Clean Technologies
Clean sources of power generation, accompanied by system‐wide improvements in energy efficiency, are key to reducing coal use for power and cutting emissions from existing assets.
In the APS (this assumes that all Net Zero pledges announced by governments are met on time and in full) future scenario, global output from existing unabated coal‐fired plants is reduced by nearly 2500 terawatt‐hours from 2021 to 2030 to get on track for national climate pledges, and 75 per cent of this is replaced by solar PV and wind.
Many of the transitions away from coal observed so far have been driven by rapid uptake of solar PV and wind; however, these have typically been in countries where electricity demand was flat or in decline.
A key challenge ahead is to achieve such transitions in fast‐growing emerging market and developing economies such as India and Indonesia, where demand for electricity causes generation from coal to increase until the early 2030s in the APS even with a speedy deployment of renewables.
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
We do not sell our lists, and you can easily unsubscribe if you so wish.
Stunning Sums
IEA estimates around USD six trillion in investment is required to 2050 to reduce emissions from coal‐fired power in line with national climate targets. Around 90 per cent of this sum is spent on low‐emissions generation, mainly renewables but also nuclear power, with the remainder for energy storage and expanding and modernising electricity grids.
Governments, it says, need to set the right policy and regulatory frameworks while the private sector can provide much of the necessary investment. In one scenario, the cumulative investment required for coal transitions in the electricity sector reaches USD 9.5 trillion to 2050.
A Shot Across the Bows
This report is arguably grim reading for the green business lobby, especially in light of COP27’s lack of impetus. What is required is a redoubling of efforts at government level, that can drive policy and finance to help the corporate alternatives to fossils hasten their development. Time is not for wasting.