Global energy production is still overwhelmingly dominated by the burning of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) and this accounts for more than 75% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve carbon neutrality, the world must shift away from fossil fuels to a mix of cleaner energy sources to reduce carbon emissions and slow global warming. Renewable energy sources are growing rapidly. What will this chart look like in 2050?
As governments address the challenges of securing a future dominated by lowcarbon sources of energy (renewables and nuclear power), it is useful to explore the history of energy transitions over the past 200 years or so. Note that energy transitions have a distinctive regional geography, with industrial-scale coal burning taking place first in Europe and North America.
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