111
Grow
renewables
Renewables like wind and solar need to
make up at least 59% and as much as
97% of total electricity by 2050; electricity
needs to account for more of total energy,
especially for industry and transport
59%
97%
Last year’s Landmark report from the U.n. IntergovernmentaL paneL
on Climate Change issued dire warnings about the earth warming more than 1.5°C.
The good news is that the IPCC also gave us a road map for tackling the problem. At
time.com/one.five, you can sign up for our climate newsletter, One.Five, to get periodic
updates on how the world is progressing to meet each of these goals. —jUstIn worLand
A 30-year to-do list
ROAD MAP 2050: THE FIGHT FOR EARTH
1
GOVERNMENT
COMMITMENTS
Governments need
new rules that prod
widespread change in
behavior and make polluting
expensive or illegal
2
CORPORATE
COMMITMENTS
An estimated
$830 billion in additional
annual investments
could transform the way
we use energy
3
INDIVIDUAL
COMMITMENTS
Individuals can change
their behavior to
cut emissions and
push companies and
government to change
4
ENCOURAGE
INNOVATION
Technical advances will
be crucial, from small
steps like building better
solar panels to new
ways to capture carbon
HOW WE GET THERE
Phase out natural gas
and eliminate coal
Natural-gas use likely needs to decline
by at least 13% and as much as 62% by
2050; coal needs to all but disappear as
an electricity source by 2050, with the
fossil fuel representing no more than a
few percentage points of global energy
Chart a path
on nuclear
Nuclear could provide as much as 28% of
electricity by 2050—or as little as 1%;
energy experts continue to debate
whether the zero-carbon electricity it
provides is worth the challenges of
nuclear waste and other risks
Change our agriculture
and support trees
Global forest area cannot
shrink by more than 2 million
sq km and may need to be increased
by as much as 9.5 million sq km; that
means changing what we eat so we
need less land for agriculture
Make our energy
use more efficient
Greater efficiency—everything
from better light bulbs to cars with
better mileage—would help reduce
the need for investment in new energy
sources by as much as 50%
Remove carbon from
the atmosphere
Humans have emitted so much CO 2 that
we’ll likely need to take some out of the
atmosphere to meet targets: if we move
quickly away from fossil fuels, we could
avoid this; if we move slowly, we may need
to capture as much as 300 gigatonnes of
CO 2 —equivalent to more than 50 years of
U.S. energy-related emissions
300Gt
THIS ROAD MAP USES THE IPCC’S ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS
SCENARIOS. THE RANGES CITED REPRESENT THE UPPER AND
LOWER BOUNDS OF THE INTERQUARTILE RANGE OF SCENARIOS
THAT HAVE A LOW CHANCE OF OVERSHOOTING THE 1.5°C TARGET.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY BROWN BIRD DESIGN FOR TIME
