Frontiers of Science Look at the World, Learn to Understand the Universe
In the nearly 20 years since the 21st century, high global carbon emissions have become one of the biggest challenges facing the world today. On Monday (April 1), global energy experts jointly released a survey result showing that world carbon dioxide emissions surged by 1.7% in 2018, soaring to a record high of 33.1 billion tons. The Paris Agreement now seems more like a joke, and the 1.5°C target is getting farther and farther away...
According to the latest report released by the International Energy Agency, global energy demand has increased by 2.3% in the past year, the highest growth rate in nearly a decade. In order to meet the rising demand for energy, the development and utilization of renewable energy has become an urgent problem for all countries to solve.
Today, fossil fuels meet nearly 70 percent of the world's electricity needs, and coal-fired power stations play an important role in developing countries, and the pollution they cause is a top priority. The 30 members of the International Energy Agency, including the United States, have analyzed energy trends and unfortunately cannot find emerging energy sources that can replace fossil fuels.
"In Asia, the average plant has only an economic lifespan of 12 years, and the normal range for this number is 35-45 years," the researchers said. The root cause of this is also the excess carbon emissions. "In fact, in developed countries such as Europe and the United States, carbon emissions are still increasing.
In this report, scientists emphasize a dark fact: the value of developing clean energy is simply not enough to compensate for the increase in carbon emissions, coupled with the loss of economic benefits, large countries, including the United States and China, are even more willing to choose fossil energy to meet their own development. (Below is a schematic map of the location of coal-fired power plants in parts of Asia)
Last year, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change noted that by 2030, global carbon emissions must be halved to keep the increase in global warming within 1.5°C (compared to pre-industrial levels). For coal, the cost of achieving the above target is to reduce coal burning by 78% over 10 years.
If the Industrial Revolution is likened to Pandora's box, then science and technology are the key to unlocking the box. Faced with a series of new highs, it is clear that humanity has missed the best time to remedy.
Although today's renewable energy is developing faster and faster, it is far from catching up with the growth rate of fossil fuels. What's more, few countries are truly living up to the commitments made in the Paris Agreement. So, the Paris Agreement, sworn and signed by the parties, is more like a joke...
10 years ago, there was optimism about global climate change, that carbon emissions would flatten out and decline, and that global carbon emissions did decline slightly between 2014 and 2016. But with the release of new data, 2017 and 2018 reached record highs for two consecutive years, making the green future more illusory.
"Humanity is in a crisis." The researchers said at the time of the release of monday's findings, "The consequences of global climate change are catastrophic, and I don't use these words very often, but it turns out that we are heading for disaster and no one can stop it..."
Author/Zhu Zhang Hangyu
Source: The Washington Post, IPCC