This year, the world is predicted to pass a critical turning point in renewable energy.

Greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector, the largest source of the world’s emissions, are expected to fall for the first time, according to London-based think tank Ember. That’s despite the fact that the world’s demand for electricity is still growing. Emissions are set to fall because expansion in renewable energies such as solar and wind is outstripping that growth in demand.

It’s a crucial moment in the effort to tackle climate change, and the report, written by Małgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, senior electricity analyst at Ember, and colleagues, argues that we are fast approaching a positive “tipping point” in the effort to curb climate change.

“This marks the point where power sector emissions stop rising,” Wiatros-Motyka and her colleagues write. “Clean power can actually go to replacing fossil fuels, instead of just meeting rising demand.”

Just how important are positive tipping points in efforts to tackle climate change? And are we really about to pass an important one in 2023?

Future Planet […]