It is known that the way of life of today's modern society in developed countries is not sustainable with the rate of consumption of resources. Our planet is limited and its resources are being used at a faster rate than they can regenerate. Furthermore, not all resources are renewable; some, like fossil fuels, are not renewable within a human lifetime. Developed economies and countries mainly depend on fossil fuels to power their production and consumption cycle. Furthermore, the system is not sustainable as the earth and its ecosystems are degrading due to the pollution generated. The most important thing is the impact caused by air pollution; the so-called greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere are increasing the overall temperature of the earth. The phenomenon known as "Global Warming" entails a series of gradual consequences that would make the Earth an uninhabitable planet. Therefore, countries and global institutions have the task of preventing this phenomenon. Country governments are the most effective agents because they are the policy makers that support the functioning of each country. They have legal power over their citizens and businesses operating within their territorial borders. One of the countries that has the ambitious goal of fighting global warming is Spain. Former Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed the goal of decarbonizing the country by 2050. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay First, the United Nations has an institution that reports information from leading environmental and climate scientists from around the world to produce a reliable source of information on which countries can take measures and sign agreements to combat climate change . This institution is the International Panel on Climate Change. An article in The Guardian newspaper published last year informs us about the warnings expressed by the IPCC regarding the Paris Agreement: "There are only a dozen years to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C, beyond which can be reached even half a degree". significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people” (The Guardian, Climate Change). Experts who are part of the IPCC agree on this maximum period of 12 years to change the functioning of our society in order to adapt a more sustainable lifestyle and not exceed the 1.5°C increase in the global temperature of the earth . However, the target is ambitious and therefore countries will have to define and implement innovative and drastic measures. The possibility of combating climate change exists and is recorded in the Paris Agreement “a commitment to keep temperatures between 1.5°C and 2°C” (The Guardian, Climate Change). The planet has long been trying to warn us, otherwise we will change, or the consequences can be catastrophic. Aware of this problem, world leaders met in 2015 to sign the Paris Agreement. It has established measures to curb climate change. In Spain, for example, 5.8 tonnes per capita are emitted every year (the world average is 4.9) (World Bank data, CO2 emissions). To reduce air pollution, a plan of decarbonisation measures is needed. One of the main obstacles to the decarbonisation process is that fossil fuels (coal, gas and oil) remain the main source of electricity production, well ahead of nuclear and renewable sources. What is the main problem with renewable energy? To explain it in understandable terms “irregularityin the fluctuation of wind and sun, which causes the electrical grid to be unstable” (Robert Fares, Scientific American Blog Network). To help meet energy demand using these sources, intelligent energy management systems are necessary. On the other hand, in case of oversupply, hydrogen storage or generation technologies can help stabilize the grid. However, until this type of equipment becomes a reality, alternatives to coal-fired power plants, such as gas-fired power plants, are needed. The closure of coal-fired power plants in Spain is a process developed since the beginning of 2010 whose aim is the closure of all coal-fired thermoelectric plants in Spain. As of 1 December 2018, there were 15 infrastructures of this type in the country, the operational expiry of which was calculated for 2020. The phenomenon materialized above all during 2018, when the PSOE government announced that it would close all the thermal plants that they had not made investments to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. The reason given for the closure of the plants is coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, and the prospect of replacing its use with that of renewable energy, to contain the greenhouse effect and global warming of the planet. planet. In Spain there are two of the 30 most polluting thermoelectric power plants in Europe, the As Pontes thermoelectric power plant and the Aboño thermoelectric power plant, although only the Ponti García Rodríguez power plant is in the top 20, being the twentieth most polluting. According to some studies, the closure of coal plants would entail the investment of 3,000 million euros in existing combined cycle natural gas plants to make up for the electricity production deficit. Furthermore, due to the price difference between fuels, it is estimated that their prices could increase by up to 10%. The enormous economic and social impact of the measure has caused