The Sustainability Challenge to Reach Net Zero

Climate change affects the communities and ecosystems around us, thereby permanently transforming the world as we know it. In the agreement signed at the COP21 meeting in Paris in 2015, 190 countries acknowledged the high levels of CO2 emissions and the consequent increase in global temperatures. During the meeting, ambitious targets were set forth to reduce these emissions trying to contain the increase in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees. In 2021, during the COP26, one of the main conclusions of the gathering was that, in order to achieve the defined goals, countries needed to take additional actions to speed up the decarbonization of their economies. One year later, during COP27, the gap between commitments and results has raised concerns for authorities monitoring the progress.

To accelerate the transition towards sustainability, many public and private sector organizations are pledging to achieve “net-zero” carbon emissions, This means that, for every carbon dioxide molecule created and emitted into the atmosphere by human activities, another equivalent molecule is extracted.

How big is the net-zero challenge? A radical shift is required in all sectors of the economy. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the generation and consumption of energy globally represents the largest source of emissions, which yields 70%. Therefore, the energy transition is paramount in our roadmap to a net zero scenario. The good news is that investment in renewable energy (solar, wind, hydrogen, etc.) is growing rapidly, reaching $1 trillion by 2022, according to a report published by Bloomberg in January of this year. Additionally, solar energy has become the cheapest source of electricity in 75% of the world, according to the IEA. Photovoltaic technology will also improve and achieve higher efficiency, which shows its great potential as a sustainable energy source. In just one hour, the energy generated by the sun exceeds the energy consumed by the entire world in one year, according to Business Insider.

Although in Quebec we have accessible and renewable energy, we acknowledge that in other regions of the world, distributed solar energy systems on the roofs of all homes and businesses are key to ensuring a secure connection and reducing global emissions.