“Technologies can make a difference,” says Claude Mandil, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), presenting the key findings of a new IEA publication: Energy Technology Perspectives: Scenarios and Strategies to 2050.
The study presents a series of scenarios to demonstrate the role energy technologies that are already available or under development can play in future energy markets. “We find that clean and more efficient technologies can return soaring energy-related CO2 emissions to today’s levels by 2050 and halve the expected growth in both oil and electricity demand,” Mandil saiys
Released against a backdrop of historically high oil prices and global CO2 emissions from energy use almost 25 percent higher than a decade ago the IEA study takes a detailed look at status and prospects for key energy technologies in power generation, buildings, industry and transport. It puts forward strategies for attaining scenarios unimaginable under current trends.
Energy efficiency is essential to mitigate growth in energy demand and CO2 emissions, according to IEA.
“Improved energy efficiency is an indispensable component of any policy mix,” says Mandil, “and it is available immediately.” Accelerating energy efficiency improvements alone can reduce the world’s energy demand in 2050 by an amount equivalent to almost half of today’s global energy consumption. To achieve this, however, “governments, in both OECD and non-OECD countries, must be willing to implement measures that encourage the investment in energy-efficient technologies,” says Mandil.
Another key technology is the capture and storage of CO2 emitted from power-generation or industrial processes. The study points out that the early demonstration of CCS in full-scale power plants should be a high priority. “If we do not succeed in making CCS viable, the cost of mitigating CO2 emissions will be much higher,” Mandil says.
Deploying CCS, along with more renewables, more nuclear and more efficient use of natural gas and coal, can significantly decarbonise global electricity generation by 2050. “With the right policy incentives we think there is scope for renewables to quadruple by 2050 and for nuclear to gain a more important role in countries where it is acceptable,” Mandil says.
