Alessia De Vita represented E3-Modelling at the prestigious 2020 ALPS International Symposium, which was held on 9 March under the title “Future strategies for 2050 carbon neutrality”. Hosted by Japan’s Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE), the event featured scenario analysis and strategies that major countries and regions are pursuing, including the US, Japan, China and Europe, in order to decarbonize by 2050.

2050 is a milestone year for climate: Japan aims for net-zero emissions, the US vows climate neutrality after rejoining the Paris Agreement, Europe commits to transform itself into a climate-neutral and competitive economy, while China strives to adopt more vigorous policies and measures to peak emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

In her presentation Alessia referred to the key policies and modelling tools underpinning Europe’s transition to carbon neutrality. She noted that this is feasible by 2050, however the financial burden associated with the transition will depend on the learning curves and production scale of new technologies. The current decade is thus critical for the rollout of the necessary infrastructure, the industrial development of immature technologies and the restructuring of the power sector. The recently adopted 55% GHG emission reduction target for 2030 will provide regulatory certainty and is a positive step to this direction.

Projections performed using the PRIMES model reveal that carbon neutrality will be achieved from a policy mix of no-regret options, i.e. energy efficiency, renewables, electrification and advanced biofuels where cost-effective, and disruptive changes in the production, distribution and consumption of energy.

For more information about the event, please see here