Renewable Energy Trends

The IPCC’s Special Report lays out various pathways to stabilize global warming at 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius). These solutions all require unprecedented efforts to cut fossil-fuel use in half in less than 15 years and eliminate their use almost entirely in 30 years. This means no home, business, or industry heated by gas or oil; no vehicles powered by diesel or gasoline; all coal and gas power plants shuttered; the petrochemical industry converted wholesale to green chemistry; and heavy industry like steel and aluminum production either using carbon-free energy sources or employing technology to capture CO2 emissions and permanently store it. You may want to read that again: No carbon power or products. None.

So what are we to do?

The Guardian note that "unexpectedly good progress has been made in the adoption of renewable energy," commenting on these unbelievably dire forecasts and the equally unbelievable suggestions of creating a 16th Century pre-steam powerless world. So the transition is well underway.

Really? The main transition, if at all, is to nuclear, hardly an area the modern life-changers want to go. And, according to the chart below, that direction is likely to continue relatively unchanged.

So, the trend to energy sources that no one uses is actually not happening.