Related papers: Climatic implications of a rapid wind/solar transi…
Assuming the state-of-the-science estimates for the remaining carbon budget of carbon dioxide emissions, our modeling study supports the conclusion that it is still possible to meet the 1.5 deg C warming target even with current wind/solar…
The transition from a fossil-based energy economy to one based on renewable energy is driven by the double challenge of climate change and resource depletion. Building a renewable energy infrastructure requires an upfront energy investment…
Planning the appropriate renewable energy installation rate should balance two partially contradictory objectives: substituting fossil fuels fast enough to stave-off the worst consequences of climate change while maintaining a sufficient…
Modern society's reliance on power systems is at risk from the escalating effects of wind-related climate change. Yet, failure to identify the intricate relationship between wind-related climate risks and power systems could lead to serious…
Climate change is one of the 21st centurys major challenges. However, the progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions is perceived as being too slow. Hence, more radical technologies such as stratospheric aerosol injection are entering…
The transition of our energy system to renewable energies is necessary in order not to heat up the climate any further and to achieve climate neutrality. The use of wind energy plays an important role in this transition in Germany. But how…
Improved knowledge of glacial-to-interglacial global temperature change implies that fast-feedback equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) is 1.2 +/- 0.3{\deg}C (2$\sigma$) per W/m$^2$. Consistent analysis of temperature over the full…
Global warming arises from 'temperature forcing', a net imbalance between energy fluxes entering and leaving the climate system and arising within it. Humanity introduces temperature forcing through greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture,…
Wind and solar electricity generation account for 14% of total electricity generation in the United States and are expected to continue to grow in the next decades. In low carbon systems, generation from renewable energy sources displaces…
The balancing provided by hydropower reservoirs is essential in the transition towards a decarbonised European energy system, but the resource might be impacted by future climate change. In this work, we first analyse the hydropower…
Recent analyses indicate that the amount of atmospheric CO2 required to cause dangerous climate change is at most 450 ppm, and likely less than that. Reductions of non-CO2 climate forcings can provide only moderate, albeit important,…
The global energy transition depends on large-scale photovoltaic (PV) and wind power deployment. While 2050 targets suggest a transition endpoint, maintaining these systems beyond mid-century requires continuous renewal, marking a…
How much wind energy does the atmosphere generate, and how much of it can at best be used as renewable energy? This review aims to give first-order estimates and sensitivities to answer these questions that are consistent with those…
To reach ambitious European CO$_2$ emission reduction targets, most scenarios of future European electricity systems rely on large shares of wind and solar photovoltaic power generation. We interpolate between two concepts for balancing the…
Australia has one of the highest per capita consumption of energy and emissions of greenhouse gases in the world. It is also the global leader in rapid per capita annual deployment of new solar and wind energy, which is causing the…
A transition to a low-carbon electricity supply is crucial to limit the impacts of climate change. Reducing carbon emissions could help prevent the world from reaching a tipping point, where runaway emissions are likely. Runaway emissions…
For a given carbon budget over several decades, different transformation rates for the energy system yield starkly different results. Here we consider a budget of 33 GtCO2 for the cumulative carbon dioxide emissions from the European…
Greenhouse gases (GHG) trap heat and make the planet warmer, exacerbating global climate change. Energy production is the second largest contributor to climate change [19]. In particular, the production of electricity and use of gas…
Global warming due to human-made gases, mainly CO2, is already 0.8{\deg}C and deleterious climate impacts are growing worldwide. More warming is 'in the pipeline' because Earth is out of energy balance, with absorbed solar energy exceeding…
We hypothesize that the present expansion of energy generation by variable renewable energy (VRE) power plants, such as wind and photovoltaic power plants, leads to a 100% renewable energy supply in 2030 because of its inherent exponential…