Decarbonization: The path to a carbon-free economy

Decarbonisation is necessary so that industry and the economy can pave the way for and strengthen a climate-neutral Europe by 2050 – as agreed in the EU’s Green Deal .

But what does the term decarbonization really mean? Let’s explain its meaning and the corresponding measures.

Definition of decarbonization – what is it?

The term decarbonization is easy to explain: It contains the word ‘carbon,’ which stands for carbon. Decarbonization refers to the move away from carbon and thus the scenario of a post-fossil, carbon-free economy, especially in the energy and electricity sectors.

Decarbonization works by prioritizing the use of low-carbon energy and minimizing the use of fossil fuels.

Decarbonization: Measures by 2050

The use of fossil fuels and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions have been countered for years with various measures. For example, the coal phase- out and the ongoing process of the energy transition.

At the end of 2019, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen launched the “European Green Deal” as a further impetus to make Europe’s industry and economy climate-neutral by 2050.

Decarbonization of industry

Two-thirds of industrial emissions are energy-related and could, in principle, be avoided by using greenhouse gas-neutral energy sources and the necessary technologies. A fundamental transformation of processes can therefore significantly reduce process-related emissions.

What cannot be prevented, however, is that not all products have climate-neutral alternative routes. Residual emissions will occur in some places. These could be offset through CO2 compensation by conduction carbon assessment.

Decarbonization in the transport sector

Emissions from transport have stabilized at a high level. In 2021, the transport sector accounted for around one-fifth of Europe’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

This is due to the generally high volume of traffic and the still high energy consumption:

But how can these sources of emissions be effectively reduced? The key levers are reducing traffic, shortening routes, complying with emissions limits, and switching between drive systems and energy sources.
Lever 1: Reduce passenger traffic – Traffic-avoiding urban and spatial planning, incentives against urban sprawl, the promotion of virtual mobility and increasing the cost of air travel, etc., could enable a reduction of up to 20 percent.

Lever 2: Shift individual motorized transport to environmentally friendly means of transport – in addition, individual car traffic must be shifted to public transport, cycling infrastructure and sharing offers, and truck traffic must be shifted significantly to rail.

Lever 3: Reduce freight traffic – for example, by promoting regional economic cycles, avoiding empty runs through intelligent control, and increasing the cost of truck transport.

Lever 4: Rapid and comprehensive electrification of vehicles – i.e. the comprehensive expansion of e-mobility.

Lever 5: Convert remaining combustion engines to synthetic fuels by 2035 at the latest – This primarily affects air traffic and parts of heavy goods transport that cannot be electrified.

Decarbonization in the real estate sector

If the energy consumption for hot water and heating in the real estate sector is added to the built-up (grey) emissions, this sector is the area in which the highest greenhouse gas emissions are caused in Germany, at around 40%, according to the dena Building Report 2022 .

The following levers exist for the building sector:

Lever 1: Energy-efficient renovation of buildings.

Lever 2: Implement heat pumps, solar thermal collector systems or green local or district heating instead of heating systems based on fossil fuels.

Lever 3: Supply remaining fossil fuel heating systems with synthetic energy sources. Improved building insulation also plays a positive role in meeting demand here.

Medium-term decarbonization of the building sector requires answers to three questions: How much living space is enough? How energy-efficient should buildings be? How should buildings be heated?

Conclusion

To achieve Europe’s desired climate neutrality by 2035, which would also be an important step toward the EU Green Deal, additional measures and processes are needed. Not only in the three sectors presented above, but everywhere where there is potential for savings through rethinking and new processes. This is a task for politicians, industry, business, and all of us.