Our Work with the Energy Transitions Commission
The Energy Transition Commission (ETC) is a global coalition of leaders from across the energy landscape who are committed to a net zero world by 2050 and focused on advancing the debate and solutions to climate change. Its members and activities span a wide range of sectors (pure energy players, capital goods, heavy industries, finance, etc.) and geographies (Europe, U.S., China, India, Australia).
Schneider Electric has supported the ETC since its inception in 2015. The ETC's research effort has been a key foundation to a number of the current conversations and regulatory changes under consideration.
Learn more and access research by the ETC below:
Bioresources within a Net-Zero Emissions Economy: Making a Sustainable Approach Possible
While bioresources are in principle renewable, not all forms of biomass use are beneficial from an environmental perspective: not all biomass is ‘good’ biomass. To be sustainable, biomass production should have low lifecycle GHG emissions.
This latest report in the Making Missions Impossible series sets out how rapidly increasing demand for bioresources could outstrip sustainable supply, undermining climate mitigation efforts and harming biodiversity, unless alternative zero-carbon options are rapidly scaled-up, clear sustainability standards for biomass supply are enforced, and use of bioresources carefully prioritized.
Better Energy, Greater Prosperity: a first-of-its-kind detailed analysis on the massive potential of energy productivity and electrification to decarbonize fully the economy by 2050.
We must reduce carbon emissions by half by 2040 (compared to a business as usual scenario) with further cuts thereafter to achieve the Paris climate objective – limiting global warming to well below 2°C. Simultaneously, we must ensure economic development and access to affordable, sustainable, and reliable energy for all, particularly in developing countries. According to the Better Energy, Greater Prosperity report, this is achievable – but business, government, and investors must act now to accelerate clean electrification, decarbonization beyond power, and energy productivity improvement.
Mission Possible: the foundational analysis on how to zero emissions of hard-to-abate sectors.
Reaching net-zero carbon emissions from heavy industry and heavy-duty transport sectors is technically and financially possible by mid-century – 2050 in developed countries and 2060 in developing countries.
This report outlines the possible routes to fully decarbonize cement, steel, plastics, trucking, shipping, and aviation – which together represent 30% of energy emissions today and could increase to 60% by mid-century as other sectors lower their emissions.
China 2050: A fully developed rich zero-carbon economy
It is possible to fully decarbonize the China economy by 2050, This paper outlines how.
China’s extraordinary success in growing its economy over the last 30 years and its large population have seen it become the world’s largest CO2 emitter in absolute terms, accounting for 28% of the global total in 2018. For the world to deliver the Paris Climate objectives, it is vital that China has a strategy to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century.
China Zero-Carbon Electricity Growth in the 2020s: A vital step toward carbon neutrality
On September 22, 2020, President Xi Jinping announced that China aims to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 and peak emissions before 2030. This was an extremely important step forward in the international fight against climate change and reflects China’s determination to provide responsible global leadership.
The key to achieving this target is to electrify as much of the economy as possible and to ensure that almost all electricity is generated from zero-carbon resources well before 2060. This report examines what action is required by 2030 aligned with what is needed to fully decarbonize China’s power sector by 2050.
Making Mission Possible: It is possible to go to net-zero by 2050. This report consolidates the complete vision and explores further the key next steps to get there.
A net-zero global economy is technically and economically possible by mid-century and will require a profound transformation of the global energy system.
This new report shows that clean electrification will be the primary route to decarbonization, complemented by hydrogen, sustainable biomass and fossil fuels combined with carbon capture. It urges governments, investors, corporates and civil society to work together to accelerate the deployment of zero-carbon solutions before 2030 to put mid-century targets within reach.
Making Clean Electrification Possible: 30 Years to Electrify the Global Economy
Transitioning to clean electricity as the main source of final energy represents the cheapest and most efficient way to decarbonize the economy. The rapidly falling costs of renewables and storage solutions make it possible to achieve the required massive expansion of clean power systems at low cost, according to the report.
In this report, we explore how massive clean electrification will be the primary route to decarbonization, complemented by hydrogen in the harder-to-abate sectors. The report sets out why it is essential but also feasible and affordable to multiply the size of the global power system by 5, while shifting to renewable-based electricity provision.
Making the Hydrogen Economy Possible: Accelerating Clean Hydrogen in an Electrified Economy
Clean hydrogen will play a complementary role to decarbonize sectors where direct electrification is likely to be technologically very challenging or prohibitively expensive, such as in steel production and long-distance shipping. A combination of private-sector collaboration and policy support can drive the initial ramp up of clean hydrogen production and use to reach 50 million tonnes by 2030.
The report highlights how critical rapid ramp-up of production and use in the 2020s is to unlock cost reductions and to make mid-century growth targets achievable.