Recent environmental, economic and energy security trends point to major challenges: energy related CO2 emissions are at an historic high, the global economy remains in a fragile state, and energy demand continues to rise. The past two years (2010 and 2011) also saw the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico, the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, and the Arab Spring, which led to oil supply disruptions from North Africa. Taken together, these trends and events emphasise the need to rethink our global energy system. Whether the priority is to ensure energy security, rebuild national and regional economies, or address climate change and local pollution, the accelerated transition towards a lower-carbon energy system offers opportunities in all of these areas.

The Energy Technology Perspectives 2012 20C Scenario (ETP 2DS) highlights that achieving this transition is technically feasible, if timely and significant government policy action is taken, and a range of clean energy technologies are developed and deployed globally. Based on current trends, are we on track to achieving this transition? Are clean energy technologies being deployed quickly enough? Are emerging technologies making the necessary progress to play an important role in the future energy mix? These are the key questions addressed in this report.

A chapter pertaining to low energy buildings can be found on page 37, and transport can be found immediately after, on page 44.