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What is net zero and why is it necessary?
Former Community Member
Decarbonising quickly and effectively to hit our net-zero target by 2050 requires urgent, clear and decisive leadership. Our short video looks at the skills requirements for delivering this target and breaks down the results from our recent Skills for net zero and a green recovery survey. Watch the video and sign in to let us know your thoughts in the comments!
The problem here is that all the current plans will considerably increase our emission in lots of areas for the next 10-15 years.
The solutions promoted by the ‘Eco Warriors’ are wind turbines, solar PV, EVs, batteries and all the electrical infrastructure to join it together by 2050 (29 years) all over the world.
Where do we start? We need to dig mines to obtain the raw materials. We need processing plants to refine then. We need a petrochemical industry to produce the polymers for turbine blades, electrical insulation, lubricants, paints, etc. We need to build factories to make all of the above. We need to build special ships to install all the offshore wind turbines we will need. We need construction machines to install all the new cables.
All this will be supported by burning fossil fuels as there are not enough renewables to do this yet so CO2 emissions (as will a lot of other emissions from mining and manufacturing) will rise quite steeply.
The reduction in emissions can only start when these new systems are actually installed, working and can start to offset the emissions from the use of fossil fuels. How long will this take, 10 years? The accepted energy payback time for a wind farm is under a year, but this is based on the assumption that all the infrastructure above already exists. For solar PV in southern latitudes the energy payback time is nearer 2 years, in northern latitudes it may be never.
This paper looks at the dynamic Life Cycle Analysis for solar PV. It is from 2015 so the actual numbers may have changed but the principle remains.
The problem here is that all the current plans will considerably increase our emission in lots of areas for the next 10-15 years.
The solutions promoted by the ‘Eco Warriors’ are wind turbines, solar PV, EVs, batteries and all the electrical infrastructure to join it together by 2050 (29 years) all over the world.
Where do we start? We need to dig mines to obtain the raw materials. We need processing plants to refine then. We need a petrochemical industry to produce the polymers for turbine blades, electrical insulation, lubricants, paints, etc. We need to build factories to make all of the above. We need to build special ships to install all the offshore wind turbines we will need. We need construction machines to install all the new cables.
All this will be supported by burning fossil fuels as there are not enough renewables to do this yet so CO2 emissions (as will a lot of other emissions from mining and manufacturing) will rise quite steeply.
The reduction in emissions can only start when these new systems are actually installed, working and can start to offset the emissions from the use of fossil fuels. How long will this take, 10 years? The accepted energy payback time for a wind farm is under a year, but this is based on the assumption that all the infrastructure above already exists. For solar PV in southern latitudes the energy payback time is nearer 2 years, in northern latitudes it may be never.
This paper looks at the dynamic Life Cycle Analysis for solar PV. It is from 2015 so the actual numbers may have changed but the principle remains.
