Decarbonisation – how are we tracking against plans

Abstract

Globally many countries have committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and their dependence on fossil fuels with most large emitting countries now committing to ‘net-zero’ targets sometime in the second half of this century and earlier intermediate targets in 2030. With only 6 years to go until the deadline to meet 2030 emission reduction targets, what is the verdict? How are Australian and global emission reduction projects tracking? World electricity demand in 2022 was 28,500 TWh with 39.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted in the same year as a result. The global energy mix hasn’t changed much: fossil fuel consumption as a percentage of primary energy in 2022 remained steady at 82% and in July 2023 the International Energy Agency projected 2023 oil demand to be 102.1 million barrels a day, an all-time high. This paper will take a look at decarbonisation efforts around the world and provide an overview of what was targeted in previous years and compare it with what has actually been achieved. How far are we truly on the road to decarbonisation? Are decarbonisation initiatives including carbon capture, utilisation and storage, hydrogen projects, solar and wind farms providing the intended results? Incorporating recent key regulatory initiatives from governments around the world including the US, Australia and the EU, this paper will outline progress to date and attempt to show possible paths going forward in answering the question whether it is possible to achieve the proposed emission reduction targets in 6 years.