Decarbonisation

Decarbonisation - term used to describe the process of reducing the Carbon Intensity of energy production, transport , homes, industry etc.

A key word - our economy has evolved to make heavy use of fossil fuel. Its been so cheap and abundant there's been little incentive to to invest in efficient low energy systems and processes. The cynical may say there's a significant group with a vested interest in not developing low carbon, low energy systems.

Stripping out the carbon from our economy is going to take a long time. It's not just a matter of building a load of wind turbines and installing solar panels on the roof. The way we produce energy is an important part of the process, but with a potential 75% improvement in the energy efficiency of our economy, the way we use it will have a far more significant effect.

Everything from the thermal properties of our homes, how we heat them, how we transport ourselves to what sort of equipment we buy and how we eat can have a massive impact on our carbon budget - but switching from a gas boiler to an air source heat pump  or from a petrol to an electric car are things that need to be factored into our long term planning.

Fully decarbonising our economy could take 50 years