A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), Energy Technology Perspectives 2010, will provide local government staff with new and valuable material to assist the development of their local sustainable energy action plans and emission reductions scenarios.

The information will be a valuable resource for the process of educating elected officials and communities about the need for rapid change, and some of the expected technologies that will help local governments make a difference. The report introduction notes that there is now evidence of many “green shoots” but there is still an urgent need for a rapid, large-scale deployment of low-carbon technologies, and a massive decarbonisation of the energy system to break the historical link between CO₂ emissions and economic output.

The report concludes that decarbonising the electricity sector must involve dramatically increasing the shares of renewables but that nuclear power, and carbon capture and storage (CCS), will play significant roles in the future energy supplies.

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