There are many opportunities afforded by transitioning to a low-carbon economy, which will only diminish the longer they are left unexploited. The whole sector needs to be more ambitious in its targets, bolder in its risk-taking and more courageous in its actions
The lesson we can take from this special print issue is the need for everyone in the sector—investors, regulators, lawmakers, and developers—to be braver.
For all of the bluff and bluster that surrounded the COP26 climate negotiations in Glasgow in November 2021, very little was achieved in securing a pathway to limit global warming to below 1.5°C.
In the intervening 12 months, the energy transition has taken a hit with the ripple effects from the war in Ukraine—and the pandemic—affecting supply chains, power prices, investor confidence and political bandwidth. This has led to very few countries strengthening their climate commitments, despite promising to do so in Glasgow.
Ahead of the COP27 talks in Sharm El-Sheikh in November 2022, the UN warned that the world is “still nowhere near the scale and pace of emission reductions required”.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) annual World Energy Outlook report predicts global carbon emissions from the energy sector will peak in 2025 due to the increases in government spending on clean fuels in response to the conflict in Ukraine.
The IEA’s conclusions indicate that the money for the energy transition is available, and it seems the willingness of lawmakers, businesses and citizens to adapt in order to make the transition a reality has increased with the plethora of crises blocking the path to a decarbonised economy.
For this issue of FORESIGHT Climate & Energy, our 15th special print issue, we start with the assumption that the funds for the energy transition are available.
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The energy transition is about more than switching power carriers. Replacing fossil fuels with renewable forms of energy generation is perhaps the most significant change the world will make in its attempts to avoid the catastrophic effects of climate change. Still, it is not as simple as a straight swap. It requires a complete overhaul of how we live and interact with our world. This is where energy efficiency and the efficient use of energy comes in
A clear message that emerges in our 13th print issue of FORESIGHT Climate & Energy is that every country’s—or every city’s—carbon reduction strategies will be different, driven by different starting points, different cultures, different challenges, different raw commodities and different major emitters to abate. Whatever the strategy, common to all regions is that a successful transition will take multiple, highly coordinated actions