Addressing climate change must be an urgent global priority

Forty one per cent (13.7 Gigatonnes or Gt) of the global CO2 emissions from fuel combustion are attributable to the electricity and heat production sector. However, simply shifting from tailpipe emissions from an internal combustion engine to smokestack emissions from a coal power plant providing electricity to an EV does not necessarily reduce, and in some locations could increase, system CO2 emissions. The most effective way to ensure power system reliability and energy security would be through a mix of generation sources. Mind you that the global installed capacity of renewables has grown from approximately 1 GW of solar PV and 17 GW of wind in 2,000 to approximately 650 GW of each today.

Renewables are the fastest growing source of new power generation capacity and electricity. A recent global study by transnational energy major GE has reasons to believe that accelerated and strategic deployment of renewables and gas power can change the trajectory for climate change, enabling substantive reductions in emissions quickly, while in parallel continuing to advance the technologies for low or near zero-carbon power generation. New sources of abundant and affordable natural gas have driven the economic shift of coal-to-gas switching in several regions. With less than half the CO2 of coal generation, natural gas is contributing significantly to decarbonisation in these regions.

There is no denying the fact that addressing climate change must be an urgent global priority, requiring global action, national commitments, and consistent policy and regulatory frameworks. And solving the climate change challenge requires cooperation of countries across the globe, across sectors of the economy, and across the political spectrum. Renewables and gas power have the capability to quickly make meaningful and long-lasting reductions to CO2 emissions from the power sector. Neither will be as effective alone at decarbonisation at the pace and scale needed to avoid raising average global temperatures by less than 2ºC as outlined in the COP 21 Paris Agreement.

Experts feel that the energy sector, in particular, and the economy as a whole, requires a multi-pronged approach to decarbonisation with renewables and natural gas power at its core. The power industry across the world must invest in a combination of wind, solar, batteries and gas-fired power at scale and with urgency and as coal-fired generation declines, they must replace this capacity with renewables supported by gas power. There is an urgent need for advocacy for policies that align with the goals of the Paris Agreement to reduce CO2 emissions, while ensuring a safe, affordable and reliable electricity sector. When it comes to policy prescriptions, all governments should focus on incentivised reductions in power sector carbon intensity with an emphasis on both near-term actions that drive the greatest reductions sooner, and a long-term vision of ambitious carbon reductions. Policies should be transparent and predictable and allow lifecycle economics to drive investment decisions.

Governments must promote market structures that value energy, flexibility and dependable capacity separately in order to encourage the optimum mix of technologies. People say: "Jaan hai toh Jahan hai", but it's often other way round (that's Jahan hai toh jaan hai)! And to ensure survival of the 'jahan', we must immediately focus on am optimal mix of energy generation sources.