Renewable Energy Vital to Meeting Paris Agreement Goals

By 2050, about 50 percent of electricity will have to come from solar and wind power if the objectives of the Paris agreement are to be advanced, a report warns today.

According to the analysis released by Norway’s state oil company Equinor, current climate actions are far from sufficient to put the world on a path that keeps global warming below two degrees Celsius.

Global emissions increased in 2018 to reach an all-time high, and the longer it continues, the stricter measures will be needed to achieve common goals. The need is increasingly urgent for rapid and meaningful change, the report warns.

The world is making progress in ensuring access to energy for more people. We also see record growth in new renewable energy. However, as time goes by without reductions in global carbon dioxide emissions, the road to a sustainable future becomes increasingly difficult’, Eirik Waerness, Equinor’s chief economist, reveals in the text.

One way to achieve the Paris Agreement goals, and limit global warming to less than two degrees, is to achieve it through rapid and significant policy adjustment, global cooperation, technological developments and substantial changes in the behaviour of businesses and consumers, the study considers.

In addition to the growth in the share of renewable energy, the report proposes that the global automobile fleet go from less than one percent electric to about 90 percent by 2050.

In addition to its contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the study deepens into the benefits that the exploitation of new energy sources represents for the global energy demand, which grew by 2.3 percent in 2018.

Every day the world depends on 100 million barrels of oil and 11 billion cubic meters of gas. To meet Paris’ ambitions, we need to see peak oil demand soon, the study says.

Projected demand in 2050 in different scenarios is plentiful, ranging from 52-118 million barrels of oil to 9-13 billion cubic meters of gas per day.

Due to natural deterioration, existing oil and gas fields are not sufficient to meet this demand, he says.

At this juncture, the study highlights the use of hydrogen as a zero carbon fuel and that could become a clean alternative for the sectors of industry, heating and transport that can not be easily electrified and also an opportunity for energy storage.

(Taken from PL in Spanish)

Written by Radio Grito de Baire