David G. Victor - Mentions and Appearances

[On a new method of generating electricity from cold air] I’m concerned that this device probably is not competitive with other ways of generating energy at night or providing energy at night — namely having a solar panel with a battery pack connected with it.

[On the breadth of energy resources needed for decarbonization] What we see from the energy models is if you remove one of those options, then the costs for controlling [carbon] go up and the feasibility of cutting carbon quickly goes down. If you care about carbon, you’ve got to take nuclear seriously as one of many options.

[On the security risks of climate change] The classic definition [of state security] has been around conflict—threats to human life from armed aggression—which includes intrastate components such as dissident groups and civil war, and then, of course, when states go to war with each other.... [But climate change may induce conflict] to happen in places that are already living on the edge.

[On President Trump's White House speech on "America's environmental leadership" on July 8, 2019] This speech is a true ‘1984’ moment.

[On climate change leadership] Every proposal we make in cutting emissions needs to be evaluated through the lens of followership. Are things that we do near home or in collaboration with other countries … likely to lead other emitters around the world to reduce their emissions?

[On climate change and the 2020 Presidential campaign] Everyone is tripping over each other to be greener than the next guy.

[On a proposal to divest University of California stocks & bonds from fossil fuels] While this measure sends a signal to the industry, it is too blunt a signal. It targets all fossil fuel companies without recognizing that a growing number of these companies are now part of the solution.

[On climate change] We need to take adaptation very seriously. Because we’ve waited so long we need to be ready for emergency responses.