Elon Musk puts up $130 million prize for climate change technology to capture emissions

It’s an area of tech that has had little progress, but the Tesla CEO has offered up a huge reward for any firm that can tackle this climate change issue.

Elon Musk has $US100 million ($A130 million) burning a hole in his pocket.

The Tesla CEO, who earlier this month was named the world’s richest person, said he will award a massive prize to whoever is able to develop the best tool to capture planet-warming carbon emissions.

“Am donating $100 million towards a prize for best carbon capture technology,” Musk tweeted.

Carbon capture involves using machinery to trap carbon dioxide emitted from places like factories before it escapes into the atmosphere.

Capturing planet-warming emissions is becoming a critical part of many plans to keep climate change in check, but very little progress has been made on the technology to date, with efforts focused on cutting emissions rather than taking carbon out of the air.

Elon Musk is putting his hand in his pocket in a bid to cut global carbon emissions. Picture: Britta Pedersen/AFP

The International Energy Agency said late last year that a sharp rise in the deployment of carbon capture technology was needed if countries are to meet net-zero emissions targets.

US President Joe Biden has pledged to accelerate the development of carbon capture technology as part of his sweeping plan to tackle climate change.

He named Jennifer Wilcox, an expert in carbon removal technologies, principal deputy assistant secretary for fossil energy at the US Department of Energy.

This story was originally published on the New York Post and is reproduced here with permission