Scientists in the U.S. have reached a major milestone. They have generated energy using nuclear fusion, a process that only takes place on the Sun. Priyanka Sharma tells you more.

Gravitas: Decoding nuclear fusion energy breakthrough

US scientists announced a breakthrough on fusion energy on Tuesday, potentially a step toward one day harnessing the process that fires the sun to generate carbon-free electricity as the world struggles with climate change.

WION Climate Tracker: Breakthrough in Nuclear fusion help to fight climate change?

US scientists have successfully produced a nuclear fusion reaction resulting in a net energy gain. Nuclear fusion will reduce dependence on the fossil fuels.

Nuclear fusion energy breakthrough achieved: Reports

The Danish capital Copenhagen's 2025 carbon neutral plans have gone up in smoke. This comes after a vital heat and energy source delayed its plans to put a lid on its CO2 emissions.

WION Climate Tracker: Copenhagen's 2025 carbon neutral plans fail

As the world's nations prepare to gather for another climate summit next month in Glasgow, the OPEC oil cartel is reminding that, in their view, crude will continue to be the leading source of energy for decades, especially as the world's less-wealthy countries seek higher growth and standards of living.

OPEC says that more electric vehicles on the road and the push for alternative and renewable energy will indeed usher in an era of declining demand for oil in rich countries.

But the energy needs of expanding economies in other parts of the world will still leave oil as the world's No. 1 source of energy through 2045, OPEC said Tuesday in its annual World Oil Outlook.

"What is clear in this year's WOO is that energy and oil demand has picked up significantly in 2021, after the massive drop in 2020, and continued expansion is forecast for the longer-term," the report said.

Global primary energy demand is expected to increase by 28 per cent in the period between 2020 and 2045, with all energies required, driven by an expected doubling in size of the global economy and the addition of around 1.7 billion people worldwide by 2045.

Only coal will see less use, while other sources of energy will see increasing demand, though the share will shift to include a bigger proportion for renewables, nuclear and natural gas, according to the group.

The 340-page report sketches out a future of declining demand for oil in wealthier countries that belong to the 38-member Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation, as efforts to fight climate change take hold in the form of renewables and alternative fuels in cars, aeroplanes and ships.

It forecasts that the world's vehicle fleet would grow by 1.1 billion to 2.6 billion by the end of the report's time frame in 2045 and that 500 million of those would be electric-powered, or 20 per cent of all vehicles.

But growing populations and expanding middle classes in the rest of the world including China and India will mean increased demand for oil between 2020 and 2045, although much of that increase will take place in the earlier part of that period, the report produced by OPEC's secretariat in Vienna said.

Oil will satisfy 28.1 per cent of the world's energy demand by 2045, down from 30 per cent in 2020 but ahead of natural gas with 24.4 per cent and coal with 17.4 per cent. Hydroelectric, nuclear and biomass energy sources and other renewables such as wind and solar make up the rest.

A key reason cited for declining energy use in the more-developed world was demography: shrinking and ageing populations that usher in lower economic growth.

The report noted that growing awareness of the need to accelerate actions to address climate change has resulted in ambitious new policy intentions to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

The European Union, the United States, Japan, the UK, Canada and Brazil have proposed roadmaps to meet new goals.

OPEC, however, noted considerable doubts as to whether all these ambitious climate-mitigation commitments will be met in the proposed timeframe.

For example, the European Union in July spelt out its Fit for 55 packages, in which the 27-country bloc vowed to reduce emissions by 55 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030.

OPEC said that the plan remains exactly that for the time being, a plan, which still needs to be negotiated and agreed by all EU Member States, leaving ample scope for exceptions and watering-down.

The UK will host the 26th UN climate change conference October 31-November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland, where national leaders will seek ways to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and limit the rise in global temperatures.

As the world's nations prepare to gather for another climate summit next month in Glasgow, the OPEC oil cartel is reminding that, in their view, crude will continue to be the leading source of energy for decades, especially as the world's less-wealthy countries seek higher growth and standards of living.

As the world's nations prepare to gather for another climate summit next month in Glasgow, the OPEC oil cartel is reminding that, in their view, crude will continue to be the leading source of energy for decades, especially as the world's less-wealthy countries seek higher growth and standards of living. OPEC says that more electric vehicles on the road and the push for alternative and renewable energy will indeed usher in an era of declining demand for oil in rich countries. But the energy needs of expanding economies in other parts of the world will still leave oil as the world's No. 1 source of energy through 2045, OPEC said Tuesday in its annual World Oil Outlook. "What is clear in this year's WOO is that energy and oil demand has picked up significantly in 2021, after the massive drop in 2020, and continued expansion is forecast for the longer-term," the report said. Global primary energy demand is expected to increase by 28 per cent in the period between 2020 and 2045, with all energies required, driven by an expected doubling in size of the global economy and the addition of around 1.7 billion people worldwide by 2045. Only coal will see less use, while other sources of energy will see increasing demand, though the share will shift to include a bigger proportion for renewables, nuclear and natural gas, according to the group. The 340-page report sketches out a future of declining demand for oil in wealthier countries that belong to the 38-member Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation, as efforts to fight climate change take hold in the form of renewables and alternative fuels in cars, aeroplanes and ships. It forecasts that the world's vehicle fleet would grow by 1.1 billion to 2.6 billion by the end of the report's time frame in 2045 and that 500 million of those would be electric-powered, or 20 per cent of all vehicles. But growing populations and expanding middle classes in the rest of the world including China and India will mean increased demand for oil between 2020 and 2045, although much of that increase will take place in the earlier part of that period, the report produced by OPEC's secretariat in Vienna said. Oil will satisfy 28.1 per cent of the world's energy demand by 2045, down from 30 per cent in 2020 but ahead of natural gas with 24.4 per cent and coal with 17.4 per cent. Hydroelectric, nuclear and biomass energy sources and other renewables such as wind and solar make up the rest. A key reason cited for declining energy use in the more-developed world was demography: shrinking and ageing populations that usher in lower economic growth. The report noted that growing awareness of the need to accelerate actions to address climate change has resulted in ambitious new policy intentions to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The European Union, the United States, Japan, the UK, Canada and Brazil have proposed roadmaps to meet new goals. OPEC, however, noted considerable doubts as to whether all these ambitious climate-mitigation commitments will be met in the proposed timeframe. For example, the European Union in July spelt out its Fit for 55 packages, in which the 27-country bloc vowed to reduce emissions by 55 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030. OPEC said that the plan remains exactly that for the time being, a plan, which still needs to be negotiated and agreed by all EU Member States, leaving ample scope for exceptions and watering-down. The UK will host the 26th UN climate change conference October 31-November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland, where national leaders will seek ways to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and limit the rise in global temperatures.

