Publication of a new article in Energy & Environmental Science

The result of a long-term project involving 22 authors, this freshly published piece led by Louis Delannoy summarises the 8 key points that converge to form a prevailing understanding regarding EROI (energy return on investment), identifies areas of investigation for the community, discusses the consequences of net energy for the energy transition, and underlines the issues of disregarding it. Particularly, it argues that reductions in net energy can hinder the transition if demand side measures are not implemented and adopted to limit energy consumption. It also points out the risks posed for the energy transition in the Global South, which, while being the least responsible for climate change, may be amongst the most impacted by both the climate crisis and net energy contraction. Last, it presents practical avenues to consider net energy in mitigation pathways and Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), emphasising the necessity of fostering collaborative efforts among the different research communities.