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n2doc

(47,953 posts) Sat Apr 12, 2014, 08:39 PM Apr 2014

IPCC report: world must urgently switch to clean sources of energy

Clean energy will have to at least treble in output and dominate world energy supplies by 2050 in order to avoid catastrophic climate change, a UN report is set to conclude on Sunday.

The report produced by hundreds of experts and backed by almost 200 world governments, will detail the dramatic transformation required of the entire globe's power system, including ending centuries of coal, oil and gas supremacy.

Currently fossil fuels provide more than 80% of all energy but the urgent need to cut planet-warming carbon emissions means this must fall to as little as a third of present levels in coming decades, according to a leaked draft of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report seen by the Guardian.

There is heavy emphasis on renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, and cutting energy waste, which together need hundreds of billions of dollars of investment a year.

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http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/apr/12/ipcc-report-world-must-switch-clean-sources-energy

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IPCC report: world must urgently switch to clean sources of energy (Original Post) n2doc Apr 2014 OP

Right. Catastrophic climate change it is, then. scarletwoman Apr 2014 #1

Maybe not. Benton D Struckcheon Apr 2014 #2

scarletwoman

(31,893 posts)

1. Right. Catastrophic climate change it is, then.

Reply to n2doc (Original post)

Sat Apr 12, 2014, 08:46 PM

Apr 2014

Benton D Struckcheon

(2,347 posts)

2. Maybe not.

Reply to scarletwoman (Reply #1)

Sat Apr 12, 2014, 09:42 PM

Apr 2014

From an NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) report (PDF report, link here: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/60197.pdf):

• Cumulative global renewable electricity installed capacity has grown by 97%
from 2000 to 2012 (from 748 GW to 1,470 GW).
• Renewable energy accounts for 23% of all electricity generation worldwide (4,892 TWh).
• Wind and solar energy are the fastest growing renewable electricity technologies
worldwide. Wind generation grew by a factor of nearly 16 and solar generation
grew by a factor of 49 between 2000 and 2012.

If renewables today account for 23% of all electricity generation worldwide, and grew by 97% from 2000 to 2012, it would only take another doubling to get that close to half of all generation. Couple that with conservation and efficiency efforts and you could get to where you need to be by 2050.
I'm still digging into this, having started only a few days ago, but that started with me being surprised by a sudden jump in the last few years in grid-connected solar energy here in the US. In some states, like Hawaii and California, rooftop residential solar installations have taken off. Even NJ, where I live, is seeing a nice uptick in this sector, which is of course in addition to the grid-connected variety.
Keep in mind efficiencies continue to rise in both wind and solar, with a very large room for improvement in solar photovoltaic system efficiency. I'm beginning to be of the opinion we just might make it. It would be a cliffhanger, but it's not as outside the realm of the possible as I would have thought even a week ago.

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