Page 27 - PEN eBook October 2022
P. 27
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.
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