{"id":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issue/decarbonization","schemaVersion":2,"name":"Decarbonization","category":"Energy","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issue/decarbonization","json":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issue/decarbonization.json","ask":"","position":"Climate change is a chronic problem to be managed over decades, not an exceptional emergency that suspends the ordinary constraints of politics and physics. Energy transitions have historically occurred slowly alongside continued energy demand growth: societies move toward denser, cheaper, more convenient energy sources because they are useful, with carbon intensity falling as a cobenefit. Decarbonization is itself a byproduct of economic modernization. Setting unachievable net-zero targets and warming thresholds or trying to tax carbon are often self-defeating politically and socially regressive. To motivate decarbonization, we need to make clean energy abundant and cheap through public and private innovation and deployment efforts, aided by regulatory and permitting reform.","faq":[{"question":"What does decarbonization mean?","answer":"Decarbonization means reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from sectors like electricity, transportation, industry, buildings, agriculture, and land use change. Decarbonization does not mean using less energy, but rather replacing carbon-emitting technologies with cleaner alternatives, including nuclear power, renewables, and electrification."},{"question":"Why is decarbonization important?","answer":"Stopping the accumulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide is key to limiting further warming and its associated impacts. Solutions like abundant, affordable, reliable clean energy can reduce emissions while supporting economic growth and rising living standards."},{"question":"How close are we to net zero?","answer":"The world remains extremely far from achieving net-zero emissions. In 2024, the world emitted nearly 38.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels and heavy industry alone—an increase of almost 1.6 billion metric tons of CO2 from five years prior in 2019."},{"question":"What is an example of decarbonization?","answer":"Replacing a coal-fired power plant with a nuclear power plant is one example of decarbonization. Both produce large amounts of electricity, but nuclear plants generate power without emitting carbon dioxide during operation."}],"experts":[{"name":"Ted Nordhaus","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/people/ted-nordhaus"},{"name":"Alex Trembath","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/people/alex-trembath"},{"name":"Seaver Wang","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/people/seaver-wang"}],"startHere":[{"title":"Will The Inflation Reduction Act Beat Business as Usual?","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/energy/will-the-inflation-reduction-act-beat-business-as-usual","date":"2024-05-28"},{"title":"After the Green Vortex","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/energy/after-the-green-vortex","date":"2025-05-30"},{"title":"Flattening the Curve of Future Emissions","url":"https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/energy/flattening-the-curve-of-future-emissions","date":"2021-08-11"}],"latest":[{"title":"The Faulty Logic at the Heart of Environmentalist Opposition to 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