Big tech wants to bootstrap carbon removal into a big business
A consortium of technology firms is ploughing nearly $1bn into a clever market mechanism
A GROUP OF rich do-gooders tried a bold experiment 15 years ago. The Gates Foundation, a charity, and five countries put $1.5bn into a pilot project aimed at encouraging research and development in a previously neglected area. The “advanced market commitment” (AMC) they created promised rewards to drugmakers that came up with an effective vaccine against pneumococcus, a disease which killed many children in poor countries. Defying sceptics, three vaccines have since been developed. More than 150m children have been immunised, saving 700,000 lives.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Take this, sucker”
Business April 23rd 2022
- Annual meetings are the new frontline in the battle over corporate purpose
- Netflix sheds subscribers—and $170bn in market value
- Big tech wants to bootstrap carbon removal into a big business
- After a fat year, tech startups are bracing for lean times
- Elon Musk’s Twitter saga is capitalism gone rogue
- Startups for the modern workplace
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