The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its 2023 Net Zero Roadmap today – here’s what’s happened since 2021 and what must urgently happen before 2030.
EV and solar lead the way
The International Energy Agency’s Net Zero Roadmap sets out what would need to happen in the global energy sector in the years and decades ahead to limit global warming to 1.5C. The IEA debuted the first roadmap in May 2021, and this latest release updates the first roadmap to take into account everything that’s happened in the last two years.
The 2023 Net Zero Roadmap takes into account the post-pandemic economic rebound and the incredible growth in some clean energy technologies but also increased investment in fossil fuels and stubbornly high emissions.
Since 2021, record growth in EV and solar sales, along with planned rollout for new manufacturing capacity, are in line with a pathway toward net zero emissions globally by 2050. That’s a big deal – and pretty good news – because those two technologies alone deliver one-third of the emissions reductions between today and 2030 in the pathway.
In the 2021 roadmap, the IEA projected that technologies not yet on the market would deliver nearly 50% of emissions reductions needed for net zero in 2050. That number of technologies not yet available has now fallen to around 35% in the 2023 update. In other words, the innovations are materializing and being applied.
Going forward, the Net Zero Roadmap says we’re going to have to seriously ramp up this decade to stay on track. Before 2030, the main actions we need to take are as follows:
Global renewable power capacity must triple.
The annual rate of energy efficiency improvement must double.
Sales of EVs and heat pumps must rise sharply.
Energy sector methane emissions must fall by 75%.
If we achieve these things – and they are achievable if geopolitics are set aside – then we will see more than 80% of the reductions that we need by the end of 2030.
IEA executive director Fatih Birol said:
The good news is we know what we need to do – and how to do it. Our 2023 Net Zero Roadmap, based on the latest data and analysis, shows a path forward.
But we also have a very clear message: Strong international cooperation is crucial to success. Governments need to separate climate from geopolitics, given the scale of the challenge at hand.
Dave Jones, global insights lead at energy think tank Ember, had this to say about the IEA’s 2023 roadmap:
Tripling renewable electricity is the single biggest action required this decade to secure a rapid shift away from fossil fuels. Electricity is the new oil, as clean electrification takes center stage. It requires world leaders to think big and build big. It’s not rocket science, but it does require the determination and urgency of a space race. Importantly, emerging economies need investment to enable them to enter the race, which ultimately will benefit us all.
Electrek’s Take
What’s also interesting to see in the 227-page 2023 roadmap are the technologies that got downgraded in climate mitigation scenarios. The IEA states that hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels, sustainable bioenergy, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) are critical to achieving net zero emissions but have all underperformed. Its perspective on CCUS, for example, is largely “one of unmet expectations.”
It’s a waste of time to include technologies in the climate change “space race” that haven’t made much or any progress. Green hydrogen hasn’t moved with the speed and efficacy of electrification, and CCUS – well, we at Electrek are at the point where we’ll believe CCUS when we see it.
It’s pretty clear what the world has to do: Keep the fossil fuels in the ground and electrify. Renewables and EVs will give us what we need to avoid the point of no return.
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Steer-by-wire is an automotive concept that has been around for a long time, but hasn’t yet reached mass adoption. The idea is to replace (or supplement) mechanical linkages between the steering wheel and the wheels with electronic actuators instead.
There are a number of potential benefits to this, like allowing more customizability or adaptability to a steering system, reducing mechanical complexity, or adding speed-sensitive variable steering ratios.
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Although there are also disadvantages, like a reduction in steering feel (although, since most cars are moving to electronic power steering, that was already gone anyway).
But few cars have implemented steer-by-wire systems, or at least not fully committed to them, given that mechanical steering racks are a relatively solved problem and the general inertia of the car industry which would rather stick with a solution they know than switch to something better (haven’t we here, at this EV publication, heard *that* one before…). There’s also the matter of regulations, which have often been written to require mechanical steering systems, and may need updating to allow for steer by wire.
But, steer by wire made it into mass production with the release of the Tesla Cybertruck. This was big news when Tesla committed to this – at the time, it was the only thing on the road to exclusively use a steer by wire system, though there are other cars with partial steer by wire (for example, mechanical front wheel steering, and steer by wire rear-wheel steering).
But it seems to have opened the floodgates, as a number of other companies are working on or have since released steer by wire systems (Lexus, for example).
And now, it looks like Rivian is one of those companies – though we don’t know if it’s for the front or rear. (Update: Well, now we know, it looks like they are at the very least developing a rear-wheel steering system, according to another job listing. Though the company might still be working on steer-by-wire for the whole vehicle, too)
So – we know they’re working on steer by wire, to some extent.
