Energy vision: technology wedges

Out with the old, in with the new

The ‘old’ energy system was almost completely based on fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas. This must change since burning fossil fuels causes devastating climate change.


World primary energy use and carbon dioxide emissions - by region from 1971 to 1998
© Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC)



To keep global average temperature rise less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, we need to develop a new energy system, based on clean energy sources, clean and safe modes of energy transport, and super efficiency.

This means that global emissions need to go down by 50% by the middle of this century. To achieve this, industrialized countries need reduce their emissions by between 60% and 80%.

What about the cost?

Even under business-as-usual scenarios the expected investment in energy infrastructure is expected to be US$16 trillion between now and 2030 (this is 16,000 billion).
Source: IEA 2003

The big question is HOW these sums are being spent and on what.  A multitude of new technologies are already available and even today are often competitive. With the right policy frameworks in place, many of these alternatives could take off very fast indeed.

Why the urgency?

One crucial point, however, is timing. Today’s decisions about new infrastructure will determine emissions and energy sources for years to come. A new power station cannot simply be replaced a few years later. It is likely to be in place, spewing out harmful emissions, for about 40 years.

Even now, with all we know about the dangers of climate change, money is still being invested in fossil fuel infrastructure. For example, Germany is planning up to 10 new coal power stations to be built over the next 12 years, of which only one is planned as a zero-emission plant. In China and India, several new coal power stations are going up every month. Australia and the US are also investing in coal power.

The emissions from these plants will stay in the atmosphere for a long time, adding to the climate change toll and causing untold damage to the environment. We must break this trend now by embracing new, cleaner alternatives.





An energy vision for the world

WWF is working on a vision for how the world’s energy system should develop in the future to minimise its impact on nature and natural resources, as well as on the climate.