Updated: 16 minutes ago Published: 16 minutes ago
Gov. Mike Dunleavy is asking Alaska lawmakers to embark with him on a meaningful journey this coming legislative session — a journey that will position Alaska to take a leading role in global carbon capture and storage efforts, and the can provide significant and meaningful opportunities for the US Alaskan economy, people and treasury.
Previewing its forthcoming carbon management bill package and commenting last Friday, Dunleavy’s messages to Alaskans were clear. First, the global effort to sequester carbon, whether in trees or underground, is big business. And second, Alaska’s incredible natural resources, including geological formations and our biological resources such as forests, will be a source of future prosperity for our state. As Governor Dunleavy noted in his press release, carbon management can be “the cornerstone of a long-term fiscal solution” for Alaska’s future.
The governor’s statement is bold, and we think it’s spot on. Positioning Alaska as part of the global effort to combat climate change is a smart and strategic economic decision. Trillions of dollars in private, institutional, and government resources are being diverted toward responding to climate change. Regardless of one’s ideology, it makes good business sense to leverage Alaska’s resources in this effort.
Two recent research papers published by longtime Alaska firm McKinley Research Group pointed to the economics of climate change and the economic opportunities Alaska could realize if it took a leadership role in that work.
The first of these papers, “Alaska Resources and Opportunities in the Response to Global Climate Change,” highlighted the incredible magnitude of global financial resources flowing toward climate solutions and identified the need for a “thorough assessment of regulatory barriers or structures that are… impeding Alaska’s efforts to monetize natural resources in the climate response.” The paper, prepared for the Alaska Venture Fund, identified carbon offsetting and carbon sequestration as opportunities where business and technology interests are already investing in or exploring Alaska . With his announcement, Governor Dunleavy signaled his desire to step in and do the work necessary to lay the groundwork for these types of investments.
The second of these papers, produced as part of The Nature Conservancy’s Alaska Climate Opportunities Assessment, pointed to the incredible potential of “harnessing natural resources for climate and economic leadership.” Alaska’s vast landscape and ocean resources are already a globally significant platform for one of the most powerful and important tools in the toolbox to combat climate change — the use of trees, oceans and other natural systems to pull carbon out of the atmosphere. Work now needs to be done to ensure that these systems bring dual benefits to Alaska by buffering and addressing climate change while providing revenue for the state and its people.
Alaska has been a global energy hub for more than a generation, but for a time it seemed as if politicians and business leaders believed that the global economic shift toward a low-carbon economy would only jeopardize our future well-being. Last week’s announcement shows that a different kind of vision is emerging for the future. Alaska has world-class resources to contribute to global climate change. Our employees have to do inspiring and economically meaningful work in order to be part of this future.
Take renewable energy. If fully utilized, Alaska’s renewable energy could generate in less than two years all the energy generated in nearly 45 years of operating the North Slope oil fields. The state’s total annual renewable energy potential is one-tenth of projected global energy needs by 2040. We know we won’t overbuild Alaska with wind generators, but even with readily available renewable energy sources on the Railbelt, Alaska could emerge as the world’s leading exporter of green energy – in the form of green hydrogen – while powering its own communities cleanly and cost-effectively.
We look forward to working with Gov. Dunleavy and Alaskans to advance these types of opportunities that a legislative package could create. We believe these efforts can bring benefits to Alaskan communities and our economy while addressing the challenges of climate change. Until now, Alaska has been on the front lines of the impacts of climate change. It is – now – time to take our position at the forefront of climate solutions.
Erin Dovicin is Managing Partner of the Alaska Venture Fund in Chugiak.
Erin Harrington is a partner and chief strategy officer at the Alaska Venture Fund in Juneau.
Shaina Kilcoyne is program director for energy and climate at the Alaska Venture Fund in Anchorage.
The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a wide range of viewpoints. To submit an article for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions under 200 words to [email protected] or click here to submit from any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and comments here.
Comments are closed.