Full Title: Must the Energy Transition Be Slow? Not Necessarily
Author(s): Nikos Tsafos
Publisher(s): Center for Strategic and International Studies
Publication Date: September 1, 2018
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
The world needs to shift its energy system to meet its climate targets. The growth in energy demand must slow, and the carbon emitted from that energy must decline.
Past global energy transitions have taken a long time—so we might conclude that the challenge we face is historically unprecedented and will require historically unprecedented action. This is partly right, but we tend to think of energy systems as far more static and stable than they truly are.
Many countries that have managed to grow without consuming more energy have reduced their consumption of specific energy sources and have changed their energy mix in a decade or two.
There is no reason to think that energy is immune from the disruptive forces that have transformed so many industries. History shows us that when change comes, it can be swift and dramatic.