(LF.7) Affordable and Clean Energy

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

• [New] The global market for energy IT and cybersecurity software and services will surpass $19 billion in 2020 and reach more than $32 billion in 2028.
• [New] Natural gas is likely to remain an important source of energy - despite the efforts of the UK government which will outlaw the installation of gas boilers in new-build homes after 2025.
• [New] In the ET scenario, global solar power in 2035 is more than 150% higher than in the base case of the 2015 Energy Outlook.
• [New] In the ET scenario, slowing demand growth and the shift towards lower carbon fuels causes China's carbon emissions from energy use to peak in the mid-2020s.
• [New] By 2050 global CO 2 emissions would be reduced to 75 per cent of their 1985 levels provided that energy efficiency and renewables are both pursued aggressively (see figs.
• [New] Global energy storage deployments are expected to grow thirteen-fold over the next six years, from a 12 GWh market in 2018 to a 158 GWh market in 2024.
• The SDS scenario envisions oil and natural gas continuing to supply 47 per cent - almost half - of the world's energy needs by 2040.
• Oil and natural gas demand will grow, and will continue to supply 64 per cent of the world's energy needs.
• Carbon dioxide emissions are expected to be 4 percent lower than they were in 2019 and that the United States will be a net exporter of energy for at least the next three decades.
• The proposal to transition 100 percent of U.S. electricity production to renewable sources by 2030 would require at least $5.7 trillion of investment in renewable energy and storage.
• Renewable energy is projected to crowd out coal-fired and nuclear generation and even overtake natural gas as the dominant fuel for power generation by 2045, under the main reference case considered by the Energy Information Administration.
• In the Stated Policies Scenario, oil will be the largest energy source in 2040, making up about 28% of the global energy mix - and natural gas will be right behind it, for 25% of supply.
• By 2050, natural gas will be responsible for 36 percent of U.S. energy, just slightly down from 37 percent today.
• CCPI - Results 2020 Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute & Climate Action Network country could further increase its share of renewable energy in the energy mix over recent years, the rating in the Renewable Energy category remains medium.
• Coal production in the U.S. is expected to decline, along with the amount of energy production that relies on coal, which is at its lowest level in more than 40 years.
• A rising global population and economic growth make it challenging for renewables to keep up with demand, meaning that fossil fuels will remain a primary source as energy demand will rise one percent each year over the next 20 years.
• Clean energy is already competitive with new natural gas power plants, and by 2035, it will be cheaper to build new wind, solar, and storage projects than to continue running 90 percent of existing gas power plants.
• The International Energy Agency (IEA), a forecaster, expects the share of Russian pipeline gas in the European market to fall only slightly, from 37% in 2018 to 33-36% by 2024.
• Palm oil causes excessive deforestation and should not count as a renewable source of energy, and will effectively be phased out as fuel for transport between 2023 and 2030.
• There will be an estimated demand for renewable energy from large energy users ranging from 1.7 GW to 3.6 GW over the next 10 years.
• The transition to a world powered by renewable energy is a long-term investment opportunity for the next 30 years and beyond.

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Last updated: 17 February 2020