Page 64 - Frontier Technologies to Protect the Environment and Tackle Climate Change

Frontier Technologies to Protect the Environment and Tackle Climate Change

clean energy technologies deployed. Despite the fact that, according to the IEA, ‘30 per cent of global
electricity can be produced from wind and solar PV in the long term, without adding to the total cost
of reaching a low-carbon future,’ 47 per cent of global new electricity demand since 1900 has been
fueled by coal, with ‘too many national energy plans dependent on coal and new coal plants
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being planned’. There is no end to subsidies for fossil fuel, with subsidies even increasing in 2019.
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And while almost two-thirds of new power generation capacity added the year prior in 2018 came
from renewables, non-renewable generation capacity also increased in pace globally. This is because
since 2010, non-renewable capacity decreases in Europe, North America, and Oceania have been
offset globally by equivalent gains in Asia and the Middle East. 193, 194 Figure 19 illustrates the global
energy makeup in 2018.

Figure 19: Overview of the global energy system in 2018 [xix]

Indeed, the IEA found that with global energy demand increased 2.3 per cent in 2018, emissions also
reached a record high in correlation due to increased demand for fuels, with natural gas accounting
for 45 per cent of the rise in energy consumption. 195, 196 IEA believes, therefore, that ‘the world needs a
clean energy revolution in order to break dependence on fossil fuels. Such a revolution would enhance
global energy security, promote enduring economic growth and tackle environmental challenges
such as climate change. It would break the long-standing link between economic growth and carbon
dioxide (CO ) emissions. But to succeed, it must also be truly global in scope.’ 197, 198
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The World Economic Forum (WEF) has echoed this sentiment and underscored ‘the need for speed
in energy transition,’ reasoning that renewable energy growth is still not occurring swiftly enough.
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IRENA also notes: ‘While the growth of renewables has been impressive, the transition to low-
carbon energy production will require that more countries and regions not only switch to expanding
renewable capacity, but also start to retire or convert more of their existing fossil fuel power plants.’
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