The energy mix, carbon pricing and border carbon adjustments

Human civilization is powered by fossil fuels. Over the past 100-200 years, the vast increases in material standards of living in the West were made possible by the efficient utilization of energy and the dramatic falls in the cost of energy services. Unfortunately for those seeking to shift the balance in the global energy system towards low carbon sources, there is considerable inertia and 'lock-in' in this system. Because energy sector assets, such as power stations, often have a lifetime of several decades, the major opportunity to shift the energy mix is found in those countries with growing energy demand. These countries are adding the power stations now that will still be operating in 2050 and, the large majority of this new capacity has been and, indeed, will be fossil-fuel powered. The aspect of the global energy mix that has been extremely important over recent years is the developments in gas, particularly unconventional gas. These have been much discussed in the popular media and indeed in various notorious films