊(duì)。

【89】But we have the opportunity to share our experience and expertise with them.

但我們能和他們分享 我們的專業(yè)知識(shí)、我們的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

【90】And so what we're trying to do is take everything we've learned about reducing and managing Shopify's emissions and from vetting and buying high-quality carbon removal, and we’re trying to take those lessons and put them out on our platform to make them available for all of our merchants.

我們的目標(biāo)是 把我們?nèi)康慕?jīng)驗(yàn)教訓(xùn), 不論是來自 Shopify 自身減排管理的經(jīng)歷, 還是關(guān)于審查 并購買高質(zhì)量的碳去除服務(wù), 把這些經(jīng)驗(yàn)教訓(xùn)總結(jié)梳理, 然后投放到我們的平臺(tái)上, 以供我們的客戶借鑒。

【91】Not only will this help reduce emissions, but this will also help create the very market that all of these new carbon-removal companies who are building in response to Frontier's demand signal will rely on.

這不僅能幫助減排, 也能完善市場(chǎng) 來容納所有這些新興碳去除公司, 促使他們的發(fā)展步伐 跟上前沿基金釋放的需求信號(hào)。

【92】This is a feedback loop that will spur innovation and drive the development of carbon removal at the scale the world needs.

這種良性循環(huán)能策勵(lì)創(chuàng)新, 推動(dòng)碳去除行業(yè)發(fā)展 達(dá)到世界所需的規(guī)模。

【93】Thank you.

謝謝大家。

【94】(Applause)