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Friday, March 29, 2024

Earth Needs A Sustainable Energy System

The next eight years of the present decade will be decisive not only for Net Zero by 2050, but also to ensure energy security. The world is already not on track to achieve the SDG target of providing universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030, which may fall short by a wide margin. Climate change has further threatened the energy security that the world can overcome only by a complete transformation of the energy sector, which is responsible for around 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions

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The next eight years of the present decade will be decisive not only for Net Zero by 2050, but also to ensure energy security. The world is already not on track to achieve the SDG target of providing universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030, which may fall short by a wide margin. Climate change has further threatened the energy security that the world can overcome only by a complete transformation of the energy sector, which is responsible for around 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The new report of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has said that the energy sector needs to double electricity from clean energy sources by 2030. It is urgent to limit the global temperature rise which threatens global energy security. The report titled “2022 State of Climate Services”, which includes input from 26 different organisations, has zeroed in on energy since it has been a key factor in climate change, the demand of which has jumped 30 percent over the last ten years. “We need a complete transformation of the global energy system,” says WMO secretary-general Prof Petteri Taalas.

The past seven years have been the warmest on record causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people around the world. As it is now, energy sectors contribute almost three-quarters of GHG emissions, and hence major transitions are required in this sector. Climate changes pose significant risks to the energy sector, directly affecting fuel supply, energy production, physical resilience of current and future energy infrastructure, and energy demand. Heatwaves and droughts associated with anthropogenic climate change are already putting existing energy generation under stress, making the net zero transition even more urgent. In 2020, about 87 percent of global electricity generated from thermal, nuclear, and hydroelectric systems directly depended on water availability. Meanwhile, 33 percent of the thermal power plants that rely on freshwater availability for cooling are already located in high-water stress areas. This is also the case for 15 percent of existing nuclear power plants, a share expected to increase to 25 percent in the next 20 years.

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The report warns that most countries will likely experience more frequent or intense extreme weather, water, and climate events. This also affects nuclear power plants, which not only depend on water for cooling but are also often located in low-lying coastal areas and hence are vulnerable to sea-level rise and weather-related flooding. Despite these risks, energy security is a low priority for adaptation. Just 40 percent of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) submitted to UNFCCC prioritize adaptation in the energy sector, the report pointed out. The lack of recognition of the importance of climate services has led to a lack of demand and finance. Climate adaptation-focused investments in the energy sector remain very low, at just over USD 300 million, during 2019-2020. However, international public financial flows to developing countries in support of clean energy decreased in 2019 for the second year in a row, falling to USD 10.9 billion. This level of support was 23 percent lower than the USD 14.2 billion provided in 2018, 25 percent lower than the 2010-19 average, and less than half of the peak of USD 24.7 billion in 2017.

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The Hills Times
The Hills Timeshttps://www.thehillstimes.in/
The Hills Times, a largely circulated English daily published from Diphu and printed in Guwahati, having vast readership in hills districts of Assam, and neighbouring Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
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