Thread by @MLiebreich

My latest for @BloombergNEF: "We need to talk about #nuclear power. And I mean really talk, in a truth-and-reconciliation, moving-forward kind of way, not a let’s-all-shout-slogans-at-each-other, my-tribe-versus-your-tribe kind of way."
about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich…

No plan to decarbonise the global economy can be considered credible if it does not deal explicitly with #nuclear power.
about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich…

Trigger warning: whether you are a lifelong anti-#nuclear campaigner or the technology’s most ardent fan, my latest piece for @BloombergNEF might make for uncomfortable reading:
about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich…

Wind and solar accounted just 7% of global power in 2018, 3% of final energy. Respect where it is due: this is an extraordinary achievement from a standing start at the turn of the century, in the face of aggressive pushback from cash-rich incumbents.
about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich…

To decarbonize the power system in line with the 2C or 1.5C warming targets via wind and solar alone (assuming moderate economic growth) you would have to add 2x to 4x as much capacity in the next decade as has been added in total in the last two decades.
about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich…

But power is only responsible for 42% of emissions, and the road to decarbonizing the rest also runs through electricity. Even assuming vast efficiency improvements, hitting 1.5 to 2C with wind and solar alone means multiplying capacity 5x-10x in 11 years!
about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich…

Sure you still want to lose the 10% of global electricity generated by existing nuclear plants - which is zero-carbon and only costs around $33.50 per MWh - at the same time?
about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich…