ZERO
EMISSION
WORLD
What is ZERO EMISSION WORLD?
Make no mistake, climate change is the biggest threat we have ever faced. If we continue to emit greenhouse gases at the current rate, our planet will be beyond salvation in less than a decade.1 We need to act fast, and we need to act now, but what can we do? ZERO EMISSION WORLD is an all-encompassing graphical solution to climate change that demonstrates how human-made emissions can be reduced to zero by the year 2050. This includes explaining how we can dramatically reduce the amount of energy our buildings, vehicles, and factories consume while also demonstrating how we can power our remaining energy demand using only renewable technologies. Before we get started though, we first need to understand what climate change is, and why we need to put a stop to it.
The World in 2100
If our carbon dioxide emissions continue to increase at the current rate, atmospheric concentrations will be the highest they have been in more than thirty million years.2 The question is, what effect will this have on our planet? Let’s find out what scientists think our planet will look like.

Captain! We Need to Abandon the Ship!
Our planet could look very different come 2100. Even assuming we stop all human-made emissions by 2060, temperatures will likely rise by more than 4°C and sea-levels by 1.5 metres. This will lead to billions losing their lives.

What If We Stop All Our Emissions Today?
Imagine that we stop all human-made greenhouse gas emissions today. Would this put a stop to climate change and reverse the damage that has already been done or would climate change still happen anyway?
Understanding Energy
Within ZERO EMISSION WORLD, we do our best to keep the technical terms to a minimum. Unfortunately, when it comes to energy, some technical terms are just unavoidable. As such, to ensure you always know what we are talking about, we suggest that you learn the definitions for the technical terms we use in the book by reading the following article.

Watt Is It? – How We Measure Energy
Within ZERO EMISSION WORLD, we do our best to keep the technical terms to a minimum. Unfortunately, when it comes to energy, some technical terms are just unavoidable. As such, to ensure you always know what we are talking about, here are some simple definitions for the various energy-related terms that we use.
Fossil Fuelled Planet
Before we understand how to stop our carbon emissions, we must first understand why we create so much of them. To do this, we explain why we need energy, the benefits it brings, and where it all comes from. We also explain the benefits and disadvantages of our current energy sources, and if there is any way of catching the carbon dioxide these energy sources emit before the carbon dioxide enters our atmosphere.
The Renewable Solution
So what is the way forward? Well, where fossil fuels are concerned, there does not appear to be one. All methods of removing carbon dioxide from fossil fuel emissions are both expensive and hard to implement. A global switch to nuclear is not viable because we simply don’t have enough uranium. Finally, thorium is not an option because we still need to undertake at least a decade of research and development and, even then, it may not prove to be a cost-effective source of energy. All of this means that if we want to stop climate change, we need to start looking at other options.
Future Buildings
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Future Transport
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Future Industry
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Future Energy
This is the text about the Future Energy section.

The Supergrid
With our energy demand reduced, and renewables confirmed as the most cost-effective and sustainable source for future energy generation, just one task remains – finding a way to distribute all the renewable energy that we generate.

The Wind Tower
To generate energy without impeding on our countryside or oceans, we have developed the wind tower – a habitable, energy-generating skyscraper. The dynamic spiralling form harnesses the wind's energy via a series of vertical turbines to deliver enough power to supply more than 30,000 low-energy homes.1

The Solar Tower
When it comes to sustainably generating energy within our cities, we are not just limited to taking advantage of the wind. We can also use state of the art solar technology to capture energy from the sun. Let us introduce to you – the Solar Tower.
Article Endnotes
- Calculation based on a 750-metre Wind Tower located in Sydney generating 185 GWh of electricity per year, a low-energy home consuming 5,575 kWh of energy per year, a 2% loss due to power conditioning and a 6.5% loss due to transmission and distribution. Amount of electricity generated by a Wind Tower and low-energy home consumption calculated within the 'Wind Tower' section of the 'ZERO EMISSION WORLD Energy Database'. Power conditioning losses based on data sourced from Fuji Electric – 'Large-scale Photovoltaic Power Generation Systems' – Page 7. Transmission and distribution losses based on 2007 data for the United States and sourced from United States Department of Energy – 'Frequently Asked Questions – Electricity' – tonto.eia.doe.gov.
For further information about any of the above sources, please visit the ZERO EMISSION WORLD Works Cited page.