Mechanism of CO2 Emission Reduction by Global Energy Interconnection

Abstract

The challenge of global warming has become a driving force for a global energy transition. The Global Energy Interconnection (GEI) is a modern energy system aimed at meeting the global power demand in a clean and green manner. With the development of clean replacement, electricity replacement, and grid interconnection strategies, GEI contributes to the global temperature control by dramatically reducing the level of energy-related CO2 emissions. This study proposes an integrated framework for analyzing the mechanism of CO2 emission reduction via GEI implementation. The obtained results demonstrate that the total cumulative contribution of GEI to mitigating the effects of CO2 emissions (estimated by conducting a scenario analysis) corresponds to a total reduction of 3100 Gt CO2. The contributions of the clean replacement, electricity replacement, and carbon capture and storage GEI components to this process are equal to 55, 42, 5%, respectively. Using GEI, the utilization of clean energy in 2050 will increase by a factor of 4.5 at an annual growth rate of 4.4%, and the electrification rate will be 2.4 times greater than the current one. Keywords: Global Energy Interconnection, CO2 emission reduction, clean replacement, electricity replacement, grid interconnection