Bill White retweetledi
The use of primary energy on the vertical axis is an old trick by the fossil fuel industry to mislead people into thinking that one unit of fossils = one unit of renewables. In fact, one unit of primary energy for wind or solar electricity is the equivalent of three units of fossil fuels for electricity.
Another trick is to pretend we need all those fossils if we switched to renewables. In fact, if we switch to renewables, 12% of the fossil fuel energy disappears because that is how much energy is used to mine-transport-refine fossil fuels+uranium for energy, and we wouldn't need to do that anymore
A third trick is to pretend we need so much energy if we go to all electricity powered by renewables. In that case, because EVs use 75% less energy than gasoline/diesel vehicles, heat pumps use 75% less energy than combustion heating, etc., energy demand goes down another 42%.
In sum, this plot illustrates the real story of where we are and where we need to go. The proper metric is end-use energy, not primary energy.
web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jac…
and here's the paper
web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jac…
Bjorn Lomborg@BjornLomborg
There is no energy transition to renewables "Rather than replacing fossil fuels, renewables are adding to the overall energy mix" Energy Institute Statistical Review 2025 energyinst.org/statistical-re… energyinst.org/exploring-ener… Threads&refs: x.com/BjornLomborg/s…
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