Some of technology’s biggest guns aim to head off global doomsday scenario

Technology has given us many conveniences. Cyber Monday for shopping. Dating apps for love. Fitness tracking for health. But can it save the planet? The decision by a group of tech VIPs and others to throw their weight and wealth behind a big clean technology investment fund may be our best hope yet that the global warming doomsday scenario won’t happen.

With Bill Gates, Microsoft’s co-

founder, as the initiative’s architect, the Breakthrough Energy Coalition promises to invest in early stage companies in a variety of sectors — energy, agriculture, transportation and so on — producing technology that would lead to a zero-carbonemissions future.

As part of the effort, governments have to do their part by ramping up investments as they have done in other arenas such as space, defense, technology and medical research. Nearly 20 governments, including China, India and the U.S., have signed on. So far, so good. But a lot depends on whether this coalition is a long-term, serious commitment or a short-term flash in the pan, a bit of financed hope as the world leaders gather in Paris for the United Nations climate change talks.

There have been few details about the coalition, such as how much money is involved, other than Gates contributing $1 billion of his own. Nor is it clear who will run the effort and where it will be based. And it’s not a given that all the key stakeholders are willing to join this team versus building their own.

Notably missing from the list of tech leading lights are Apple, Google and Tesla and their leaders, all of which are working on their own clean energy research and bringing to market technologies that reduce emissions.

Hardest problem

It’s important to be a little skeptical. After all, tech leaders have sometimes misfired when they have tried their hand at policy problems outside their comfort zone. See education reform or health care.

Why do they think they can tackle the hardest of problems, global warming?

The reason is that they have to. It’s not just that they bear extra responsibility for the energy-sucking devices, server farms and factories they have created. But their success — and ours — is something developing countries want to emulate, and it’s going to take a whole lot more energy to get there.

“The Internet depends on electricity, and they should get involved, and hopefully it will make good things happen faster,” said Danny Kennedy, managing director of CalCEF, the California Clean Energy Fund.

Silicon Valley leaders “truly put their wallets where their words are,” said Carl Guardino, chief executive of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. “In the case of such an important global goal, they have very thick wallets.”

Gates has tapped 28 rich business leaders, including tech notables who have not previously been involved in the issue in a big way: Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise; Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon; Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce; Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn; and Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO.

They said they plan to “invest early, invest broadly, invest boldly, invest wisely and invest together.”

Daunting challenges

If you are like me, even as you read in horror about shrinking polar ice sheets and rising ocean temperatures, you have hoped that the doomsday scenarios would be headed off Hollywood-style by yet-unknown technological advancements. Some Silicon Valley derring-do would then bring low-cost solutions to the market. And then we could begin to imagine our grandchildren living in a world without a climate cataclysm.

But it hasn’t happened. Blame Solyndra, the failed silicon panel firm in Fremont, or the struggles of cleantech venture funds.

Silicon Valley’s welloiled machine of sourcing up-and-coming tech stars and scaling them quickly to the market doesn’t appear to work as well when it comes to tackling big problems like carbon emissions.

“Experience indicates that even the most promising ideas face daunting commercialization challenges and a nearly impassable Valley of Death between promising concept and viable product, which neither government funding nor conventional private investment can bridge,” the coalition said in an investment statement.

What is needed, the statement said, is a “different kind of private investor with a long-term commitment to new technologies who is willing to put truly patient, flexible risk capital to work.”

Enter rich folk who have “patient” capital.

Sure, they will want a big return on their long-term investment, the coalition acknowledges.

But their financial gain will also mean the planet’s survival.

And that would be the good kind of Hollywood ending.

A lot depends on whether this coalition is a longterm, serious commitment or a short-term flash in the pan.