Low carbon power

Low-carbon power comes from processes or technologies that, produce power with substantially lower amounts of carbon dioxide emissions than is emitted from conventional fossil fuel power generation. It includes low carbon power generation sources such as wind power, solar power, hydropower and, including fuel preparation and decommissioning, nuclear power. The term largely excludes conventional fossil fuel plant sources, and is only used to describe a particular subset of operating fossil fuel power systems, specifically, those that are successfully coupled with a flue gas carbon capture and storage (CCS) system.

Over the past 30 years, significant findings regarding global warming highlighted the need to curb carbon emissions. From this, the idea for low carbon power was born. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in 1988, set the scientific precedence for the introduction of low carbon power. The IPCC has continued to provide scientific, technical and socio-economic advice to the world community, through its periodic assessment reports and special reports.

Internationally, the most prominent early step in the direction of low carbon power was the signing of the , which came into force on February 16, 2005, under which most industrialized countries committed to reduce their carbon emissions. The historical event set the political precedence for introduction of low carbon power technology.

On a social level, perhaps the biggest factor contributing to the general public’s awareness of climate change and the need for new technologies, including low carbon power, came from the documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which clarified and highlighted the problem of global warming.

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