Co-benefits of carbon neutrality in enhancing and stabilizing solar and wind energy

Abstract

Solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy provide carbon-free renewable energy to reach ambitious global carbon-neutrality goals, but their yields are in turn influenced by future climate change. Here, using a bias-corrected large ensemble of multi-model simulations under an envisioned post-pandemic green recovery, we find a general enhancement in solar PV over global land regions, especially in Asia, relative to the well-studied baseline scenario with modest climate change mitigation. Our results also show a notable west-to-east interhemispheric shift of wind energy by the mid-twenty-first century, under the two global carbon-neutral scenarios. Both solar PV and wind energy are projected to have a greater temporal stability in most land regions due to deep decarbonization. The co-benefits in enhancing and stabilizing renewable energy sources demonstrate a beneficial feedback in achieving global carbon neutrality and highlight Asian regions as a likely hotspot for renewable resources in future decades. Achieving global carbon neutrality will lead to a low-warming future and impact renewable energy production. This study demonstrates that deep mitigation pathways can bring positive feedback that enhances and stabilizes solar and wind energy production.