Houston mayor says $150 billion investment needed to decarbonize
Mayor Sylvester Turner responding to an interview
[Houston = Ryosuke Hanafusa] Mayor Sylvester Turner (Democratic Party) of Houston, Texas, in the United States, responded to an interview with the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, stating that the city's efforts to decarbonize will amount to 150 billion dollars a year (approximately 22 trillion dollars) by 2040. yen) will be required," he said. Houston has set a goal of becoming decarbonized by 2050, and Mr. Turner stressed that there are plenty of investment opportunities.
Houston is home to oil companies from around the world, as well as plant manufacturers and trading companies. Oil companies compete to develop hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, reuse, and storage (CCUS) technology for decarbonization.
Houston aims to transform into a decarbonized hub
“We have the infrastructure like pipelines for CCUS, the geological formations that store CO2 and the labor force,” Turner said, arguing that Houston is well suited to the pursuit of decarbonization.
Regarding the introduction of renewable energy such as solar power, he said, "We will cooperate with the federal government and other parties to accelerate the process."
Mr. Turner will visit Japan on the 23rd and meet with officials from the public and private sectors. He said, "Japanese companies have high technological development capabilities," and expressed his expectations for cooperation in climate change countermeasures. In the United States, he is chairman of the Council of Mayors for Climate Action, which urges the federal government to take action against climate change.
More than 470 mayors across the United States will participate in the meeting. These municipalities have a total population of 74 million. "The city [the municipality] is on the front lines of climate change," Turner said.
Midterm elections are scheduled for November 8. "Hurricanes, wildfires, and heatwaves hit all parties, Democrats and Republicans alike," Turner said, calling for bipartisan cooperation to tackle climate change.
