Sustainable Energy Sources

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides comprehensive lifecycle assessments showing how much CO₂-equivalent greenhouse gases different electricity generation technologies emit per unit of energy produced, accounting for everything from fuel extraction to construction and decommissioning. While there may exist a level variation, the IPCC’s lifecycle data shows how fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas have much higher emissions when compared with low-carbon technologies like hydro, solar PV, wind or nuclear over their full lifetimes. The graphs below summarize these lifecycle emissions from the IPCC assessments clearly illustrates this contrast across energy sources, highlighting the climate advantage of renewable and nuclear power relative to fossil fuels.