Why renewables will allow us to stay below two degrees
Environment — di Rudi Bressa
Reducing energy-related emissions by 70% is possible, as is managing to honour the Paris Agreement in order to limit the rise in temperatures as much as possible.
Why renewables will allow us to stay below two degrees
Reducing energy-related emissions by 70% is possible, as is managing to honour the Paris Agreement in order to limit the rise in temperatures as much as possible.
The contribution of renewables will be decisive in reducing CO2 emissions and in achieving the targets set by the Paris Agreement on climate — namely, limiting the rise in temperatures to within two degrees. What is more, the energy transition will bring an increase in global GDP of 0.8 per cent, creating more jobs than will be lost in the fossil fuel industry.
It is from Berlin that the latest decisive push in favour of renewable energy has come. For the first time, at the initiative of the German government, the International Energy Agency (Iea), in collaboration with the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), has produced a study to gain a thorough understanding of the implications and opportunities presented by the decarbonisation of the energy sector.
The volume "Perspectives for the energy transition" was thus presented at the Berlin Transition Dialogue 2017, held in the German capital. "The Paris Agreement reflects an unprecedented international will to act on climate," said Irena Director General Adnan Z. Amin in a press statement. "The focus must be on decarbonising the entire energy system."
The contribution of renewables will be decisive
Armed with figures and driven by growing optimism, experts took to the stage one after another, demonstrating how the surge in renewables has grown considerably in recent years — particularly in 2016, the year in which newly installed solar and wind capacity at global level set new records.
"The energy sector is at the heart of the debate on climate change. This is because more than two thirds of global emissions come from the energy sector," declared Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the Iea, speaking at Betd2017. "If we don't solve the problems linked to energy production, we cannot solve the climate problems." Today renewables account for 24 per cent of installed capacity at global level, while generating 16 per cent of primary energy. To reach the target, the study states, their contribution will need to reach 80 per cent of installed capacity and 65 per cent of primary generation by 2050.
Energy efficiency and transport
That is not all. The energy transition will also need to take place in the other critical sectors: construction, transport, and the energy efficiency sector. According to the Iea, by 2050 95 per cent of electricity will need to be low-carbon, 7 in 10 cars will need to be electric, the entire building stock renovated, and 80 per cent of the industrial sector will need to revise its carbon emissions downwards. These are enormous figures that require equally enormous investments: Irena speaks of at least 29 trillion dollars over the next 35 years.
More jobs, greater widespread wellbeing
But these are not investments made without return — quite the contrary. Betting on the energy transition will lead to the creation of more jobs and an increase in global GDP (0.8 per cent). This means that improving the wellbeing of society as a whole — across economic, social and environmental dimensions — will bring tangible benefits to all sectors, including economic growth.