The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is one of the ways climate change can be limited.
Decarbonization is one key way businesses and governments are lowering their carbon footprint, creating energy jobs, and helping society move away from traditional energy sources. Its impact is helping promote new skills, and future trends, and steer towards a net-zero goal.
As sustainability becomes more critical, decarbonization creates opportunities for carbon management and a switch to renewable energy across numerous industries.
What Is Decarbonization and Why Does It Matter?
Decarbonization removes or reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) output into the atmosphere. It’s often achieved by switching to low-carbon energy sources.
It matters for climate stability as CO2 is a significant greenhouse gas and is one of the leading causes of global warming. By reducing CO2 emissions (decarbonizing), scientists hope to limit the rise in temperature, safeguard the planet, and avoid or mitigate further climate upsets.
Benefits of Decarbonization
Decarbonization has several benefits:
- Improves air quality: Reducing and eventually eliminating the use of fossil fuels will decrease the amount of particulate matter in the air.
- Reduces global warming impact: By reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there is less to blanket the earth and global warming is slowed.
- Lowers greenhouse gas emissions: The reduction of large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere caused by reduced reliance on fossil fuels.
- Creates sustainable energy jobs: As sustainable energy grows, it opens up more job opportunities to be created in the sector and related industries.
- Increases energy independence: A push to focus on renewable energy breaks the dependence on fossil fuels.
How Decarbonization Affects Energy and Industry
Decarbonization affects all aspects of the energy industry, but the biggest impact is on traditional energy sources like coal, oil and natural gas.
This is because decarbonization requires a decrease and shift away from high-carbon fuels to cleaner, renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
To stay relevant, traditional energy companies diversify by investing in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and biofuels. They may also invest in adaptive technologies, such as natural gas, to support renewable energy during peak demand periods.
Traditional Energy is More Expensive
Stricter emissions regulations, carbon pricing, and lower demand for oil and gas have made fossil fuel extraction and processing more expensive.
To combat this, oil and gas companies have continued to extract fossil fuels but turned their attention to off-setting. They have begun investing in carbon capture and storage (CCS) to help offset emissions and continue operations despite the stricter environmental limits.
CCS is a three-part process in which carbon dioxide from industrial centers is captured from coal—and natural gas-powered plants and factories. Then, it’s separated from other emissions, compressed, and transported underground, where it’s held in long-term storage.
These storage sites must be at least 0.62 miles underground. That’s why saline aquifers or depleted oil and gas reservoirs have been suggested as storage sites. Since 1972, over 200 million tons of carbon dioxide have been captured and secured underground in Texas alone.
Reshaping the Job Market
The sector’s shift from traditional energy sources toward renewable energy and CCS in response to decarbonization is changing the job market.
New roles have been created for sustainable energy and environmental technology fields in the traditional energy market while reducing opportunities in fossil fuel-centric careers. Workers are reskilling to take advantage of CCS demands and invest in renewable energy education.
Renewable Energy and Decarbonization
While traditional energy sources have had to rethink how they obtain energy because of decarbonization, it has had the opposite effect on renewable energy.
The policies, incentives, and consumer preferences have encouraged this shift and driven investment toward innovation in renewable energy technologies.
Solar, wind, and hydroelectric power have become more accessible and cost-effective for consumers. Decarbonization has impacted many aspects of the sector, including how energy is obtained, the job market, and how renewable energy interacts with other sectors.
A Shift Toward Greener Sources
Decarbonization is encouraging rapid growth in renewable energy production. It has also led to increased research funding, which has supported breakthroughs, allowing renewable energy sources to expand faster and become viable for large-scale industrial use.
While the cost of producing fossil fuels has increased, the cost of renewable technologies has decreased, making solar and wind power economically competitive with fossil fuels.
Batteries and energy storage technologies on a grid-scale have also advanced, making renewable energy more reliable for consistent power supply.
Growth In the Job Market
Decarbonization is accelerating the reshaping of the energy job market for renewable energy. It has created new energy jobs in renewable energy production, environmental science, and technology development.
Solar panel installation, wind turbine maintenance, and battery engineering are all examples of energy jobs that are growing rapidly as demand increases.
Installation and maintenance of renewable energy-capturing technologies are among some of the fastest-growing occupations in the United States. They’re driven by the rising demand for consumers and businesses to take advantage of grants and initiatives pioneering green energy.
Decarbonization also boosts job creation in research, policy, and environmental engineering. Roles focused on sustainability practices have also opened up to graduates and entry-level job seekers.
There are now more job opportunities than ever for people who want to work in clean energy and climate-focused roles. This “green shift” creates a further need for specialized skills, like understanding energy efficiency, environmental compliance, and renewable infrastructure.
