(ORDO NEWS) — Scientists at the University of Colorado have concluded that achieving a warming of no more than 2 ° C by 2100 is a very real prospect.
Scientists at the University of California, Davis believe that global warming can be stopped if humanity agrees to reduce energy consumption. Scientists from Carnegie University have shown that the cheapest way to achieve zero emissions is nuclear power.
Predictions to curb warming are real
University of Colorado researchers comparedclimate forecasts of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and forecasts of the International Energy Agency (IEA) up to 2050. The IPCC forecasts have not been updated for several years, and the IEA forecasts came out just recently.
The scientists who conducted the comparative analysis noticed that the IEA forecasts are well within the “average” IPCC forecast. Both types of projections show an average global temperature increase of about 2°C (compared to the pre-industrial era) by 2100.
The IPCC expert agreed that a lot has changed in the world over the past 10 years and tough forecasts of warming by 4-7°C by 2100 look unrealistic. Power engineers from the IEA take into account all the latest trends, including the reduction in prices for renewable energy. The conclusion drawn by the University of Colorado researchers is “cautiously optimistic.”
If everyone behaves well
Scientists at the University of California, Davis independently confirmed the findings of the Colorado researchers. Scientists have built and calculated more than 100,000 climate forecasts up to 2100. They took into account not only technical parameters, but also the influence of society.
Scholars have considered the possibility that an “alternative norm” will form in society. If both governments and voters support energy conservation and emission reduction policies. Models built by the University of Davis based on the “alternative normal” statement also predict warming of no more than 2°C by 2100.
Nuclear reactors against warming
Scientists at Carnegie University believethat there is a reliable and cheap way to achieve “zero emissions”. Solar and wind energy is developing all over the world. But the sun does not always shine, and the wind often subsides.
In this case, as a rule, electricity from gas-fired power plants is used. Scientists believe that if nothing is changed, it will not be possible to achieve zero emissions. But it is possible to replace gas-fired power plants with nuclear ones. Reactors have changed a lot in the last 10 years.
New reactors, including “traveling wave reactors” currently under construction in Wyoming by TerraPower, use depleted uranium as fuel. It’s just waste generated in previous generation reactors. The new reactors have low pressure, so they are more reliable. Such a reactor is refueled once every 40 or even 60 years.
That is, in fact, one factory filling is enough for the entire life of the device. But scientists note another way to achieve zero emissions: we need to develop powerful and cheap ways to store electricity. But there are already reactors, but there are no such batteries yet.
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