Artificial, human-centred systems – politics, economies, markets – have detached us from the natural world, that we exploit, commodify, and destroy to satisfy these systems.
Human systems are not resilient, requiring energy – fossil fuels and other forms – to keep them running, without which these systems would collapse. We continue to use energy wastefully, and our political leaders continue to buckle to the climate damaging fossil fuel industry.
Our Sun could supply, with just one hour’s worth of its energy falling on our atmosphere, the energy needs of every person on Earth for a year, if we had the means to capture and store that energy.
Ironically, the abundant stored energy we already have from the Sun, fossil fuels, that energize human systems, have also created the means to extinguish them – heat trapping greenhouse gases.
Having placed most of our eggs in the fossil fuel basket, it is now a monumental task to replace them with cleaner forms of energy, particularly as our appetite for energy, of all kinds, is increasing.
Just 30% of our electricity comes from renewables. Getting to 100% is a formidable task. It is critical to know the difference between what is efficient, cost effective, doable and commercially scalable, in a reasonable time frame, and that which is wishful thinking.
Nuclear fusion, which powers the sun, could supply an infinite supply of clean energy, but scaling up and bringing down costs are huge challenges that won’t be solved in the short term.
Between now and 2050 we need safe, reliable, resilient technologies. Electrification is key, but it’s impractical to power everything with electricity. How do we keep up with greenhouse gas free electricity demand, as the world’s population is expected to grow by 1.7 billion people by 2050, and our energy needs projected to double?
Electrical grid capacity must also happen in lockstep with increased electrification. Moving electricity from lightly populated solar & wind farms where it is produced, to densely populated centres where it is needed, is a challenge that may be solved using HVDC (high voltage, direct current) transmission lines, an expensive but proven technology.
Shipping, heavy transport and industry, will likely use hydrogen, in one form or another. Producing hydrogen from fossil fuels, however, is counterproductive and delays decarbonizing our economies. We will need “green” hydrogen, produced by electrolysis, further adding to the electrical energy burden.
It’s in our best interest to quickly investigate all feasible, clean energy sources, investing in the most promising ones, the tried and true – hydro, solar, wind, nuclear and geothermal technologies. Energy conservation, the low hanging fruit, and energy storage – battery, hydrogen, pumped water – should also be a priority for when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.
There are solutions to the energy & climate crisis, so why are we falling further behind. Politics, war, conflicting ideologies, greed, and the continued exploitation of fossil fuel resources are all impediments to progress.
The bloated trade show known as COP(out)28, masquerading as a climate conference, both Shakespearean tragedy and farce, has come and gone, hosted by a petrostate, attended by billionaire influence pedlars and fossil fuel deal makers, rife with meaningless weasel words, with Big Oil controlling the agenda. No conflicts of interest there, just empty pledges, and promises, much ado about nothing.
Technology alone won’t solve our problems, without widespread cooperation, collaboration, and clean energy implementation. Absent a collective will to eliminate burning of fossil fuels, climate change will be unstoppable. It the tepid COP28 is the best we can do then future COPs are pointless, and we can now declare hope to be on life support.
Wayne Poole