Strategies for Decarbonization Across Sectors
As decarbonization begins to spread and impact sectors, strategies are being developed to turn impact into positive change.
Energy Production
One process impacting the traditional energy sector that can help to decarbonize is electrification. This process involves replacing fossil fuel-powered technology with technologies that use electricity sourced from renewable sources.
Spanning all sectors, from transportation to cooking to entertainment, this process would involve digitizing the power grids. Thus, the new grids would help to produce more efficient electricity use overall.
Transportation
Decarbonization is advancing electric vehicle (EV) adoption and reducing reliance on gasoline and diesel.
This requires an increase in renewable energy to power EVs sustainably. The decarbonization of transportation is pushing transportation companies and infrastructure developers to integrate green energy sources.
Wherever transportation is present in a product’s life cycle, companies attempt to reduce the carbon footprint. This can be accomplished by switching to EVs or biofuels or by reorganizing distribution networks to maximize fuel efficiency.
Additional decarbonization strategies include:
- Promoting Public Transit and Active Transporation: An investment in public transit systems, cycling infrastructure, and walkable city designs on a local level.
- Expand Charging Infrastructure: Increase the number of EV charging stations powered by renewables to support a growing EV population.
Manufacturing
With decarbonization leading manufacturers to adopt cleaner production methods, they also face growing pressure to reduce their carbon footprints and a higher demand for renewable energy equipment, like wind turbines and solar panels.
More companies are beginning to implement decarbonization strategies:
- Renewable Energy as a Selling Point: For their product, boasting that all the electricity used to make the item came from renewable sources.
- Switch to Renewable Energy: Power facilities with on-site solar or wind energy whenever possible. Otherwise, purchase renewable energy through power purchase agreements (PPAs).
- Energy Efficiency Upgrades: Invest in energy-efficient machinery, LED lighting and better insulation to reduce energy waste.
- Low-Carbon Materials: Wherever possible, use recycled and sustainable green or carbon-neutral materials. in production processes.
- Waste Reduction and Recycling: Re-evaluating the supply chain and implementing policies to reduce waste and recycling programs to reduce emissions from disposal.
Real Estate and Construction
Both the real estate and construction industries have decarbonization to thank for several strategies being implemented. There is now a push to prioritize sustainable, energy-efficient building designs.
New construction now often includes renewable energy systems and follows green building standards set at a local or state level to lower operational carbon emissions. These emphasize energy efficiency, water savings, and sustainable materials.
- Incorporate Renewable Energy: Install solar panels, and wind power solutions in homes from the very beginning as a part of a new home build.
- Use Low-Carbon Materials: Construction should use recycling steel, low-carbon concrete, and sustainably harvested wood.
- Enhance Energy Efficiency: When building a new home or adding to an existing one, use high-performance insulation, windows, and lighting systems to reduce heating, cooling, and lighting demands.
Agriculture and Reforestation
Decarbonization reshapes agriculture by using renewable energy sources and sustainable farming practices. Why? To lower emissions compared to traditional farming methods. Solar and wind can power farm operations and biofuels are an alternative to diesel.
Other strategies implemented in agriculture:
- Renewable-Powered Equipment: Use solar or wind-powered pumps, irrigation systems, and other machinery to reduce diesel use.
- Regenerative Agriculture: A regenerative farm increases the soil’s ability to absorb carbon by using soil carbon sequestration. This includes crop rotation, cover cropping, and reduced tillage.
- Reduce Fertilizer Emissions: Optimize fertilizer application using precision techniques and organic fertilizer; farms can reduce nitrous oxide emissions which is another greenhouse gas.
Skills and Education for a Career in Decarbonization
A career in decarbonization requires skills in renewable energy technologies, environmental science, and data analysis. An understanding of energy systems and sustainable practices is an asset.
Degrees in fields like environmental engineering, chemistry, or sustainable business provide a strong foundation, while certifications in carbon management can help enhance job prospects.
As governments and consumers push for a net-zero and carbon-neutral society, skills in carbon accounting, carbon capture technology, and regulatory compliance are also becoming more critical.
Future trends for the industry include carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies, green hydrogen, and innovative battery storage.
Conclusion
Decarbonization is the removal of CO2 from outputs because it can go up into the atmosphere but it stands at the heart of how businesses can make an effort to create a sustainable, low-carbon future.
Governments incentivize industries to switch to renewable energy, leading to a shift toward cleaner energy. The job market then grows to accommodate the additional jobs required.
Decarbonization matters for recent graduates and new job seekers because it’s the future of new energy jobs and shows how everyone can contribute to a greener society.