Despite the green energy push, Oil will be world's No 1 energy source: OPEC

Scientists have found a way to convert carbon dioxide into a usable energy source with the help of sunlight, just like plants convert the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere into sugars that store energy.&nbsp;One of the chief challenges of sequestering carbon dioxide is that it is relatively chemically unreactive. 
 
&quot;On its own, it is quite difficult to convert carbon dioxide into something else,&quot; said Larry Curtiss, from the US Department of Energy&#39;s Argonne National Laboratory. 
 
Researchers used catalysts to convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide. Although carbon monoxide is also a greenhouse gas, it is much more reactive than carbon dioxide and scientists already have ways of converting carbon monoxide into usable fuel, such as methanol. 
 
&quot;Making fuel from carbon monoxide means traveling &#39;downhill&#39; energetically, while trying to create it directly from carbon dioxide means needing to go &#39;uphill,&#39;&quot; said Peter Zapol, from the Argonne National Laboratory.&nbsp;Although the reaction to transform carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide is different from anything found in nature, it requires the same basic inputs as photosynthesis. 
 
&quot;In photosynthesis, trees need energy from light, water and carbon dioxide in order to make their fuel; in our experiment, the ingredients are the same, but the product is different,&quot; said Curtiss. 
 
The setup for the reaction is sufficiently similar to nature that the research team was able to construct an &quot;artificial leaf&quot; that could complete the entire three-step reaction pathway. 
 
In the first step, incoming photons, packets of light, are converted to pairs of negatively-charged electrons and corresponding positively-charged &quot;holes&quot; that then separate from each other.&nbsp;Then, the holes react with water molecules, creating protons and oxygen molecules.&nbsp;Finally, the protons, electrons and carbon dioxide all react together to create carbon monoxide and water. 
 
&quot;We burn so many different kinds of hydrocarbons, like coal or oil or gasoline, that finding an economical way to make chemical fuels more reusable with the help of sunlight might have a big impact,&quot; Zapol said. 
 
The study also showed that the reaction occurs with minimal lost energy; the reaction is very efficient.&nbsp;&quot;The less efficient a reaction is, the higher the energy cost to recycle carbon dioxide, so having an efficient reaction is crucial,&quot; Zapol said. 
 
According to Curtiss, the tungsten diselenide catalyst is also quite durable, lasting for more than 100 hours, a high bar for catalysts to meet.&nbsp;The study appears in the journal Science.&nbsp; 
 
(PTI)

The researchers in their study also showed that the reaction occurs with minimal lost energy, and is very efficient

Scientists have found a way to convert carbon dioxide into a usable energy source with the help of sunlight, just like plants convert the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere into sugars that store energy. One of the chief challenges of sequestering carbon dioxide is that it is relatively chemically unreactive. "On its own, it is quite difficult to convert carbon dioxide into something else," said Larry Curtiss, from the US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. Researchers used catalysts to convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide. Although carbon monoxide is also a greenhouse gas, it is much more reactive than carbon dioxide and scientists already have ways of converting carbon monoxide into usable fuel, such as methanol. "Making fuel from carbon monoxide means traveling 'downhill' energetically, while trying to create it directly from carbon dioxide means needing to go 'uphill,'" said Peter Zapol, from the Argonne National Laboratory. Although the reaction to transform carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide is different from anything found in nature, it requires the same basic inputs as photosynthesis. "In photosynthesis, trees need energy from light, water and carbon dioxide in order to make their fuel; in our experiment, the ingredients are the same, but the product is different," said Curtiss. The setup for the reaction is sufficiently similar to nature that the research team was able to construct an "artificial leaf" that could complete the entire three-step reaction pathway. In the first step, incoming photons, packets of light, are converted to pairs of negatively-charged electrons and corresponding positively-charged "holes" that then separate from each other. Then, the holes react with water molecules, creating protons and oxygen molecules. Finally, the protons, electrons and carbon dioxide all react together to create carbon monoxide and water. "We burn so many different kinds of hydrocarbons, like coal or oil or gasoline, that finding an economical way to make chemical fuels more reusable with the help of sunlight might have a big impact," Zapol said. The study also showed that the reaction occurs with minimal lost energy; the reaction is very efficient. "The less efficient a reaction is, the higher the energy cost to recycle carbon dioxide, so having an efficient reaction is crucial," Zapol said. According to Curtiss, the tungsten diselenide catalyst is also quite durable, lasting for more than 100 hours, a high bar for catalysts to meet. The study appears in the journal Science. (PTI)

Scientists find new way to turn carbon dioxide into fuel

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