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Monday, May 8, 2017

Limiting global warming whilst extending energy access requires both - energy decarbonization and better energy productivity



Recent Energy Transitions Commission’s report presents achievable pathways to limit global warming to well below 2˚C while stimulating economic development and social progress. The transition to a new global energy system should:

- Ensure everyone has access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services to support a good standard of living – roughly around 80-100 GJ per person per year
- Reduce annual carbon emissions from the energy system from 36 Gt of CO2 today to 20 Gt by 2040,  i.e. less than half the 47 Gt by 2040 expected in a business as usual scenario.
This transition is technically and economically possible but requires fast progress in two directions - growth of energy productivity, i.e. GDP per unit of energy, with rate at least 3% per year, compared to a historical rate of 1.7% per year, and increase of the share of energy derived from zero-carbon energy sources (mainly renewables)  by at least 1% per year.
The report suggests four strategies and two enablers to achieve necessary energy transition. Read more at http://energy-transitions.org/