Taking the average operating life of coal or gas-fired
plants as 40 years, the world's fleet of carbon-emitting power stations had
already committed by 2014 a total of 87 per cent
of the emissions required to ensure a 50-50 chance of reaching two degrees of
warming compared with pre-industrial levels.
By 2017, the remaining stock of potential emissions will
have been locked in, necessitating a transition to renewable or zero-emissions
electricity from then on. Alternatively, radical technologies will be needed to
sequester carbon dioxide or extract it from the atmosphere, the researchers
including Australian Cameron Hepburn wrote in a paper published in Applied
Energy journal.
Read Peter Hannam’s story in the Melbourne Age - “Shift to zero-carbon power must start by 2018 to avoid extra warming: study.”
(Allowing the
pessimist to surface (it’s never really been submerged), the goals alluded to
in the paper published in “Applied Energy” will simply not be achieved.
To realise a shift
to renewable energy to renewable energy in just two-years-time, or, at least, see the beginning of a purposeful and
intentional change in our behaviour demands sweeping changes in personal
values, aspirations and ideals.
First, we must
dethrone matters economic second, shift
our attention to the broader welfare of people and third, relegate the idea of
profit way down the list of priorities.
Interestingly, it
has been said, that most people find it easier to imagine the end of the world
than the end of the dominant and prevailing capitalist economic system, and it is not until we can rid the world of the
latter, or at least, understand and
employ a different and workable idea, that we will ever shift to zero-carbon
power supply system – Robert McLean.)
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