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Davos 2023: Transition technologies, LFCs seen as cost-effective solutions to cut emissions
The 2023 World Economic Forum (Davos 2023) said that transition technologies, efficiency measures and low carbon fuels (LCFs) can be feasible cost-effective solutions to cut emissions within the next five years.
With this in mind and the evidence showing that most “true zero” destination technologies are still in the process of reaching maturity and scale, acceleration of transition technologies that can help to bend the emissions curve today is imperative.
Current greenhouse gas emission reductions are not aligned with emissions reduction goal as per the Paris Agreement.
The world needs to conceive and implement actions differently as it looks to flatten the emissions curve significantly in the short term.
Most analyses (including IPCC scenarios) indicate that limiting warming to 1.5°C requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 and be halved by 2030.
As 2023 starts, the world is having eight years at the current pace of emissions. In the absence of accelerated and effective emission reductions, including carbon removal technologies, the world has limited time before reaching the point of no return. Swift progress is all the urgent in light of continuing disruptive events, such as the Ukraine war.
Geopolitical shocks have contributed to an increased use of coal, whose production rose 1.2%, surpassing 8 billion tons in a single year for the first time and above the previous record set in 2013, according to the International Energy Agency.
The current trajectory indicates that the planet is approaching the emissions cliff at an alarming speed. While the world cannot lose sight of ambitions to reach net zero decarbonization by 2050, the actions taken today with existing technologies are key to bending the emissions curve before it is too late.
Focusing on revolution rather than on rapid evolution could be a risky path. The world needs both pathways in a systemic transition.
It needs to look at the transition with a systemic view and identify the actions that allow the world to replace its infrastructure and assets in the most optimized manner, providing it with the largest emissions reduction over time. It is not only a question of how resources from business and public sector are allocated, but also how to support and incentivize consumers in this journey.
Not all solutions will be equally suitable across the globe, and some regions will be placing greater emphasis on transition technologies as they cannot leapfrog to fully decarbonized economic systems. Some nations will go faster in the decarbonization journey. But the evidence is clear regarding one thing: The window is closing, and as a global community should have the ability to start bending the emissions curve today.
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