As the coronavirus pandemic continues to hit communities around the world, energy researchers in Europe find themselves in another progression caused by the epidemic: a relief in carbon emissions and an acceleration of the transition from fossil fuel energy to renewable electricity.
Along with the human and economic prices of the virus, which has now killed nearly 3 million people, relief in power for next year has led to a 7% drop in emissions in Europe’s 10 richest countries, or 36. 7 million tonnes less. CO2. This is more or less equivalent to the closure of the entire global aviation industry for two weeks. The figures recommend that the EU will be able to reach its target of zero net carbon emissions until 2050.
The effects were published through Finnish corporate force Wurtsil, with a panel classifying countries according to CO2 reductions. The list shows that Austria has reduced its emissions to the maximum in percentage terms, reducing domestic CO2 production by 29%, aided by the closure of the country’s last coal-fired power plant by April 2020.
But in terms of reducing tons of carbon, Spain and the Netherlands achieved the biggest reductions, cutting their emissions by 10. 2 million tonnes of CO2 over the course of a year, which Spain achieved through no fewer than seven coal-fired power plants, while the Netherlands imported a higher proportion of low-carbon, carbon-free electricity from neighbouring countries such as Germany.
Tony Meski, senior market progression analyst at Wurtsil Energy Business, highlighted the challenge of highlighting the ostensible effects of a global disaster.
“Covid’s effect is like getting a gold medal as we step on our ankles in the process,” Meski said. “We have achieved record carbon reductions, but our global economy has been tested. “
“A year after the blockade began, we will now have to focus on a strategic, clinical and intelligent technique to reduce carbon emissions that will enable us to achieve the [goals] of the Paris Agreement while reaping genuine benefits for our economy and improving our quality of life,” he added.
However, according to Meski, as the pandemic recedes, energy demand is expected to rise again.
“The demand for energy will recover and emissions with it,” he said. “We want to get to this point and be ambitious with our investments in renewable energy and flexible technologies while remaining very competitive. “
However, there is evidence to recommend that at least some of the European emissions discounts achieved by the pandemic may simply be permanent, largely due to less dependence on coal. The journal Nature, showed that coal-fired power plants are the first sources of electrical power generation that are extinguished when the demand for electrical energy is reduced.
“This is because the fuel-burning procedure is constantly increasing prices,” said Christoph Bertram, senior scientist and director of the Potsdam Institute. “Plant operators have to pay for every ton of coal. On the other hand, renewable resources force such as wind and solar power plants, once built, have particularly lowered operating prices and continue to function even if demand is reduced».
The Potsdam Institute study predicts that “electricity emissions by 2021 are likely to accumulate from 2020, but will remain below 2019 values, given the continued additions of low-carbon production. “
On a larger scale, however, the global force transition so far has failed to oppose the long-term trend of emerging emissions. As the British expert group Ember revealed in a report last month, while energies such as wind and sun force are being renewed. deployed faster than ever, should not keep up with the growing demand for international electricity and a lot of coal – electricity generation is being replaced by fuel – some other fossil fuel. Power generation comes from low and zero carbon sources. In terms of strength in general, fossil fuels provide an even higher percentage, about 84%, of the force we use.
The power transition is fully compromised. But to achieve net zero emissions, world leaders will want to act much faster.
I have spent much of the last 20 years as a journalist in Asia; now, in Europe, my main interests are decarbonisation and the circular economy.