In planning for global emissions reductions, government attention first focused on the power sector, leaving industry, transport and other end-use sectors to be tackled later. That initial focus on electricity has proven effective. Thanks to the dramatic fall in cost of renewables and the increasing scale of their uptake, there is now a credible, cost-effective pathway towards fully decarbonising power production.

However, as the scientific understanding of climate change has deepened and as societal and political awareness has grown, the urgency of tacking all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions has also become evident. With attention focused increasingly on the 1.5⁰C limit, holding the line on rising global temperatures means eliminating emissions in all sectors of the economy.

Energy decarbonisation, therefore, has to move quickly beyond the power sector to fully tackle end-use emissions. This must include the most difficult, energy-intensive sectors, such as heavy industry and long-haul transport.

Low-carbon options, including electric vehicles and clean fuels based on renewables, have become familiar in many countries. But current options for some sectors are not yet sufficient. We need to start developing – and proving – viable solutions for those sectors immediately, in the early 2020s, and be ready to scale them upmassively in the 2030 and 2040s.