Climate change and energy transition

Abstract

Social media and television increasingly publish extreme weather events: summer heat records, terrifying fires, hail like tennis balls, storms like have never been seen before and that cause thousands of deaths, droughts that ruin food crops. News about new wind farms, photovoltaic, and mining projects and the positions of environmental groups regarding them are also becoming more and more frequent. This article reviews the scientific documents prepared by the The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the agreements between countries to limit the increase in global warming to 1.5° above pre-industrial times, and the proposals to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to net zero by 2050, replacing fossil energy with renewable energy. The gap between what was agreed and what was done is shown. The need to replace fossil materials with rare, scarce and difficult to process materials is highlighted, and what this implies for the ecological challenge and for global geopolitics. Different currents of thought are shown about the future of this transition and its complexity that will lead to turbulent times. Finally, the impact that the global energy transition may have on the economic and social development of Venezuela is put into context.

Contacto del autor

Correo electrónico: jfernandar@gmail.com