The energy transformation is not happening fast enough

(Eco Business, 9 Oct 2019) Global temperatures are expected increase by 2.5° Celsius by the end of the century despite considerable progress on energy efficiency and regulatory change. More enabling and supportive policy environments are needed to accelerate the renewable energy transition, writes Arabesque’s Georg Kell.

Energy powers our modern lives. It is also the major cause of global warming. Over 70 per cent of the gases that trap the heat in our atmosphere are caused by the burning of fossil fuels—coal, oil and gas—to produce energy.

The cost of renewable sources of energy is declining rapidly, and renewable energy has started to replace fossil fuels, especially in the production of electricity.

However, this transformation is not happening fast enough. DNV GL, an independent third-party provider of assurance and risk management services to the energy sector headquartered in Norway, just published their “Energy Transition Outlook 2019”, an analysis of the demand-and-supply aspects of the energy transformation.

Looking into the future, the report concludes that global average temperatures are likely to increase by 2.5° Celsius by the end of the century, compared to pre-industrial levels, despite the considerable progress that has been achieved, such as efficiency gains due to digitalisation and electrification, regulatory changes such as carbon pricing, and anticipated further cost reductions for renewables.

Using the best available information, the DNV GL report goes into great detail analysing trends and possible developments that affect the energy transformation. It predicts a continued rise in renewable sources of energy that are not depleted by use, such as water, wind, and solar power.

The report also predicts significant learning effects due to scale and technological progress, improved grid systems and the rapid growth of electricity, increasingly produced by renewables. The share of electricity in final energy demand is expected to increase from currently 19 per cent to over 40 per cent by 2050.

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Eco Business, 9 Oct 2019: The energy transformation is not happening fast enough