The Costs of Decarbonisation
System Costs with High Shares of Nuclear and Renewables
Under the Paris Agreement, OECD countries agreed to aim for a reduction of their greenhouse
gas emissions sufficient to hold the increase in the global average temperature to
well below 2°C above pre industrial levels. This commitment requires a massive effort
to decarbonise energy and electricity generation, a radical restructuring of the electric
power sector and the rapid deployment of large amounts of low-carbon generation technologies,
in particular nuclear energy and renewable energies such as wind and solar PV.
This study assesses the costs of alternative low-carbon electricity systems capable
of achieving strict carbon emission reductions consistent with the aims of the Paris
Agreement. It analyses several deep decarbonisation scenarios to reach the same stringent
carbon emission target but characterised by different shares of variable renewable
technologies, hydroelectric power and nuclear energy.
Published on January 29, 2019