Turning The Corner On Power From Fossil Fuels

This week’s Current Climate, which every Monday brings you the latest news about the business of sustainability. Sign up to get it in your inbox every week.

Curbing climate-warming emissions on a global scale is a massive effort, but not all the news is bad. In fact we may have finally turned a corner on getting more electricity from renewable sources and less from fossil fuels. In 2024, a record 30% of worldwide electricity production came from solar, wind and other renewables, according to energy think tank Ember. And as use and demand for clean energy expands, fossil fuel power and the carbon dioxide and methane emissions that come with it may have finally peaked — albeit at a level that’s still too high. Dryer than normal weather last year also pushed energy generated from hydropower to a five-year low. The unfortunate result of that was higher use of dirty coal in some parts of the world to offset hydro’s drop.

But throw nuclear power in the mix and nearly 40% of global energy production came from non-carbon fuel sources last year, according to Ember. Growth in renewables has been steady for two decades, rising from 19% of electricity generation in 2000, due to rapid expansion of solar and wind use. In 2000, just 0.2% of electricity generation came from those two sources. Last year, solar and wind accounted for 13.4%, with China accounting for the biggest gains, Ember estimates.

And the good news is that, based on current trends, fossil fuel power generation should fall a bit in 2024, then drop more sharply in the years that follow. Global energy demand may grow by 968 terawatt hours (TWh) this year, but power from clean sources should grow even faster, rising by 1300 TWh, Ember forecasts. If it’s right, electricity generated from fossil fuels could drop 2% or by 333 TWh.

The Big Read

The past few years have seen tremendous strides in green technology and policy. Renewable energy accounts for more than 20% of power in the U.S. There are over three million electric cars on American roads. And around the world, countries have made formal commitments to phase out coal-fired power plants and stop building new ones. Meanwhile, scientists and companies are pushing for new ways of making steel, ammonia, plastics and other innovative ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Still–it’s not enough to mitigate far more severe impacts of climate change.

That is why Forbes is introducing its new Sustainability Leaders list. The list will spotlight leaders in all industries, as well as scientists, policymakers, social advocates, investors, storytellers and artists, with a focus on impact and scalable solutions.

Nominations are open through Friday, June 7, 2024. The list will launch in concert with our third annual Sustainability Leaders Summit on September 24, 2024.

Hot Topic

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on helping farmers profit from sustainable growing techniques

The USDA launched a $3 billion Climate-Smart Commodities program. What is that?

The old model of production agriculture was you grew a commodity, sold that commodity and eked out a profit if you were lucky. That model promotes large farming operations and the use of high technology to be as productive as possible because the commodity has a very small profit margin. This Climate-Smart Commodities opportunity, first and foremost, creates a new value-added opportunity. We have organic products. We have basic commodities. We don’t have anything in between. Climate-Smart Commodities creates a new category of commodity for which the market will pay a premium.

To encourage farmers to embrace this opportunity, we’re saying to them, ‘We’ll provide the resources initially over the next three-to-five years through a series of partnerships to allow you to embrace sustainable agricultural practices without any financial risk. And then we’ll work with the market to reward you for creating Climate-Smart Commodities by paying a higher value for that commodity.

So products are being sold with a Climate-Smart Commodities label?

The first commercial product produced with this system is a long-grain rice being sold by the Columbia Grain brand. It was produced in Arkansas and Louisiana using a new method for raising rice that uses half of the water and reduces methane [emissions] by 50%. Columbia purchased the first 50 million pounds of that rice, produced by three farmers, for a premium. And if you talk to the farmers they’re going to tell you for this year this is the difference between making a buck and not making a buck

What types of farming practices are you promoting to qualify for Climate-Smart status?

There are 102 commodities that are involved across 50 states and 203 [sustainable farming] practices. It’s everything you would normally think of from no-till, cover crops, rotational grazing, more efficient irrigation systems, use of renewable energy, agroforestry, opportunities to use forestry and reforestation, windbreaks, things of that nature.

We’re talking about not just corn and soybeans. We’re talking about all the specialty crops and livestock, all forms of livestock being involved in this. We’re talking about the conversion of manure management systems that essentially take the manure, separate the solids from the liquids and reclaim the liquids. That will be important in scarce water locations. And taking the solids, pelletizing the solids and putting them in a bag so they can be shipped anywhere fertilizers are absolutely needed to help avoid the over-application of [chemical] fertilizer. This is another potential cost savings for producers and creates a brand new commodity product for them.

What’s your expectation for how new funding sources, including the Inflation Reduction Act, will impact U.S. agriculture?

It’s an exciting time. It allows American agriculture to be in a leadership position internationally. Frankly, I think it’s a roadmap for the food and agriculture industry as a sector to get to a net-zero future, perhaps even faster than some of the other sectors like utilities, transportation and construction.