15 Jan 2025
Energy realities
There has been a lot of attention on the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The world has added impressive amounts of solar and wind power. But if you look at what is actually happening the picture is not very rosy. In an article in The Tyee, journalist Andrew Nikiforuk writes that rather than a transition we are simply seeing an addition of energy in a world that demands more and more every day. It paints a bleak picture of our struggle to wean ourselves from fossil fuels before they destroy our climate. So much for decarbonization. Coal production reached a record high in 2023. So did carbon dioxide emissions. Coal, oil and gas still produce more than 80 per cent of global commercial energy. The explosive demands of computers running artificial intelligence, the growth of data centres, electric vehicles and heat pumps all add demand for electricity. The article goes on to say that our of increasing demand means we will not achieve net-zero carbon by 2050 and, “…only a radical reduction in energy and material consumption might make a difference.” The question is will humans voluntarily cut back their energy demands or wait for an ecological collapse to force change.