Decarbonisation Technology - May 2024 Issue

can face opposition from the public and relevant industries. Strategies to minimise political costs include protecting vulnerable households and ensuring income inequality is addressed. Global decarbonisation efforts require international co-operation and agreements like the Paris Agreement. Political leadership and diplomacy are essential for negotiating agreements and ensuring countries commit to ambitious emission reduction targets. Political factors also play a role in how countries collaborate on technology transfer and financial support for developing nations. Political leaders must manage energy transitions to minimise economic disruptions by supporting affected workers and communities, which includes economic diversification, job creation in new industries, and retraining programmes. “ Global decarbonisation efforts must be sensitive to the different capacities and developmental needs of developing countries ” In short, political factors are integral to global decarbonisation efforts. Political leadership, public support, policy design, international co- operation, and the management of economic transitions are essential for advancing low- carbon and climate-resilient economic growth. contributed the most to global GHG emissions due to their prolific industrial activities over the past centuries. In contrast, developing countries have contributed far less to the current levels of atmospheric GHGs but are facing the most severe impacts of climate change. This historical context underscores the need for developed countries to lead decarbonisation efforts and support developing countries in low-carbon economic transition. w Inequitable global development Historically, developed countries have Developing countries often lack the financial resources, technology, and infrastructure to rapidly transition to renewable energy and implement effective climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Pushing these countries to reach zero carbon emissions too

rapidly without adequate support can hinder their economic development and exacerbate poverty. Therefore, global decarbonisation efforts must be sensitive to the different capacities and developmental needs of developing countries. x Intermittency and inadequacy of renewable energy Renewable energy sources are intermittent. For example, hydroelectric power can be impacted by changes in rainfall patterns, and solar power can be affected by increased cloud cover or dust from desertification. Some solutions to address intermittency are: • Energy storage, such as battery energy storage systems (BESS), can store excess energy, thus smoothing out supply fluctuations. Nevertheless, batteries are expensive, and concerns exist about the environmental impacts of mining materials (such as cobalt and lithium) and forced labour issues. • Intelligent grid management systems and demand response programmes can help balance supply and demand by adjusting energy flows and encouraging consumers to shift their energy use to periods of high renewable generation. • A mix of different renewable energy sources, such as combining solar and wind with hydroelectric or geothermal power, spreading renewable energy installations across different geographic locations, and utilising sources that peak at different times, helps stabilise the overall energy supply. The current pace and scale of the renewable energy transition are inadequate to meet global climate goals. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) highlights that renewables need to scale massively across all sectors from 14% of total energy today to around 40% in 2030 to stay on track with the Paris Agreement targets (IRENA, 2022). This will require a tripling of global annual additions of renewable power by 2030, a goal echoed by the IEA (Cozzi, et al., 2023). IRENA estimates investment needs of $5.7 trillion per year until 2030, including redirecting $0.7 trillion from fossil fuels to renewables. Thanks to the huge numbers, investing in the transition brings concrete socio-economic and welfare benefits, such as adding 85 million jobs