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Atlantis Brief
Climate change has remained a controversial subject, debated for decades. Scientists are constantly presenting more evidence from research to
support their disastrous predictions.
Here, at Atlantis, it seems obvious to us that a change from fossil fuels is essential for humanity. Whether we make this change based on the damage
and death from air pollution, the fact that fossil fuels aren’t sustainable, or the threats posed by climate change. We don’t understand, why
society is hesitating to make the switch to clean unlimited energy supplies.
- The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) concludes that it is extremely likely that more than half of the observed increase in global average surface temperature is caused by Greenhouse gases
- Over 72% of global GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions come from the energy sector; Mainly Electricity and Heat generation, Transportation and Manufacturing
- If we continue to burn fossil fuels at current rates, global surface temperatures could increase by about 4 degrees by 2100
- This will cause a sea level rise of 0.8 meters affecting 90% of all coastal areas around the world
- By just our electrical production to clean energy plus 53% of our transport network to electric vehicles, we would instantly reduce our fossil
fuel use by 28%
- This energy supply change is easily achievable with today's technology and exceeds all current government targets on fossil fuel use
With all of these combined negative effects of energy production from fossil fuels, it is obvious that a speedy and complete change in how we produce
our energy is required.
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Indepth Study
Climate Change
A lot has already been written about climate change and talked about on endless news reports, so we’ll keep this short and to the point:
Climate change is without a doubt one of the biggest threats to human existence with the major contributor being the burning of fossil fuels.
The most important thing that we can possibly do to fight it is to transition to 100% clean energy sources.
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Observed Changes
These charts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change show how climate change is correlated with greenhouse gas emissions.
In the first two graphs (a,b), we can see that Earth’s surface temperatures and sea levels have risen dramatically over the last century.
In the third graph (c), we can see that there were similar increases in atmospheric levels of Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide over the same time period.
In the last graph (d), it is obvious that most of these increases in greenhouse gasses have been caused by human activity (more specifically by the
fossil fuel industry).
In their 5th Synthesis Report, the IPCC concludes that it is extremely likely that more than half of the observed increase in global average surface temperature from 1951 to 2010 was caused by
the anthropogenic (generated by human activity) increase in GHG (Greehouse Gas) concentrations.
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Sources of Greenhouse Emissions
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| Global Manmade Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector, 2013: Center for Climate and Energy Solutions [2] |
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According to this graph from the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, over 72% of global GHG emissions come from the energy sector. Within this
sector, the biggest sources are Electricity and Heat generation, Transportation, and Manufacturing [2].
If we want to stop climate change, we must transition these sectors away from fossil fuels and towards clean energy.
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Future Projections
These graphs show IPCC projections for the next 80 years.
In the first, we can see that if we continue to burn fossil fuels at current rates, global surface temperatures could increase by about 4 degrees by 2100.
In the second, we can see that these increased temperatures could result in almost a 0.8m rise in global sea levels.
While this might seem like a relatively small rise, it is more than enough to cause intense flooding in many coastal cities. The World Economic Forum estimates that 90% of all coastal areas will be affected by these rising sea levels [4]
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The Simple Transitions
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Realistically, we have only scratched the surface in explaining the problems associated with how we produce our energy.
However, at Atlantis we feel it is better to focus on moving towards the solutions.
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Transitioning to clean electricity and heat systems
In spite of what some would have you believe, we currently have all the technologies necessary to make 100% clean electricity. So what would happen if we were able to start generating 100% clean energy tomorrow?
According to the IEA, global electricity and heat generation for the year 2017 required:
- 39.20 Quads of Coal
- 25.85 Quads of Natural Gas
- 3.36 Quads of Oil
This means that in 2017, a total of 68.42 Quads of fossil fuel energy went into making electricity. Since IEA estimates total global fossil fuel
consumption for that year to be 452.58 Quads, we can say that about 15% of all fossil fuels went into electricity and heat systems
[5]
Based on this estimate, we can predict that transforming to 100% clean electricity and heat systems would result in about a 15% reduction
in global fossil fuel consumptions!
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| Thai Solar Energy Co. Ltd: TSE 1 concentrating solar power plant |
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Transitioning to electric vehicles
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| Jean-Paul Rodrigue (2020), New York: Routledge, 456 pages. ISBN 978-0-367-36463-2: The Geography of Transport Systems - FIFTH EDITION [7] |
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In addition to transitioning to 100% clean electricity, we should also aim to simultaneously transition to electric vehicles. According to IEA estimates for 2017, the transportation industry required:
- 102.64 Quads of Oil
- 4.15 Quads of Natural Gas
So in total, the transportation industry required 106.79 quads of fossil fuels. Based on the same estimates as above, this would mean that in 2017,
about 24% of all fossil fuels went to the transport industry. [6]
Even if we ignore some of the more difficult types of transport (planes, ships, etc.), we already have the technologies
necessary to transition to electric light road vehicles and trains. According to TransportGeography.org, these types of vehicles account for about 53.3%
of all transport.
So if we imagine that everyone were to instantly start driving electric cars and riding in electric trains, it would result in about a
13% reduction in
global fossil fuel consumptions!
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Summary Simple Transitions
In conclusion, using technology that already exists, and focusing on just these two areas we can easily make the transition to 100% clean electricity
and then subsequently use this electricity to transform at least 50% of the transportation sector to electric vehicles.
Doing this would quickly reduce global fossil fuel consumption by an incredible 28%!
These changes are easily achievable and this is only focusing on parts of our energy use, transitioning to hydrogen as a transportable fuel will make
another huge reduction to fossil fuel use. Our problem is not our ability to do this, it simply needs to be actioned.
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Data Sources
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