Energy technologies evaluated against climate targets using a cost and carbon trade-off curve

Over the next few decades, severe cuts in emissions from energy will be required to meet global climate-change mitigation goals. These emission reductions imply a major shift toward low-carbon energy technologies, and the economic cost and technical feasibility of mitigation are therefore highly dependent upon the future performance of energy technologies. However, existing models do not readily translate into quantitative targets against which we can judge the dynamic performance of technologies. Here, we present a simple, new model for evaluating energy-supply technologies and their improvement trajectories against climate-change mitigation goals. We define a target for technology performance in terms of the carbon intensity of energy, consistent with emission reduction goals, and show how the target depends upon energy demand levels. Because the cost of energy determines the level of adoption, we then compare supply technologies to one another and to this target based on their position on a cost and carbon trade-off curve and how the position changes over time. Applying the model to U.S. electricity, we show that the target for carbon intensity will approach zero by midcentury for commonly cited emission reduction goals, even under a high demand-side efficiency scenario. For Chinese electricity, the carbon intensity target is relaxed and less certain because of lesser emission reductions and greater variability in energy demand projections. Examining a century-long database on changes in the cost-carbon space, we find that the magnitude of changes in cost and carbon intensity that are required to meet future performance targets is not unprecedented, providing some evidence that these targets are within engineering reach. The cost and carbon trade-off curve can be used to evaluate the dynamic performance of existing and new technologies against climate-change mitigation goals.