The Essential Energy Transition - Energy and Climate: How to Achieve a Successful Energy Transition - page 45

- Reducing energy consumption while continuing economic
development, especially in the poorest countries, and protecting the
environment, is the top priority. This is undeniably the best way of
reducing energy dependency on hydrocarbon imports, while at the
same time limiting CO 2 emissions. It also represents a way of
promotingmore harmonious relations between economy and society.
- Reducing the energy carbon content to decrease CO 2 emissions per
unit of energy produced favours energy sources with reduced carbon
content (nuclear and renewable) and offers the opportunity of exa-
mining how to globally reduce the CO 2 emissions of the energy system.
- Securing fossil energy supplies remains vital throughout the transi-
tion period. As we have seen, this involves first limiting the con-
sumption of fossil energies. To avoid a major crisis in oil supplies
during the future transition period, however, we must also develop
new ways aimed at pushing back the production limits through new
discoveries, better exploitation of reserves already identified and
putting into production new resources, such as heavy and extra-
heavy oils. To reduce the risks concerning future supplies, the source
of the fossil energies used must be diversified. We must also avoid
shifting the demand onto the worst CO 2 emitters, in particular coal.
- Capturing and storing the CO 2 emitted Since the previous measures
might fail to reduce CO 2 emissions quickly enough, additional
means must be implemented to achieve this: carbon sinks, capture
and geological storage of CO 2 , and carbon recycling.
These four action points are discussed in Chapters 5-8.
Technologies specifically adapted to the transition period must be
applied to simplify the move to a new energy system. Priority will be
given to those solutions that can directly replace the current solutions.
In the transport sector, liquid biofuels, which can replace the current
fuels, can be implemented rapidly since there is no need for a radical
transformation of vehicle design or the distribution system. We must
nevertheless ensure that the production of biofuels respects the sustain-
ability criteria (see Chapter 6).
Hybrid systems combining the use of a fossil fuel and zero carbon
energy will become increasingly important. They allow the use of an
intermittent source of energy production (solar, wind power) while
benefiting from the advantages offered by fossil fuels in terms of produc-
tion flexibility. The hybrid propulsion systems which can be recharged on
the mains electricity supply, to be detailed in Chapter 6, are another
example.