According to DNV’s Pathway to Net Zero Emissions report, limiting global warming to 1.5°C by 2050 remains a possibility – but is highly improbable. Drastic measures and permanent cuts in emissions are necessary to reach net zero in 2050.
DNV’s Pathway to Net Zero Emissions report is a companion to the Energy Transition Outlook report and depicts DNV’s most feasible route to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and limiting global warming to 1.5°C. As CO2 emissions are expected to reach record levels in 2023 and to peak at even higher levels next year, immediate and permanent fossil cuts are necessary.
This must be enabled by efficient and fast oil, gas, and coal replacement by renewable electricity, hydrogen, and biofuels, but a fully fossil-free energy system by 2050 is not feasible. Therefore, a massive carbon capture and removal effort is essential to compensate for the remaining CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and the unavoidable “over-shoot” of the carbon budget, which will be exhausted by 2030.
