2021 Climate Change Report – How Solar Energy Can Help Combat Global Warming
Solar panels are one of the best resources that we have available to fight climate change. They are not contaminating, their energy resource is renewable and inexhaustible, they can be recycled, and every kWh of energy coming from solar panels is a kWh of energy that is not generated in contaminating facility plants that expel greenhouse gases.
All of these contributions made by solar power plants are valuable in our fight against climate change, but what is climate change and how is it affecting our planet?
There are thousands of planets in the universe, some with characteristics suitable for the existence of life and others so hot, so cold, or so toxic, that the existence of life as we know it may seem impossible. However, besides its ideal position with respect to the Sun, there is an extra component that makes planet Earth unique in our galaxy: the existence of the ozone shield.
This ozone layer is composed of the so-called Greenhouse Gases (GHG) that include water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, chlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, and carbon dioxide (CO2). The accumulation of GHG creates a layer that reflects the UV radiation and concentrates the incoming heat from solar radiation in the atmosphere of the planet. This allows planet Earth to keep its temperature levels within ranges suitable for living, that would otherwise be too cold for the existence of life.
This is a natural process called Greenhouse Effect, and it has occurred over millions of years. However, increasing the amount of GHG above normal values has a negative effect on Earth’s temperature because the layer becomes thicker than what it should be and heat increases radically, leading to high-temperature values with bad consequences for the planet.
Are we responsible?
Carbon dioxide levels have oscillated around the 200 parts per million in our planet, historically reaching a maximum of 280 parts per million. However, since the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide levels have increased to astronomic values close to 400 parts per million.
There are a few possible causes for this radical change and we can see them as follows:
• Solar irradiance fluctuations
• Volcanic eruptions
• Tiny pollution particles (aerosols)
• Changes in the available amount of land and trees.
• Increases in greenhouse gas emissions.
While solar irradiance fluctuations and volcanic eruptions are naturally occurring processes, all of the other causes are directly attributed to human activity. Therefore, scientists agree that there is no other natural source of explanation for this rapid increase in CO2 levels than human activity.
And it is not a surprise to jump to that conclusion when you take a look at CO2 emissions data from several countries. According to data from 2017, around 10 gigatons (Gt) of CO2 were emitted in China, over 5 GtCO2 in the US, around 2.5 GtCO2 in India and nearly 36 GtCO2 all over the world. Watching the time evolution of carbon emissions from 1960 to 2017 leaves no doubt that we are the cause of climate change.
What are the consequences if we do not act to stop carbon mmissions?
According to NASA, since 1900 the temperature of the Earth has increased 1°C. However, if global temperature increases over 2°C, there may be no going back, and the effects of climate change would be unavoidable.
Global Temperature Rise (Source – NASA)
Increasing Earth’s temperature has several consequences for us.
The first, and one of the most dramatic consequences, are rising water levels. Recent studies from NASA on Greenland and the Arctic have demonstrated that continental-size ice formations are melting down due to the excess heat, and they have reduced nearly 10% in the last 30 years. All of that melted ice goes to the ocean and is now attributed to sea level rise in the US and all over the world, even reaching distant locations like Indonesia, China, and Japan.
Unfortunately, 2015, 2016 and 2017 have been recorded as the hottest years in recent history, which is bad news for Greenland’s ice that has been continuously melting over the last decades. In order to better understand the impact of climate change on sea level rise (and therefore floods in coastal regions across the US) you can watch this amazing report from CNN that explains this further
Moreover, other consequences of climate change are related to longer and harder droughts across the world, which also leads to less productive and less nutritious crops. With the Earth population’s Increasing without control, drought seasons will have a significant impact on the food supply of our nation, increasing the cost of food and possibly leading to famine in poor countries.
Destruction of the ozone layer is also a secondary consequence of climate change. As heat concentrates further in the atmosphere, the contrary process occurs in the stratosphere. As the stratosphere cools down, and the atmosphere heats up, there is a warming-cooling dynamic effect that causes ozone loss. Due to this ozone loss, the ozone layer depletes and leaves the ground wide open for ultraviolet radiation to reach our atmosphere. This can easily be seen in the ozone hole in the South Pole.
