ONLY ZERO CARBON ONLY ZERO CARBON ONLY ZERO CARBON ONLY ZERO CARBON ONLY ZERO CARBON ONLY
Energy Mix
How are we doing towards the survival goal of net-zero carbon emissions (which means zero fossil fuel energy)?
We would think that fossil fuel energy is being replaced by the progress in the new clean renewable energy sources.
Sadly that is not the case. Yes renewable energy has been increasing, but fossil fuel energy has been increasing too.
2014
Energy
from
coal
(highest carbon)
compared
to zero
carbon
energy
from nuclear
Clean zero carbon renewable energy has increased greatly but is still paltry, and has to be increased by many orders of magnitude.
A deplorable reason is that government subsidies for fossil fuels are many time larger than for clean renewables.
One reason for the continued dependence on fossil fuels is the fact that the clean renewable energies are great for electricity by they do not have enough energy density to smelt metal, for heavy manufacturing or heavy transportation.
So long as zero carbon electricity is such a small proportion as total energy for electricity electric vehicles in effect are sources of emissions and they are manufactured with fossil fuel energy. Transportation remains a major source of emissions so long as energy dense zero carbon energy alternative sources are not available to make them and fuel them.
Available sources of high density zero carbon energy are:
- big dam hydro
- geothermal
- nuclear fission
- Concentrated solar thermal is a new high density zero carbon energy but it limited to sunny regions.
Clearly it is impossible to rapidly reduce global emissions and abandon nuclear energy.
There is no comparison to the definite devastating human population and planetary health damages of coal energy and nuclear fission.
That is multiple toxic air pollution, water pollution and atmospheric GHG pollution
Coal must be abandoned not nuclear fission.
The latest small liquid salt cooled fission reactors should be manufactured fast to put far safer fission back on an increasing track
Net zero-carbon does not include the non-CO2 GHGs.
The IPCC AR6 makes that an option, while it is of course a necessity
Calculated by emissions methane has contributed 54% of CO2's radiative heat forcing, and some methane is converted in the atmosphere to CO2.
Natural gas is out as its combustion emits CO2, even though less that the other fossil fuels. High fugitive methane emissions from natural gas, makes it not much better (2014) than coal and even worse as a bridge energy source (towards zero carbon).
Back carbon is released by the fossil fuel industry in extraction and by combustion.
Net Zero carbon
No/near zero human emissions long -lived GHs
For climate and oceans stabilization
No more emissions of long lives GHGs
o CO2
o methane
o Nitrous oxide
o F-gases
In 2023 fossil fuel made up 82% world energy
In 2013 fossil fuels made up 81.4% of world energy and
Though the clean renewable energy share of total energy has doubled from 1970 there is little difference between the ratio of renewables to fossil fuels.
Renewable energy is not the same as zero carbon carbon energy which is less (biomass and biofuels are included in renewables).
What matters is that fossil fuel energy has kept on increasing rapidly.
Our World in Data