No question that we might be forced to deal with AGW. I doubt that we will be able to at present technologies, as the populations will not easily be persuaded to give up all of the things they have come to love like Hamburgers and travel. This seems to be being confirmed in countries that had been leaders of the movement, where the carry through is wavering already. So the way forward should probably be or even have to be via invention, unless one wants to impose a totally new way of live by coercion.
The argument that people today should live much less well so that people not yet born can live better, is not persuasive in a society that thinks abortion is a valid instrument of career planing.
I am not sure I can agree that we will be forced to deal with AGW.
We have several real problems like energy and fresh water, that far exceed the impact of AGW, in both the near and long term.
Addressing our global energy problem (I.E. figuring out how to bring the rest of the world up to western standards),
will solve any issues with CO2 that may or may not exists.
To me, it is painfully obvious that the supply of cheap easy oil is coming to an end.
The current over supply, caused from fracking wells, is a symptom of the easy oil running down.
Within a few years the price of oil will start to rise again, but will hit a ceiling, when the feedstock
price to the refineries, exceeds the cost of making their own feedstock from scratch.
This will be roughly $90 per barrel, with current technology.
Synthetic fuels: Audi e-fuels > Product > We live responsibility > AUDI AG
I think the refinery components of existing oil companies are well positioned to take advantage of the new technology.
The cracking units can do more than reassembly the olefins, but make them from water, CO2, and energy.
The rest of the distribution infrastructure, all the way to the gas pumps, is already in place.
The best technology change, is one that is transparent to the end user!