Energy transition and emissions reductions – some inconvenient truths

Abstract

Global energy demand is still increasing as the world’s population continues to grow and urbanisation continues in developing countries. Renewable energy has made swift progress, with wind and solar power (variable renewable energy sources) increasing at a rapid rate and now making up a significant proportion of power generation in many developed countries. However, other forms of low emissions energy production and emission reduction technologies have not developed as quickly, meaning that fossil fuel use also continues to increase in order to meet the increasing demand for energy, and, as a result, carbon dioxide emissions have also continued to increase. Against this backdrop, many countries have committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and their dependence on fossil fuels with most large emitting countries now committing to ‘net zero’ targets sometime in the second half of this century. But global emissions are still increasing. Why are emissions still increasing and how are we balancing the increasingly complex story of meeting increasing energy demand with reducing emissions? What is required to get to net zero, and are we on a pathway to achieve this goal? This paper and presentation will investigate progress to date, identifying both successes and challenges, highlighting ‘easy’ options to reduce emissions and pointing out some lesser-known facts about the changes in energy consumption that will be required. Along the way we hope to expose some underlying myths and misconceptions and highlight some inconvenient truths about emissions reduction and the potential pathways to net zero.