Page 26 - PEN eBook October 2022
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CARBON NEUTRAL                                                                                                                                                                                       Carbon Neutral



                                                                                                                                   As CO  emissions have exponentially grown, so has Earth’s temperature. As these increases correlate
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                                                                                                                                   closely, it is now widely accepted that the temperature rise is a clear effect from the increase in CO
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                                                                                                                                   and other greenhouse gas emissions.
































            GaN ICs Drive                                                                                                          Figures 1 and 2: Over 35 billion tons of CO  were emitted globally in 2020, aligning with a relative temperature rise of
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                                                                                                                                   over 0.6˚F.
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            Sustainability and                                                                                                     Without  any  changes  to  improve  climate  policies  over  the  36.3-gigaton  baseline  (2021),  total  CO



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            Deliver CarbonNeutral                                                                                                  emissions would rise to over 46.5 Gtons/year by 2050,  impacting global temperature by up to an
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                                                                                                                                   additional 4.8˚C. Changes in temperature at these levels would lead to catastrophic damage across the
            Status                                                                                                                 planet, affecting weather patterns and causing unprecedented heatwaves, severe drought, and major
                                                                                                                                   floods that would dramatically impact all living habitats, ecosystems, and vegetation.



            By Anthony Schiro, vice president of quality and sustainability, and                                                   THE CHALLENGE
            Llew Vaughan-Edmunds, senior director of marketing, both at Navitas                                                    Today’s energy sources primarily derive from fossil fuels and nuclear energy, with only 2% to 3% of
            Semiconductor                                                                                                          the  world’s energy coming  from  wind and solar. However, reserves-to-production ratios estimate
                                                                                                                                   approximately only 50 years remaining for oil and gas and 250 years for coal. 4


            THE THREAT                                                                                                             In 2020, energy demand was significantly dependent on fossil fuels, not least in transportation, where
            In 2021, over 80% of our energy sources were based on fossil-fuel power plants and over 80% of our                     gasoline, diesel, and aeronautical fuel are required, and in buildings, where gas is predominantly used

            energy requirements were coal-, gas-, or oil-powered across consumer, commercial, and industrial                       to heat water and air.
            markets — including  transportation, IT and communications, heating, cooling, and cooking.
            In the past 150 years, humans have increased emissions of carbon dioxide (CO ) into the atmosphere                     With a finite supply of fossil fuels, and their damaging impact on our planet, we now see political
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            from nearly zero to 35 billion tons per year. This gas absorbs infrared energy radiated from Earth                     pressure, initiatives, regulations, and policies to drive the transition to a greener, sustainable future.
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            and re-emits half of it back, contributing to the greenhouse effect.                                                   The “net zero” philosophy is the first significant step toward this realization.




  54        OCTOBER 2022 | www.powerelectronicsnews.com                                                                                                                                OCTOBER 2022 | www.powerelectronicsnews.com          55
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