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McKinsey & Company, 27 August 2024

The energy transition: Where are we, really?

Scaling up deployment of decarbonization technologies is crucial to achieve net zero, but there is a reality gap—the lack of firm EU and US project commitments could slow momentum.

Almost nine years after the landmark Paris Agreement and nearly halfway through what has been called a “decisive decade” for climate change, the world stands at a critical juncture in their transition away from fossil fuels.

Translating into action the ambitious climate targets that have been put in place by governments and companies depends on accelerating the deployment and adoption of several interrelated technologies. These include renewable energy sources (RES), electrification technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs), and heat pumps—as well as comparatively less mature technologies, such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), green and blue hydrogen, and sustainable fuels.