Several countries have introduced targets to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. These targets are included and achieved in the Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS), but increasingly attention is turning to what it would mean for the energy sector globally to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. This is examined in a new case in this Outlook, called Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE2050).
Enel Group Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer Francesco Starace published a brief comment on the IEA report entitled “Net Zero by 2050”.
The “Net Zero by2050” report just released by IEA is a milestone in the journey to reshape the World’s Energy Sector . Only this time it is not just a report, it is rather an extremely well articulated, documented and utterly motivating call for action.
The next ten years see the world go through “a very, very narrow pathway” but “it is still feasible” as Chief Energy Modeller Laura Cozzi has mentioned and the bold plan of action that Fatih Birol is presenting here is extremely clear.
The growth of the world energy demand will be increasingly met by a progressively decarbonized supply of Electricity, while technologies needed to remove carbon from hard to abate industrial sectors will need to be developed , made competitive and deployed in the years post 2030. All in all an incredibly exciting study that indicate a direction of hope.
The number of countries announcing pledges to achieve net-zero emissions over the coming decades continues to grow. But the pledges by governments to date – even if fully achieved – fall well short of what is required to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050 and give the world an even chance of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 °C.
This special report is the world’s first comprehensive study of how to transition to a net zero energy system by 2050 while ensuring stable and affordable energy supplies, providing universal energy access, and enabling robust economic growth.
It sets out a cost-effective and economically productive pathway, resulting in a clean, dynamic and resilient energy economy dominated by renewables like solar and wind instead of fossil fuels. The report also examines key uncertainties, such as the roles of bioenergy, carbon capture and behavioural changes in reaching net zero.
