What is the clean energy transition?

The United Nations predicts that the world's population could reach 8.5 billion by 2030 and 9.7 billion by 2050. Two thirds of them will live in cities and living standards will rise as emerging countries join the global middle class.

All this will lead to an increase in global energy demand that fossil fuels will not be able to meet, firstly because it is estimated that oil could run out in the next 50 years and natural gas in 70 years and, secondly, because the combustion of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that cause global warming and climate change, the main threat facing humanity in the 21st century.

As indicated above, energy production and use are the main sources of global greenhouse gas emissions and the main driver of climate change. For this reason, countries around the world are actively working towards a clean energy transition modifying their energy mix to include so-called clean energy sources that do not emit greenhouse gases, such as nuclear, hydro, solar, and photovoltaic.

The course for a global clean energy transition was set in the Paris Agreement (2015), an international treaty between more than 180 countries that are part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The main objective of the agreement is to limit the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels by encouraging the use of low-carbon energy sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This situation is exacerbated in vulnerable communities that lack access to reliable energy sources. According to the United Nations, some 685 million people live in total darkness; more than 80% of them are in sub-Saharan Africa.

If we want to combat climate change, we must avoid relying so heavily on fossil fuels and invest more in alternative energy sources that are clean, accessible, affordable, sustainable, and reliable. It is also necessary to improve energy efficiency.