But a few other EVs, particularly large EVs like the Rivian R1 platform is, use steer by wire just for the rear wheels – for example the Hummer EV and Rolls-Royce Spectre. These systems are particularly helpful for giant vehicles, because it allows them to be more nimble and make turns that otherwise would require a lot more… negotiation in a giant land yacht.
So it’s possible that Rivian is only working on rear wheel steer by wire here, but we’d like to think there’s a chance it’s working on steer by wire for the full vehicle.
We also don’t know if this would show up on all of Rivian’s vehicles, or only on certain models – the R2 and R3 are in development, with R2 in pretty late stages, and the R1 just got a big refresh. But, perhaps even more interestingly (and very speculatively), VW has invested heavily in Rivian for technology help, so we wonder if we might end up seeing this in VW group vehicles, or Scout vehicles eventually…
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Automakers are scrambling to push their EVs out the door before the $7,500 Federal tax incentive for EVs disappears — and BMW is no different, offering aggressive cash back, owner loyalty, and special financing rates on its just-released 2026 model year EVs.
BMW has a history of offering solid loyalty incentive programs on its EVs in early summer to clear the tail-end of the model year and make room for the incoming builds, but CarsDirect is reporting some unusual loyalty deals from the brand that seem to suggest BMW is keen to capitalize on a spike in EV sales ahead of the Federal tax incentive’s looming cancellation in September.
BMW dealers now have the choice of adding an additional $1,000 loyalty contribution on select 2026 EVs. The i5 and i7 are offered with $1,000 and $4,000 loyalty bonuses, respectively, meaning if you drive a BMW and your dealer opts to tack on the extra bonus, you could save $5,000 on a 2026 i7. These loyalty programs are good when buying or leasing.
There’s also a $1,000 conquest bonus available for drivers of eligible EVs and PHEVs from other brands. This program is stackable with other offers.
Like other EV brands offering huge lease incentives, BMW customers will see the largest rebates on new BMWs when leasing. Now through September 30th, 2026 BMW i5, i7, and iX models are available with a stout $9,900 lease credit, while the bigger BMW XM comes in with a slightly lower, but still substantial $7,500 lease incentive.
Big deals on big BMW i7 sedan
BMW i7, via BMW.
People who prefer to own their vehicles once the payments are up can still score a great deal on an objectively excellent 2026 BMW i7 luxo-cruiser, thanks to the previously mentioned loyalty bonus if they’re previous customers plus a $7,500 Loan Credit that anyone can get when financing their new i7 with the brand’s captive financing company. BMW Bank offers financing rates as low a 3.99% for up to 60 months on the 2026 i5 and i7 sedans, as well as the iX crossover, as well as 4.99% APR 60-month rate on the high-performance XM plug-in hybrid.
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This week, industrial real estate giant Prologis flipped the switch on a rooftop solar project at one of its Franklin Park, Illinois warehouses — the first of 45 such rooftop installations the company plans to deploy in the next two years. Once finished, Prologis’ community solar project will generate up to 82 MW of clean energy!
Co-developed with Illinois utility ComEd and SunVest Solar, the independent power producer, the new rooftop community solar installation in Franklin Park sits atop a 195,000 sq. ft. Prologis logistics center serving a number of local and regional businesses.
Prologis will own and operate the 1.56 MW community solar project, and the energy it generates will serve mostly residential customers, with the minority of the community solar credits created benefiting local businesses.
“We’re proud to join ComEd to officially launch this project, the first of many community solar projects that our energy team is deploying across our Illinois rooftops,” explains Carter Andrus, Prologis’ Chief Operating Officer. “Illinois is one of the fastest-growing solar markets in the country, and we’re excited to help lead its momentum. For us, this is about more than solar panels … it’s about using our scale to make a real difference in the communities where we operate and bring the benefits of clean energy to more people across Illinois.”
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Collaborative effort
ComEd, Prologis, and Sunvest executives; via ComEd.
Prologis is deeply invested in a number of distributer energy resources (DER), including rooftop solar, battery energy storage, and OnDemand Power, a scalable, portable microgrid and power management solution (read: software) designed to provide resilient, backup, and dispatchable energy where and when it is needed across the company’s global portfolio.
With nearly 800 MWs of rooftop solar and energy storage already deployed and 82 more coming from Northern Illinois alone, Prologis is on track to reach its goal of 1 gigawatt by end of 2025. (!)
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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