Center for Global Affairs
Clean Technology: Developments, Trends, and Opportunities
The world is in a transition to cleaner and smarter energy consumption and production. This energy
transition is being driven by a number of important factors. Most importantly, governments and
businesses are working together to mitigate climate change and this requires new, cleaner energy
sources. But clean energy is also finding increasingly favorable economics, driven by rapidly evolving
technology improvements and more widespread pricing of CO2. The recent energy crisis stimulated by
the war in Ukraine has brought renewed focus on food, energy and natural resource independence and
security and that is also driving investment and adoption of clean energy. Clean tech is also pursued as a
means to escape from the massive burden of water and air pollution many societies still experience.
Sustainable development is no longer a dream. It¿s fast becoming a global reality.
This course will look at recent developments in clean technology, including renewable energy, digital
solutions to energy efficiency and demand management, new systems for electricity storage and efficient
transmission and distribution, green buildings, transportation, waste management and sustainable
agriculture. We will examine both high-tech businesses in the developed world as well as new tech
solution opportunities for the developing world. We will study how governments promote clean tech
innovation and adoption and the political and economic roadblocks that might stand in the way of rapid
acceleration of deployment.