Schneider Electric: Containing Global Warming to 1.5C is possible. Here's How.
Schneider Electric sustainability blog
by Philippe Delorme, Executive Vice-President, Building & IT Business at Schneider Electric
Electricity 4.0: Powering a sustainable future in an entirely new electric world
Should the energy of the 21st century rely on the 18th century tech when we know that 80% of the CO2 emissions are linked to dated production and inefficient consumption of energy? To limit climate change to 1.5C, there is no other option than a drastic change in our consumption and production mode: in our buildings and cities, in our industries, and across infrastructure.
The only sustainable future is all electric and all digital. Electricity is the most efficient energy and the best vector for decarbonization, and Digital brings tremendous new efficiency opportunities. In this context, we must electrify our world, continue decarbonizing electricity production and at the same time, leverage the latest digital technologies to drastically increase energy efficiency.
An urgent call for change
Today, we are in the midst of an emergency. Despite increasing awareness of global warming and its devastating impacts, we still do not have a realistic response. In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change re-asserted that unless global warming is contained to 1.5C, natural and human systems will be irreparably damaged. Even a slight increase to 2C will raise sea levels so that 10 million more people lose their homes and 50% more people experience water insecurity.
The warning signs are already here. From heatwaves in South Asia to catastrophic hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, extreme weather has become the new normal. Unless we find a new way of creating and consuming energy, this trend will only worsen. Both public and private stakeholders have pledged to become net-zero carbon emitters. But these fragmented efforts are insufficient; the latest report from the International Energy Agency suggests that Earth’s future temperature increase will rise upwards of 2.7C this century.
Read the full article on the Schneider Electric sustainability blog
