Can we imagine what a future decarbonised world would look like?
In an idealised thirty years from now, we've created an inter-connected renewable energy network that extends to the four corners of the world. We make use of the earth's natural renewable resources everywhere to provide the energy we need. Solar power in hot regions, wind power in windy regions, geothermal, tidal, hydro and biomass, all generating sufficient energy to power the needs of the whole planet. All this energy is inter-connected so that gaps in one region where the sun is not shining are compensated for by another where the wind is blowing. Giant inter-continental power grids connect one nation to another.
Of course there will still be political unrest. So each nation also strives for self-sufficiency too. We have after all learnt form the oil wars of the past.
We have managed to electrify the heating and cooling of buildings, a chunk of industrial heat requirements, and the bulk of transportation.
We have developed a fully-functioning hydrogen gas industry - green hydrogen generated from renewable power. Hydrogen is powering industry where previously fossil fuels were used for example in the manufacture of steel, cement and chemicals. Heavy transportation also uses hydrogen. Synthetic fuels, based on biomass, are used to power aviation.
Every industrial plant is also now connected to a carbon dioxide grid. Whenever and wherever carbon dioxide is generated, it's captured and stored forever in deep geological sites.
We've transformed land-use. We've become a predominantly plant-eating race. Land is capturing carbon again instead of releasing it to the atmosphere. Plants are also being used to generate fuel, and with carbon capture, actually reduce atmospheric carbon levels.
We're finally winning the war and reducing carbon levels. Ice-melts are stabilising. In time we see a return to a pre-industrial environment.
Of course there are many steps on the path to de-carbonisation. As 75% of the worlds energy is currently still produced from fossil fuels, we need to add carbon capture to all those existing power plants until renewables can replace them. The conversion of buildings to full renewable electrical power will also take a long time so we need to replace natural gas with hydrogen - using the gas networks we have now.
This is the vision we need to take us forward to a de-carbonised world. Nothing is more important or urgent and we must mobilise every ounce of political will to deliver this vision in time.