2021 Megatrends: Electrification and Decarbonization

Climate change is no longer a nebulous concept characterized only by images of ice shearing off cliffs into the Arctic Ocean.

With significant weather disasters impacting hundreds of millions of people each year, there is a new sense of urgency around the COP26 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland later this year.

The need for ambitious action from policymakers, corporations and other stakeholders has helped to establish electrification and decarbonization as the megatrends of 2021.

While both have long been discussed, advances in technology, improved economics, public policy and investments are rapidly elevating the benefits and practical applications of both.

This paper will delve into the potential impacts and opportunities of both megatrends. But we do so with the understanding that many questions about the optimal strategies, policies and technologies to achieve sustainability goals are not immediately answerable.