The matching YouTube for this article is located at the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Scopes video.

Many companies in the energy and process industries have committed to a Net Zero program. Their aim is to cease net emissions of greenhouse gases by a specific year, often 2050. In order to properly define their goal these companies need to identify the emissions for which they are responsible.

When discussing Net Zero programs a question that people in the energy and process industries frequently ask is, “How will it affect my career? What do I need to do to stay employed?” Professionals in those industries are rightly concerned that their skills and experience will be uncalled for in a rapidly changing world, particularly in a world where oil companies have stated that they intend to leave the oil business. 

In September 2020 the company BP published their 2020 Energy Outlook. The report's Summary states,

The good old days

This post is the second in the series ‘The Shape of Net Zero’. The series is based on an understanding that we cannot simply switch out one source of energy (fossil fuels) with another (wind, solar, nuclear and others) and carry on with Business as Usual. We need to consider the following parameters to do with a switch in the basics of our energy supply.

Renewable Energy. M.C. Escher's Waterfall (1961)

The Paradox

1. Renewables are growing faster than other sources of energy.

2. The fraction of energy provided by renewals is declining.

Story-Telling

Most of the people reading posts such as this are aware that earlier this month the IPCC issued an alarming report on climate change that should make society change its ways. Failure to do so could lead to catastrophe and a possible breakdown of civilization within just 20 years. Yet nothing happened; the report changed almost nothing. It was just a blip in the torrent of news that we face every day.