The Role of Energy Intensity in Global Decarbonization Efforts: How Fast? Is it Possible?
Avoiding extreme or dangerous climate change will likely require the nearly complete decarbonization of the global energy system during this century, with 50-90% reductions in global CO2 emissions by 2050 (GEA, 2012; IPCC, 2014; Loftus et al., 2015).
These deep cuts in emissions must be achieved against a backdrop of growing global population and significant projected increases in demand for energy and energy-related services.