University of Manitoba Distinguished Professor Emeritus and prolific author, Vaclav Smil, argued in an interview published in the New York Times that most people don’t realize the size of the task to decarbonize the economy. He claims that governments set unrealistic targets as a result. COP 26 mandated an objective of reducing carbon dioxide emissions 45% by 2030, as compared with 2010. Professor Smil’s opinion is that this is not possible in the time remaining in a world in which emissions are still rising. He arrives at his conclusion by considering the enormous scale of the changes needed, the fact that major emitters (like China) are expanding their use of coal, and countries everywhere are in search of sources of natural gas. In his view, the world is not done with fossil fuels.
SOURCE: Vaclav Smil Interview