Why do climate change scenarios return to coal?

Justin Ritchie and Hadi Dowlatabadi

Energy, 2017, vol. 140, issue P1, 1276-1291

Abstract: The following article conducts a meta-analysis to systematically investigate why Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) in the Fifth IPCC Assessment are illustrated with energy system reference cases dominated by coal. These scenarios of 21st-century climate change span many decades, requiring a consideration of potential developments in future society, technology, and energy systems. To understand possibilities for energy resources in this context, the research community draws from Rogner (1997) which proposes a theory of learning-by-extracting (LBE). The LBE hypothesis conceptualizes total geologic occurrences of oil, gas, and coal with a learning model of productivity that has yet to be empirically assessed.

Keywords: Energy resources; Technological change; Coal; Representative concentration pathways; Shared socioeconomic pathways; Climate change scenarios (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:140:y:2017:i:p1:p:1276-1291

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2017.08.083

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