Low-carbon energy refers to energy sources that produce minimal levels of carbon dioxide emissions when generating electricity. Prominent examples of low-carbon energy sources include wind, nuclear, and solar power. These forms of energy are crucial in the global quest to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, combat climate change, and ensure a sustainable future.
The process of generating electricity through low-carbon sources involves various technologies. Wind energy harnesses the kinetic energy of the wind to turn turbines, which then convert this mechanical energy into electricity. On the other hand, solar energy employs photovoltaic cells that capture sunlight and directly convert it to electrical energy. Nuclear power relies on nuclear fission reactions in reactors, where the splitting of atoms releases a tremendous amount of heat, which is then used to generate steam that drives turbines to produce electricity.
One significant advantage of low-carbon energy is its remarkably low carbon intensity. Wind has a carbon intensity of 11 gCO2eq/kWh, nuclear power emits just 12 gCO2eq/kWh, and solar energy averages around 45 gCO2eq/kWh. When compared to fossil fuel-based sources like coal (820 gCO2eq/kWh) and natural gas (490 gCO2eq/kWh), the emissions from low-carbon sources are negligible. This stark contrast underscores the critical role of low-carbon technologies in mitigating climate change and reducing air pollution.
Low-carbon energy sources currently generate 40.75% of all electricity consumed globally, reflecting their significant contribution to the world''s electricity needs. This demonstrates a growing global commitment to embracing sustainable energy sources and reducing dependency on high-emission fossil fuels. Particularly in nations like Iceland, where 100% of electricity is generated from low-carbon sources, it is clear that such technologies can provide reliable and clean power on a large scale.
In specific examples, countries like Norway (99%), Sweden (96%), and Finland (88%) extensively rely on low-carbon energy for their electricity supply. Canada also demonstrates a commendable commitment, with low-carbon energy making up 81% of its electricity generation. These countries serve as exemplary models in showcasing how robust investments in low-carbon technologies can yield substantial environmental and economic benefits.
The widespread adoption of low-carbon energy has numerous advantages. It promotes energy security by diversifying the energy mix and reduces dependence on imported fossil fuels. Additionally, it helps in creating green jobs, stimulates technological innovation, and fosters sustainable development. By focusing on expanding the reach of wind, nuclear, and solar power, countries worldwide can ensure a greener, more resilient, and environmentally friendly energy future.
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Figure 1 shows that a wide range of regulatory and economic incentive measures have been implemented in the global power sector since the financial crisis. The majority (37%) of these policies involve financial mechanisms such as payments, grants, transfers, and taxation. Regulations, codes, and standards are the second most common category of policy, accounting for 25%. Targets, plans, and framework legislation account for 18%, while feed-in tariffs/premiums account for 12% and tax credits, taxes, fees, charges, and exemptions account for 8% (Fig. 1a). Governments prioritized economic incentives, designed regulatory measures, and set targets and plans for power sector during the recovery period of financial crisis (2007-2011).
a Regulatory and economic instruments. b Renewables. c Other technologies. Regulatory policies and economic policies are divided into five types. RCS represents regulation, codes, and standards; TPFL represents targets, plans, and framework legislation; FT represents feed-in tariffs/premiums; PFTGT represents payments, finance, transfers, grants, and taxation; TTFCE represents tax credits, taxes, fees, charges, and exemptions. The year was the time that policy went into force. Tables S1.1–S1.9 present national samples of these policies.
In terms of other technological policy, 45% of newly enacted policies are focused on energy efficiency (Fig. 1c). There was also a major growth in policies relating to technology R&D innovation and combined heat and power projects during the crisis recovery phase. Finally, Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) and digitization policies have a smaller share during the study period19. The global financial crisis provided the opportunity for climate scientists and policymakers to examine and update the energy policy framework of the global power sector20.
a Regulatory and economic instruments. b Renewables. c Other technologies. This policy map covers 125 countries.
In Fig. 2b, 1103 policies on renewables technology were enacted. It is worth noting that renewables policies, particularly those aimed at solar and wind energy, were widely enacted globally. 105 out of 125 countries have solar policies that exceed or equal the number of wind power policies. China implemented the largest number of renewables technology policies (87), followed by Australia (64), and the United States (62).
In Fig. 2c, 492 policies were enacted in other technology group. Specifically, energy efficiency policy accounts for 45% of other technology policy group, combined heat and power for 30%, and technology R&D and innovation for 20%. The United States implemented the largest number of other technology policies (84), followed by Australia (41) and the United Kingdom (39).
However, we find that other technology policies are mainly implemented in countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada, China, India, and European countries. Accordingly, South American, African, Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian countries all show a lack of other technology policies. This lack of policies may result in the falling behind of electricity generation technologies. Thus, improving energy efficiency and promoting clean R&D innovation could benefit climate mitigation in these regions.
Because price-based policies and non-price policy instruments utilize distinct approaches to control CO2 emissions and they address the issues of climate change mitigation through different mechanisms23,24, we conduct econometric regressions separately for price-based and non-price policy instruments, as shown in Table 1.
For price-based policies, the FE(4) model indicates that policies such as tax credits, levies, charges, and exemptions (TTFCE) have produced statistically significant long-term effect in reducing the CO2 intensity of the power sector amounting to −24.054 gCO2/kWh per unit of policies. Illustrative examples of the TTFCE policies include the Netherlands'' energy tax exemption to renewable electricity possessing a green certificate in 2005, and the United States'' Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which extended production tax credits and investment tax credits for renewable energy sources.
In terms of control factors, models in Table 1 show that fuel efficiency significantly contributes to the reduction in CO2 intensity of electricity, so does pump price for gasoline but show no robust results. In addition, urbanization and exporting energy-intensive products also contribute to CO2 mitigation but not in a robust way. In contrast, fuel import, electricity access, and fossil capacity load factor (see Figure S4) significantly increase the CO2 intensity.
The increasing coal and natural gas consumption made the global power sector even more carbon-intensive from 2000 to 2007. However, countries made great efforts and various policies following the global financial crisis, which broke the balance of the older electricity mix and created opportunities for achieving a rapid decarbonization in the power sector29.
Our econometric analyses reveal that policies promoting renewable energies such as hydropower, wind power, solar PV, geothermal energy, and marine energy are significantly effective in reducing CO2 intensity of the power sector over the long term (Table 2). Literature has shown that wind power and solar PV have a lower opportunity cost of lifecycle emissions compared to newly built nuclear, hydro, natural gas, and coal power plants33. This advantage positions the most recent global surge in wind and solar PV as a strategic move to prevent CO2 lock-in, while simultaneously generating employment in the green energy sector and improving air quality and public health.
We work with 15 energy policy variables, which can be grouped into three sets as follows: (1) two regulatory ("non-price") types of policies and three economic incentive ("price-based") policies; (2) five renewables technology policies; (3) five other technology policies. The details of these policies are summarized in Tables S2.1 and S2.2.
To investigate the impacts of governance capacity on CO2 mitigation, we use the normalized mean of six governance indicators git (namely, voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence/terrorism, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption) to represent the stringency of policy implementation and then interact the governance capacity measure with the enacted policies.
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