Can we get to net zero emissions?
With the European Commission considering a net zero emissions goal, Dave Elliott examines how feasible this is by 2050
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Dave Elliott is an emeritus professor of technology policy at the Open University, UK, where he has pioneered courses and research in renewable-energy policy and technological innovation. Since retirement he has devoted himself to teaching on a range of MSc courses on energy around the UK and writing books such as the IOP ebook Renewables: a Review of Sustainable Energy Supply Options. Dave is a physicist by training and worked for the UK Atomic Energy Authority before turning his attention to renewable energy. He blogs at renewnatta.wordpress.com, e-mail david.elliott@open.ac.uk
With the European Commission considering a net zero emissions goal, Dave Elliott examines how feasible this is by 2050
The game is changing as prices "race to the bottom" and in some places renewables are the cheapest option, finds Dave Elliott
Big hitters included David Renné, president of the International Solar Energy Society, and Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes, vice-president, European Renewable Energies Federation (EREF). David Elliott provides the details.
Climate modelling seems to say we must continue with fossil fuels and carbon dioxide removal, but other approaches are wary of such technical fixes, says Dave Elliott
If green zealots resist all fossil fuel projects as “backsliding”, we may lose opportunities for complementarity, says Dave Elliott
The basic carbon-capture-and-storage idea of trying to store an unwanted by-product forever seems inelegant, says Dave Elliott
Negative emission technologies have "limited realistic potential" according to the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council
There are disputes over the relative emissions from renewables and nuclear, but is it time to include measures other than carbon?
Fossil fuels may be with us for some time, while opinions vary on the outlook for renewables
Opinions vary on the cheapest way to decarbonize heating but has a consensus emerged that renewables can supply the bulk of our power by 2050, and also heat and transport fuel?