A Blueprint For Achieving Net-Zero CO2 Emissions

The author proposes a "workable" pathway for the US to achieve net zero CO2 emissions from the transportation and electrical power sectors of the US by 2050. The intent is to describe in straightforward terms what it will take to achieve such a goal. Providing basic background information on the measures necessary to transition from a fossil-fuel-based power source to one based on renewables will provide the reader insight to the enormity of this goal.

The author attempts to outline the major hurdles facing the US in reducing CO2 emissions. Hurdles to achieving this goal are clearly presented to allow readers to put into perspective what this transition entails and the significant obstacles that must be overcome to achieve net zero. The book highlights the difficulty of this task and clearly states that achieving net zero for the US by 2050 is highly unlikely.

The author then applies the same logic on a limited scale to describe the difficulty of achieving net-zero CO2 emissions on a worldwide basis. Applying the same logic used for the US analysis with regard to the retirement of coal-fired and natural gas-fired electrical generation capacity demonstrates the difficult path the world faces regarding climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions. The book concludes with a bleak scenario of what the world faces with regard to climate change.