Fossil to account for 20% of energy mix by 2050
Sopuruchi Onwuka
The highly credible BP energy outlook holds that the world will displace some 60 percent of fossil fuels with greener renewable energy in the next 28 years as the prevailing energy transition continues to gather momentum in response to climate change.
The annual report from the European energy giants which built its massive wealth from fossil fuels production has it that the global energy mix will sharply cut its component to just 20 percent in the period as more renewable energy options come online.
The fossil industry which produces coal, oil, gas and tar currently accounts for over 80 percent of global energy supplies as new energy industry which produces electricity from water, steam, sunlight and wind still struggles with cost efficiency and economies of scale.
Bp said in the report that commitment to energy transition by the world’s most industrialized nations would sharply reduce reliance oil and gas in the next 25 years as the world combats climate change. And by 2050, the company stated, fossil contribution in the global energy mix would shrink to about 20 percent.
The Oracle Today reports that fossil fuels are mainly consumed in the production of electricity and transportation; so the emerging sources of renewable electricity generation and electric vehicle industry pose the highest single threat to petroleum demand.
The transportation sector accounts for roughy 27% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
President Biden last week passed in the Inflation Reduction Act designed to help consumers purchase zero-emissions electric vehicles. California had last year became the first U.S. state to announce it would ban the sale of new gas-powered automobiles by 2035, and several other states are considering similar restrictions.
By the projections in the report, BP posits that renewable energy and fossil fuel would switch positions by 2050.
Apart from the commitment of the European Union in setting targets and deadlines for migration of energy demands from fossil to renewable sources, BP said western allies including the world’s petroleum production champion, United States, are also installing measures that spur transition to renewable energy.
BP however noted that countries driving energy transition must increase service levels in accelerating private participation in through investments in renewable energy production and associated infrastructure.
It said the scale of the decarbonization challenge suggests greater support is required globally, including policies to facilitate quicker permitting and approval of low-carbon energy and infrastructure.
The report calls for a decisive shift towards a net-zero future in response to continuing rise in carbon emissions and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events in recent years.
BP stated that there would be greater economic and social costs if countries delayed in taking decisive action to reduce emissions on a sustained basis. It added that CO2 emissions have increased every year since the 2015 Paris Agreement despite the marked increase in government ambitions.
Like BP, Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes that oil and gas will soon relinquish dominance as a global energy source.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) had declared last December that the prevailing Ukraine war and associated energy crunch would cause acceleration of renewable energy production in the next 5 year.
