There are a lot of countries and companies that are throwing around carbon neutral dates at the moment. The article in the url below demonstrates how it is much easier to claim these target dates than it is to actually deliver carbon neutrality:
"If the United States wants to get serious about tackling climate change, the country will need to build a staggering amount of new energy infrastructure in just the next 10 years, laying down steel and concrete at a pace barely being contemplated today."
The article summarizes a report by researchers at Princeton "who set out several exhaustively detailed scenarios for how the country could slash its greenhouse gas emissions down to zero by 2050":
"The study's findings are at once optimistic and sobering. Reaching 'net zero' by 2050 appears technically feasible and even affordable. There are ways to get there that rely solely on renewable energy, as many environmentalists prefer, or that lean on other technologies such as nuclear power or carbon capture. Each approach carries different social and economic trade-offs."
Here are some of the reports headline findings:
- "This year, energy companies will install 42 gigawatts of new wind turbines and solar panels, smashing records. But that annual pace would need to nearly double over the next decade, and then keep soaring, transforming the landscapes in states like Florida or Missouri."
- "The capacity of the nation's electric grid would have to expand roughly 60 percent by 2030 to handle vast amounts of wind and solar power, which would mean thousands of miles of new power lines crisscrossing the country."
- "Car dealerships would look radically different. Today, electric-vehicle models are just 2 percent of new sales. By 2030, at least 50 percent of new cars sold would need to be battery-powered, with that share rising thereafter."
- "Virtually all of the 200 remaining coal-burning power plants would have to shut down by 2030."
Needless to say, there are a number of challenges that need to be overcome in order to achieve the goals being proclaimed, yet many are not being seriously considered. For a start, how much would it cost to get all of our electricity from renewable sources?
"To start, the United States could make enormous strides over the next decade by rapidly scaling up solutions already in use today, like wind, solar, electric cars and heat pumps. Doing so would require $2.5 trillion in additional investments by governments and industry by 2030. By midcentury, both studies found, at least 90 percent of the nation's electricity could feasibly come from renewable sources."
But, unfortunately, that is the easy part:
"Large parts of the economy still rely on fossil fuels and don't yet have obvious solutions. How do we fuel airplanes and trucks that can't easily shift to batteries? What about industries like steel or cement? How do we keep the lights on when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining?"
The article contains some promising ideas in terms of how to answer these questions, but many are only theories at present. No one knows for sure, and the takeaway from this report is that we had better start looking more seriously at these ideas (and quickly) if we are to stand even a passing chance of reaching many of the targets that, in themselves, are insufficient given the scale of the problem.
Take care
David
David Chandler
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A Lot of Work Ahead if the U.S. is to Reach 'Net Zero' on Pollution
By Brad Plumer
December 16, 2020
The New York Times
Late Edition – Final
A17
