A Global Mitigation Scenario

The three pillars of deep decarbonization are energy efficiency and conservation measure, the production of low carbon electricity, and the fuel switching from high carbon to low carbon energy carriers. How do these pillars apply to the different sectors of the economy and how can the coordinated implementation of these three strategies result in the overall deep decarbonization of the economy? How much does each sector’s emissions need to be reduced to reach levels of deep decarbonization consistent with the 2 degree temperature limit? A global modeling scenario is used to answer these questions that shows the business-as-usual scenario and a 2 degree Celsius scenario. In order to stay within the 2 degree limit, deep emissions reductions are required in all sectors of the economy, but in different proportions for each sector because each sector has different technical capabilities and costs to reduce. Electricity production is almost completely decarbonized by 2050 in the 2 degree scenario because power generation is done by using zero carbon sources of renewable energy in addition to CCS technology, and the power sector needs to be at the front and center of the deep decarbonization of the energy system. The global mitigation scenario rests on the deployment of technologies the are not yet technologically mature or are still too costly, like CCS, but must be met to achieve the 2 degree goal in different national contexts.

This video is part of the module The Deep Decarbonization of Energy Systems.

This video is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA license.