Multiple Roads to Achieve Net-Zero Emissions by 2050

Dear Colleagues,

“Net-zero emissions” and “sustainability” were often regarded as environmental issues and ethical actions in the past. However, at the conclusion of the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, net-zero carbon emissions was set as a priority issue for future global governments and organizations. What exactly is net-zero emissions? It does not refer to no emissions at all but, rather, to offsetting anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions through their removal, adding up to zero. The International Energy Agency (IEA) pointed out in the report Net Zero 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector, published in 2021, that achieving net-zero emissions in 2050 will depend on the introduction of clean technologies with unprecedented strength before 2030, which will mean greatly expanding solar energy. The installed capacity of photovoltaic and wind power generation, making electricity cleaner, is an important path, and electrification has become a key method for reducing emissions in the entire economy. Milestones that must also be met by 2030 include universal access to energy, zero-carbon readiness for all new buildings, phasing out coal without abatement measures, and large-scale demonstrations of several new clean technologies for heavy industry.

In fact, the technologies needed to significantly reduce emissions by 2030 are now in place, but to achieve net-zero emissions beyond 2050, more than 90% of heavy industrial production must be low-emission production, global electricity generation. Nearly 70% of the total comes from sources such as solar and wind energy. Achieving these conditions will rely on newer technologies that are currently under development, including technologies such as advanced batteries, hydrogen electrolyzer, direct air capture storage, etc. The IEA has called on countries to start investing, now, to meet the goals for 2030. The subsequent construction of infrastructure such as hydrogen energy, carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology (CCUS) will also be required.

At present, governments of various countries have successively formulated carbon management policies and regulations, requiring organizations to be responsible for the carbon emissions caused by them and pay the corresponding fees to reflect the environmental costs caused by carbon emissions on the operating costs of enterprises. Among them, “carbon pricing” is widely used in all walks of life. This so-called carbon pricing involves setting a price for emitted carbon dioxide, with each ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) set as the price unit for calculating the cost of carbon emissions. It is hoped that by increasing the cost of greenhouse gas emissions, the use of coal, oil, natural gas, etc., will be reduced while encouraging the development of low-carbon technologies and increasing energy efficiency. For example, Europe, China, Singapore, South Korea, Canada, Tokyo, Japan, and California in the United States all use carbon emission price information as the basis for carbon trading or carbon fee collection. The intangible income (carbon rights trading) of Tesla, the leader in the electric vehicle industry, was valued at $1.46 billion for the fiscal year of 2021.

As “internalization of the external costs” of carbon becomes imperative, companies will also formulate internal carbon pricing mechanisms in order to assess the impact of carbon emissions on themselves, respond to government policies in advance, and prepare for net-zero emissions. Contributions are invited to this present Topic on, but not limited to, the following topics of interest: net-zero emissions; carbon emissions in various industries; solar generation; wind energy; bioenergy; green hydrogen; electric vehicles (EVs); carbon emission reduction technologies; carbon footprint; carbon tax, cap, and trade; carbon capture, utilization, and storage; carbon trading market; Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM); circular economy (CE); carbon rights purchasing; massive electrifications; internal carbon pricing; and enterprise carbon accounting. We welcome both original research articles as well as review articles.

Prof. Dr. Wen-Hsien Tsai
Dr. Chu-Lun Hsieh
Topic Editors