energy[r]evolution - A sustainable global energy outlook

Abstract

A sustainable energy supply can be achieved, even under conditions of global economic growth - this is the outcome of the updated global energy scenario developed on behalf of Greenpeace International and the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) by the Institute of Technical Thermodynamics (Institut für Technische Thermodynamik) of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) in cooperation with over 30 other scientists and institutes. The global energy scenario - the so-called Energy [R]evolution Scenario - shows how global CO2 emissions can be reduced from 30 billion tonnes per year today to about ten billion tonnes per year by 2050. This drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is necessary to ensure that the rise in the global average temperature relative to the pre-industrial level does not exceed two degrees Celsius. The study shows that these goals can in fact be compatible with access to electricity for people around the world, a reliable and affordable supply of energy as well as global economic growth, as long as full use is made of all available options for efficient use of energy and for expansion of renewable energy.