Technology key to meeting Paris Agreement

Electrification and changes to the energy mix, if supported by governments, would mean climate goal is within reach—DNV GL

Existing technology would be enough to contain global warming to the COP21 pledge of 1.5°C but only if the energy transition is backed by strong enforcement of policies set out in the Paris Agreement, according to standards agency DNV GL at its annual Energy Transition Outlook event. Crucially, it also predicts that the transition would be affordable. DNV GL predicts that energy use will peak by 2030, when efficiency improvements start to outpace economic growth. However, although it foresees a rapid energy transition—with a doubling of electricity in the demand mix by 2050 and a steep decline in oil from 2030—it does not expect emissions to fall fast enough to limit warming to 2°C. The fore