Full Title: Renewable Energy After COP21
Author(s): Richard Heinberg
Publisher(s): Postcarbon Institute
Publication Date: November 1, 2015
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
We all know that the transition away from fossil fuels is key to maintaining a livable planet. Several organizations have formulated proposals for transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy; some of those proposals focus on the national level, some the state level, while a few look at the global challenge.
David Fridley (staff scientist of the energy analysis program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) and I have been working for the past few months to analyze and assess many of those proposals, and to dig deeper into energy transition issues— particularly how our use of energy will need to adapt in a ~100 percent renewable future. We have a book in the works, titled Our Renewable Future, that examines the adjustments society will have to make in the transition to new energy sources. We started this project with some general understanding of the likely constraints and opportunities in this transition; nevertheless, researching and writing Our Renewable Future has been a journey of discovery. Along the way, we identified not only technical issues requiring more attention, but also important implications for advocacy and policy.
What follows is a short summary—tailored mostly to the United States—of what we’ve learned, along with some recommendations.