Canary "Chart: Heavy industry is the next big climate problem to tackle." Accoridng to Rhodium Group, by 2035 the American industrial sector will have become our greatest source of planet-warming emissions. Fortunately, the clean energy and electric vehicle subsidies of the Inflation Reduction Act [IRA] are projected to drive serious reductions in both the power and transportation sectors of the economy. The overall projections is for overall US emission to fall 'between 32and 51 percent below 2005 levels in 2035.' The decline will be most dramatic in the generation of electricity, as end-use efficiency [think LED light bulbs], wind, solar + storage all come online. The industrial sector’s outlook is far less optimistic—heavy industry may well still emit the same amount of CO2 as it does today — and account for one-third of all U.S. emissions. "Industrial processes like manufacturing cement, steel, and chemicals are both deeply embedded in the economy and particularly tough to decarbonize." They all require high-temperature heat, all too often derived from fossil fuels. "Some of these processes, like steelmaking, still rely on coal as a major input." Worldwide, 'industrial emissions account for over one-quarter of total greenhouse gas emissions—more than all modes of transportation combined.' "Recent federal investments such as the IRA aim to grease the wheels of heavy industry decarbonization in the U.S. by subsidizing some of the technologies needed to tackle the problem, like clean hydrogen and carbon capture." Problems have solutions. Only our collective resolve is required.
