Editing IPCC:AR6/WGIII/Chapter-6 (section)

=== FAQ 6.3 | What are the most important steps to decarbonise the energy system? ===

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To create a low-carbon energy system, emissions must be reduced across all parts of the system, and not just one or two. This means, for example, reducing the emissions from producing electricity, driving cars, hauling freight, heating and cooling buildings, powering data centres, and manufacturing goods. There are more opportunities to reduce emissions over the next decade in some sectors compared to others. For example, it is possible to substantially reduce electricity emissions over the next decade by investing in low-carbon electricity sources, while at the same time halting the construction of new coal-fired power plants, retiring existing coal-fired power plants or retrofitting them with carbon capture and storage (CCS), and limiting the construction of new gas-fired power plants. There are also opportunities to increase the number of electric cars, trucks, and other vehicles on the road, or to use electricity rather than natural gas or coal to heat homes. And across the whole energy system, emissions can be reduced by using more efficient technologies. While these and other actions will be critical over the coming decade, it is also important to remember that the low-carbon energy transition needs to extend for many decades into the future to limit warming. This means that it is important now to improve and test options that could be useful later on, for example, producing hydrogen from low-carbon sources or producing bioenergy from crops that require less land than today.

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