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Radical restructuring of the energy industry: How zero emissions could be achieved by 2050

2021-05-20T14:32:06.613Z


No more new coal-fired power plants and a ban on sales of combustion engines: According to a current report, the world can become climate neutral by 2050 - but only with a radical restructuring of the energy industry.


Enlarge image

Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant in North Rhine-Westphalia (symbolic image)

Photo: Bernd Thissen / dpa

According to experts, a fundamental transformation in the energy sector is necessary in order to achieve the net zero emissions target by 2050.

The previous climate commitments by governments have not been sufficient, according to a report published on Tuesday by the International Energy Agency (IEA) based in Paris.

There is a way to achieve the zero emissions target by 2050, but it is narrow.

The way in which energy is produced, transported and used worldwide has to change fundamentally.

The most important points at a glance:

  • As of

    today, there should be no more investments in new fossil fuel supply projects

    .

  • No further final investment decisions for new coal-fired power plants

    are likely

    to be made.

  • The

    least efficient coal-fired power plants would have to be shut down

    by

    2030

    , and the remaining coal-fired power plants still in operation until 2040

    would have to be

    upgraded.

  • There is also a need for a policy that

    ends

    the

    sale of new cars with internal combustion engines by 2035

    , write the experts.

"Greatest challenge mankind has ever faced"

This transformation is perhaps the greatest challenge mankind has ever faced, said Fatih Birol, director of the IEA.

Politicians must rely on massive use of all available clean and efficient energy technologies and at the same time accelerate innovation globally.

Governments must quickly increase their spending on research and development of clean energy technologies and put them at the center of energy and climate policies.

As early as 2050, the energy sector would have to be largely based on renewable energies instead of fossil fuels. Two thirds of the total energy supply in 2050 would then come from wind, sun, bioenergy, geothermal energy and hydropower, write the experts. Cars are mainly powered by electricity, and aviation relies largely on biofuels and synthetic fuels. The goal must be that by 2050 almost 90 percent of electricity generation will come from renewable sources. Most of the rest would come from nuclear energy.

This week, the Bundestag is discussing the draft of an amendment to the Climate Protection Act, which provides for a clear tightening of the previous goals.

According to this, Germany should be climate-neutral as early as 2045, which means that from this date onwards no CO₂ from burning fossil fuels may escape into the earth's atmosphere.

According to an as yet unpublished legal opinion that is available to SPIEGEL, the federal government must take legal precautions as soon as possible so that a ban on fossil fuels is legally permissible on January 1, 2045 and that companies do not have any claims for compensation.

koe / dpa

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2021-05-20

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