Singapore will play an important role to accelerate the energy transition, as it is moving faster than others to reach net zero far ahead of 2050 by maturing key technologies and fuels to spur decarbonization, said says DNV Group President and CEO Remi Eriksen.
During the Singapore Energy Transition Conference, Remi Eriksen drew attention to the key findings of DNV’s Pathway to Net Zero Emissions report. This sees CO2 emissions in the South-East Asian region reduce from 1.7 Gt in 2019 to 0.34 Gt in 2050, driven by the rapid penetration of renewables and reductions in fossil fuel use.
Mr. Eriksen also put Singapore in the same category as other highly industrialized regions – Europe, North America, Japan and Korea – which “need to get to carbon negative as fast as possible.”
In response to questions from conference moderator Yvonne Chan, he pointed out that DNV modelling shows energy demand in South-East Asia will level off around 2050, but “we forecast a peak in CO2 emissions already by 2030, thanks to better energy efficiency.”
In addition, while he admitted that it was not feasible “to completely chase fossil fuels out of the global energy mix in the next 28-30 years,” the DNV Pathway report sees “a huge build out of carbon capture and storage (CCS), direct air capture, and nature-based solutions, to deal with those remaining emissions.”
Once fossil fuels are fully eliminated from the world’s energy system, we at DNV see the ideal energy mix being 70% direct electrification with renewables and nuclear, 20% indirect electrification via hydrogen and hydrogen-derived products, and 10% biofuels
Mr Eriksen said.
What is more, Mr. Eriksen also sees that hydrogen “is critical for decarbonizing the so-called hard to abate sectors”, like high heat industrial processes, long-distance trucking, shipping, and aviation.