all kinds of adverse reactions among the affected groups. People affected by the closure of coal power plants in Spain (e.g. workers or owners) might oppose it with the reasoning “but they do it”. in other countries”, or “other activities also pollute”. This way of looking at our current situation is simply wrong: all emissions go into the same atmosphere of the same planet, the one we all live on, and kill us all. The point here is to show some leadership, to encourage other countries to join us in reducing emissions. A possible solution would be to replace energy carriers with others with lower emissions, replacing the consumption of petroleum products, limiting them to uses where there is no viable zero-emission alternative (for example in aviation or in some industrial processes), through an electrification of demand and use of energy carriers with lower emissions (for example, use of natural gas instead of petroleum derivatives in maritime transport and goods). This would mean: increasing the penetration of electric vehicles from 0% to almost 100% in 2050, making the modal shift between 40% and 60% of heavy transport, which currently takes place almost entirely on road (95% in 2015), towards electric rail transport and intensifying the transition to energy carriers with lower emissions in the residential, industrial and service sectors through the electrification and gasification of consumption, as appropriate (Deloitte, 'Claves De La Descarbonización Del Modelo Energético En Spain'). Overall, electricity use is expected to be increased by 42% and current energy consumption is expected to reach 65-67% by 2050 (Deloitte, 'Claves De La Descarbonización Del ModeloEnergético En España'). Furthermore, the system would rely on a generation park power system based exclusively on renewable energy. The future energy production mix should reach 90-100% renewable origin in 2050; from REE, the main Spanish electricity system operator, it is known that “38% of production was renewable in 2015” (Renewable energies in the Spanish electricity system, 9). Achieving this level of penetration will mean installing renewable energy (wind and solar photovoltaic), as well as sufficient support capacity to ensure security of supply. Furthermore, it will also be necessary to implement energy efficiency measures to reduce the final energy intensity, for example, through new building actions, rehabilitation of existing buildings and new industrial processes. All the previous actions, which we will call 'Decarbonisation levers', are essential to achieve the objectives on the horizon 2050. It is said that achieving a 100% renewable electricity generation mix will not be enough if the use of fossil fuels in transport, thermal uses in construction or industrial processes continues. Nor will it be enough to focus all efforts on energy efficiency if we do not achieve an emission-free generator fleet. Finally, the fundamental challenge of a massive diffusion of electric mobility is reducing the impact of transport on the climate. The resulting challenges specifically concern: the organization of mobility together with the diffusion of charging infrastructures, the interaction of the electric mobility system with the electricity grid, considering the energy storage function of batteries, technological progress and production industrial vehicles and various components. Overall, these challenges involve more the community than the individual vehicle user. Public policies and projects will be necessary in favor of electric mobility based on the use of private or shared vehicles. Already the Spanish government “plans to create an online map of charging points for electric cars” (Antonio Sabán, Coche Electrico). The conditions for the availability and attractiveness of an electric mobility system for potential users are discussed, in particular with regard to the implementation of the charging infrastructure and its suitability for existing land use patterns. Current policy approaches to support the deployment of electric mobility are promising. For the moment, however, the complexity of the electric mobility system prevents us from drawing valid conclusions on the effectiveness of the measures implemented. In addition to public policy intervention, economic, technical and industrial factors will also determine the success of electric mobility. Ultimately, a large-scale measure against the fight to eradicate greenhouse gas emissions is like the transportation challenge already mentioned above. The goal is to transform current transport into electric transport. For this reason the challenges are many. They mainly focus on the logistics of the charging infrastructure. Current petrol stations should be replaced by electric charging stations suitable for all types of vehicles. They are already starting to incorporate plugs for electric cars in public car parks. On the other hand, energy storage in batteries is an important factor because it directly affects the sustainability of this proposal. Added to this is the need for vehicle production to respond to the new market; the electric or “carbon-free” transport market. Hybrid cars are already on the road, but a 100% electric car is even rarer and the price is not available to the general Spanish public. For all these challenges, public policy action and projects that involve more people are needed.