Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
3
Historical data
US policy proposal
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1
0
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
2040
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Figure 37. Historical and projected decarbonization in U.S. economy. The fi gure shows
the rate of change in the CO 2 -GDP ratio, or the rate of decarbonization. The left side
shows the actual rate of decarbonization for the past half century. The right side shows
the rate needed to achieve the ambitious goals for reducing CO 2 emissions by 83 percent
by midcentury.
PROMISING TECHNOLOGIES
We can set the stage by viewing existing sources of energy. Figure 38
shows where the United States gets its energy today: almost 80 percent
is from fossil fuels. 5 This implies right off the mark that about 80 per-
cent of our energy will have to be produced either in different ways or
from different sources if we are to move to a zero-carbon world. That in
a nutshell is the problem.
THE TECHNOLOGICAL ROAD TO A LOW-CARBON WORLD
Given the enormity of the transition needed to achieve a low-
carbon economy, what are the promising low-carbon energy sources?
 
 
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