The Ozone Hole
(Source – Union of Concerned Scientists in the USA)
Heat waves are also a direct consequence of climate change. They mean more frequent wildfires, longer droughts, and deaths. Actually, heat waves are considered one of the major causes of death from natural disasters, mainly due to heat strokes that are caused because the human’s body is unable to cool itself down due to the high humidity in the atmosphere.
Increase in Total US Heatwave Days (Source – Center for Climate and Energy Solutions)
Stronger hurricanes, storms, snowfalls, hailstorms, and sandstorms can also be attributed to consequences of climate change that will intensify due to radical temperature changes.
These consequences and others may not last centuries to become real, but some may only take a few years.
Who’s Fault Is It?
According to the IPCC report from 2014, the energy supply sector accounted for almost 50% of all GHG emissions, making it the largest contributor to global GHG emissions. Despite the Kyoto Protocol, GHG emissions of this sector increased 36% between 2000-2010, where the major contributors were CO2 emissions from coal (43%), oil (36%) and gas (20%). Here you can take a look at the contributions from these sources over time.
Energy supply sector GHG emissions by subsectors (Source – IPCC) Moreover, the report emphasizes that transport is another important sector which contribution accounts for almost 23 % of total energy-related CO2 emissions. To reduce the effect of this sector on carbon emissions, it is necessary to lower the energy intensity by enhancing vehicle and engine performance and substituting oil-based products by natural gas, bio-methane, biofuels or hydrogen.
Is it too late to stop it?
The Fourth National Climate Assessment Report from the U.S Global Change Research Program, released in November 2018, has announced an alarming top date to make a significant impact on carbon dioxide reductions. According to the report, if CO2 emissions are not cut 45% by 2030, then it will be unavoidable to reach 1.5°C increase in Earth temperature.
A range between 1.5°C and 2°C was established in the Paris Agreement, however, reaching 2°C would already mean reaching to worst climate change consequences, therefore, it cannot be seen as a threshold. Besides, the report concludes that by 2050 carbon emissions must be cut 100%, making a complete transition to renewable energy sources.
The report addresses remarkable impacts that have already been seen in American ground related to wildfires (Northwest), droughts (North and Southwest), hurricanes (South), floods (South East), water and transportation failures due to heavy snow, heat waves, and soil erosion (Midwest).
Based on these results, the US report focuses on the imminent need to reduce the amount and speed of future climate changes by reducing GHG, replacing CO2, and emitting fossil fuel energy sources with zero-emission technologies such as geothermal, wind, biofuels, hydro and solar.
Solar Energy – A source of light to fight climate change
As one of the most commonly available, accessible, and feasible renewable energy options, solar panels are one of the main drivers in the reduction of carbon emissions across the globe.
We can estimate the reductions in carbon emissions by using solar panels thanks to the IRENA calculator. The latest data available on the tool is from 2014 and still we have an idea of the great contributions of solar energy into the market.
Experiences in the US have shown that around 17.5 million tons (MT) of CO2 can be avoided which translates into 22,000 GWh of electricity. China also made incredible contributions that reach 20 MT of CO2, and 25,000 GWh of energy injected to the grid.
Germany was the greatest contributor in that year with 29 MT avoided and over 35,000 GWh produced. This can be translated into 18 million tonnes from coal sources, 3.38 million from natural gas, and 9 million from oil sources.
The contributions from other countries like Japan, Italy, Spain, France, UK, Australia, India, and South Korea were able to amass almost 80,000 GWh together and 63 MT avoided CO2 emissions for the environment.
As solar energy keeps growing every year, these numbers have already surpassed the estimated values. As a reference, nearly 177 GW of installed capacity were available in 2014, but in 2017 around 402 GW of installed capacity are available worldwide. Meaning around 130 % of growth in only 3 years.
The use of residential solar panels
One of the best ways that most of us can contribute to the fight against climate change is for more people to hire solar companies to install solar panels on their homes. Solar energy presents a set of advantages that can be used to offset carbon emissions and investing in solar for your house will also help your wallet.
Using solar lights and other solar powered home products all help towards reducing our carbon emissions. Whilst the reductions are minimal, it’s a case of every little helps and when done at large scales it really can make a long term difference.
Solar panels do not contaminate
The main drawback from using fossil fuels as a source of energy is that to generate electricity, we need to burn them, which leads to high carbon dioxide emissions that contaminate our planet and accelerate climate change. You can see below, the amount of CO2 produced when a fuel is burned as a function of the carbon content.
