The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Accelerating the Energy Transition
Airplanes are grounded. Businesses have closed. Cars are off the roads. The coronavirus pandemic and the early efforts to mitigate the health crisis have driven a precipitous fall in demand for transportation fuels and electric power. Lower energy consumption means lower carbon dioxide emissions. In this case, the year-over-year decline is expected to be a record.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to decrease 11% in 2020 compared with last year. While some analysts have warned that the climate progress will be short-lived and that emissions could rise significantly when the economy picks up again, a closer look at the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic suggests a surprising amount of economic decarbonization will be locked in permanently. Here's what it means for renewable energy stocks.
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