Mohamad Hejazi is the executive director for the Climate and Sustainability Program at KAPSARC. He also leads the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Partnership (CAMP) project, and his work focuses on climate change research, climate impacts and adaptation, climate mitigation, integrated assessment modeling, and energy-water-land nexus. Prior to joining KAPSARC, Mohamad worked as a senior research scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where he served as the principal investigator for the Global Change Intersectoral Modeling System project, a multi-million-dollar project that includes over 40 interdisciplinary researchers across many institutions. He has also led and contributed to projects with the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, US-AID, US-EPA, USGS, NASA, and NSF-INFEWS. Mohamad has authored over 100 journal publications, and he has also served as a contributing author to the Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessment, and the AR6 IPCC WG III report on the mitigation of climate change. Mohamad holds a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Key Drivers of Decarbonizing Hard- to-Abate Energy- System Sectors by Midcentury
o limit global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C, achieving a net-zero or near-zero greenhouse gas emission energy system by midcentury is essential. This ambitious target requires the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors, particularly transportation and heavy industry. This study employs an integrated energy-economic-climate assessment model to explore decarbonization pathways aligned with these temperature goals. The results show that by 2050, residual emissions from key industrial sectors – such as chemicals, fertilizers, iron and steel, aluminum, and cement – are projected to range from 30.2% to 82.5% of baseline levels under climate policy scenarios. In transportation, emissions from aviation and shipping are expected to remain between 70.2% and 91.2% of baseline levels. The analysis of decarbonization drivers reveals that demand-side strategies – such as improving energy efficiency and optimizing activity levels – are the main levers for decarbonizing aviation and shipping. On the supply side, technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) are crucial for reducing emissions in heavy industries, whereas electrification is key for decarbonizing aluminum. This study provides actionable insights into the strategies needed to achieve a near-zero or net-zero energy system by mid-century, emphasizing the importance of integrating technological innovation with strong policy support.
2nd December 2024
