Book Blog
Excerpts from the book ‘CLIMATE CHANGE and the road to NET-ZERO’ covering the science, technology, economics, and politics of climate change.
by Mathew Hampshire-Waugh
Air Pollution, Climate Change, and Co-Benefits
Fossil fuel combustion is responsible for more than 90% of all air pollutants. It generates invisible particulate matter which heightens the risk of respiratory disease and heart failure, leading to the premature deaths of 4-9 million people each year (15% of all deaths). Shift the global energy system to NET-ZERO and we can eliminate most air pollution issues.
How much will zero carbon energy cost?
Net-Zero is about technology not geology. Learning curves describe the rate at which the cost of modular technologies decline with scale (not time) and point to wind and solar becoming by far the cheapest form of electricity generation once fully scaled.