Accelerating These 3 Trends Would Reshape The Energy Industry

Source: Yasushi Fukuizumi · FORBES · | November 19, 2020

Decarbonization, decentralization and digitalization could facilitate the industry’s shift to zero-carbon energy. SHUTTERSTOCK

For years, interest in the energy transition, the sector’s transformation from fossil-based to zero-carbon systems, has been building. Such an enormous shift takes time, of course, but the pandemic has given the world an opportunity to accelerate it – if we make the right choices.

According to estimates from the World Meteorological Organization, CO2  emissions worldwide are projected to be 4 to 7 percent lower for 2020 compared to a year earlier, due to restrictions in travel and other activities put in place to stave off the coronavirus. In April, during the peak of COVID lockdowns, CO2  emissions plunged a record 17 percent.

The risk is that once we move beyond the recent resurgence of infections and get COVID-19 under control, energy demand and emissions could simply return to pre-pandemic levels. For now, there is a window of opportunity to prevent this from happening and set our course for the future.

For the energy sector, I believe this will mean accelerating a series of trends that are already underway: decarbonization, decentralization and digitalization.

1.      Momentum for decarbonization

The current trend toward remote working and operations in business will likely continue to grow, not least as a way of managing the risk of future disruptions. Consequently, energy consumption can be expected to fall, supported by sustained energy conservation measures.