COVID-19 is causing an unprecedented drop in emissions this year
According to a report by the IEA (International Energy Agency), the on-going global health crisis and efforts to tackle it might just be the opportunity the world needs to enhance technologies that will accelerate the Clean Energy Transition.
“I believe there is an opportunity – and I call it an historic opportunity here. The big time is about to come, but they need a push,” said Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA.
According to Birol, with adequate support from governments, battery storage and hydrogen technology can be developed faster to speed up the transition to cleaner sources of energy generation world over. The impact of fossil fuels has been felt in a good way with most countries that are under lockdown witnessing drastic drop in vehicular and industrial emissions over the course of this crisis. IEA is the foremost proponent of “green recoveries” from the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency), the worldwide solar installations saw a leap from a mere 40 GW (gigawatts) in 2010 to 580 GW in 2019. In Birol’s opinion, governments and entities should take a well-rounded approach to steer away from fossil-fuel based technologies such as energy efficiency and scaling renewable technologies. He also intends that governments will support newer technologies in the clean energy sphere by adequate policy changes and subsidy support.
The problem of intermittency of renewable sources was also a key focus of the IEA. Lithium ion batteries are a front-runner in the energy storage race and are also widely used in electric vehicles (EVs) and other applications.
Although a clean energy transition is imperative to lowering greenhouse gases (GHG) and creating energy security, the role of oil and gas will not be mitigated in the years to come. Oil and gas is still a primary source of energy in most parts of the world, and without a solid, scalable and grounded clean tech transition, the role of oil and gas based energy production cannot be undermined or brushed aside.
Fall in Emissions
According to the IEA, the global energy emissions (carbon dioxide mostly) are likely to drop by 8% this year due to the decrease in demand for oil and coal as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This drop can be equated to losing the total energy demand of India which is the third largest power consumer in the world.
While the COVID-19 has brought life to a standstill it is forcing us to rethink our practices both economically and in terms of energy consumption. If not for anything, the welcome drop in emissions and clean air should be motive enough for us to accelerate the move towards cleaner sources of energy once the crisis has been resolved.
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