The energy and emission story<\/h3>\n
Figure 1: Global Energy Consumption by Source, and Carbon Emissions (1900-2021). Source:\u00a0Visual Capitalist<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Taking a closer look at the global primary energy consumption by source and how this has changed\u00a0over time<\/a>\u00a0shows that the world is still heavily dependent on oil and natural gas, up to 52% even in 2021 (adding coal, takes this to a whooping 77%). Despite all the drumbeats about the \u2018great strides in new renewables\u2019 (which formed a mere 06.28% of global primary energy consumption in 2021 including the dominant new installations, with hydropower adding a similar percentage), there is in fact no energy transition but an energy addition, as figure 1 shows. Figure 2: Global emissions for land use had a steady decrease over the years. Source:\u00a0Carbon Brief<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The first part of the story addresses energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from coal, oil, and gas. On the climate action front, significant developments occurred, especially with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) \u2013the body tasked with working on the science of climate change and its meaningful redressal methods\u2013 releasing the latest sixth assessment report (AR6). The first part, covering the Physical Science Basis of Climate Change (Working Group I), was released in October 2022, just before COP-27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The reports from Working Groups I, II, and III underscored that, to have even a 50% chance of limiting global warming to 1.5\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels, emissions must peak by 2025 and decrease by at least 45% by 2030\u2014requiring a yearly reduction of 7% or more. Yet, the reality is starkly different, with CO\u2082 concentrations increasing by about\u00a03 ppm<\/a>\u00a0annually.<\/p>\n While most climate scientists and climate justice activists call for a rapid reduction in emissions, this has been dismissed as \u201cunrealistic\u201d by fossil fuel producers and importers alike, who have largely ignored climate warnings. These nations face the pressures of public unrest due to winter heating shortages, potential job losses in industry, and, above all, the influence of big finance. Fossil fuel corporations, driven by massive investments and profit motives, continue to thrive, with oil companies achieving record profits of\u00a0$219 billion<\/a>, reinforcing global dependence on these fuels. As a global community\u2014despite the vastly different contributions between rich and poor nations\u2014we have far surpassed the \u201csafe\u201d CO\u2082 limit of 350 ppm advocated by top climate scientists like James Hansen. Today\u2019s levels, around 424 ppm, are higher than at any point in\u00a0the past three million years<\/a>, predating even the earliest humans. Over just the past 200 years, human activity has increased atmospheric CO\u2082 by 50%.<\/p>\n Energy encompasses far more than electricity, motor fuel, or cooking gas\u2014it\u2019s embedded in every product, service, and communication, from WhatsApp messages to emails. Currently, about 75% of global energy (even higher in countries like India and China) still comes from fossil fuels. Food, our most essential energy source, relies heavily on external inputs; industrial agriculture uses 6-10 calories of\u00a0external energy input<\/a>\u00a0per calorie of food produced, with nearly 80% of this energy coming from fossil fuels. In essence, we\u2019re consuming fossil fuels with each meal. Our transportation, the backbone of our interconnected world, relies 90% on fossil fuels, and most buildings\u2014homes, offices, hospitals\u2014depend on energy for heating, cooling, and ventilation, much of which is fossil-fuel-based. The dependence extends into nearly every aspect of modern life.<\/p>\n As can be seen by any such Zero-emission (or \u201cnet-zero\u201d \u2013 the questionable presentation) achievement pathway, each year of delay in transition, makes the path even harder (the curve becomes steeper) as seen in figure 3. Going by what is happening in the global energy scenarios \u2013 whether in rich industrialized or developing and industrializing countries, the present already steep pathway to zero emission by or before 2050 \u2014 the minimum requirement for any chance to avoid triggering catastrophic climate change, seems increasingly remote. Evolutionary changes that we are seeing are far too slow to avoid the crisis, but revolutions by social tipping points can change the equation, if and when a fairly significant percentage of the people are mobilized. An 1.5 C rise in average temp is now a given, but it is still possible to return from that overshoot. The IPCC and the International Energy Agency says so if the global economies do\u00a0what has never been done before<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/globaltapestryofalternatives.org\/_media\/newsletters:15:esre1.jpg?w=400&h=448&tok=cc00be\")
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\nAmid a geopolitically induced oil and gas shortage, several countries, including Europe and Germany\u2014both vocal advocates for climate action\u2014turned to coal, the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel. Developing countries with coal reserves, such as China, India, and Indonesia, have also ramped up coal use to offset the initial impact of fuel shortages and price hikes. Consequently, despite some climate efforts, global emissions\u00a0again rose<\/a>\u00a0by 0.9% (321 Mt) in 2022, reaching a record high of over 36.8 Gt. This increase, following a dip in 2020 due to COVID-19, continued through 2021 and 2022, underscoring the gap between current emissions and the reduction targets set by the IPCC. Notably, this rise occurred even as emissions from\u00a0Land Use Change<\/a>\u00a0declined, as depicted in figure 2.<\/p>\nThe story of stalled climate action<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nOn the Paths of people-led alternatives<\/h3>\n
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