Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
Europe’s power sector could be the first on the continent to decarbonize
Renewable energy | Climate change
December 9, 2020 – Technologies for wind- and solar-power generation are already available at scale today in Europe, so the EU power sector could reach net-zero emissions in the next 25 years. And the demand for clean power could double as other sectors switch to renewable power sources.
To read the article, see “How the European Union could achieve net-zero emissions at net-zero cost,” December 3, 2020.
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Visual form
Stacked area chart with a dashed net-emissions line.
Layout / body structure
The chart is a single long time-series view running from 1990 to 2050, with sector bands stacked on top of one another and a net-emissions line drawn across them. Read it left to right across time, then use the right-edge callouts to interpret the overall decline by milestone year and by 2050.
What is being compared
It compares total EU-27 emissions over time across power, transportation, buildings, industry, agriculture, land use, and emissions-absorption technologies. The chart is showing both how the sector mix changes and how the total stack shrinks toward net zero.
Measurement system
The vertical scale is megatons of carbon dioxide equivalent, ranging from negative values below zero to 5,000 above. Colored bands identify sectors, while the dashed line marks net emissions and the x-axis tracks years from 1990 to 2050.
Visible structure inside the graphic
Large labeled bands fill the stack, with power at the top, transportation and buildings beneath it, industry as the largest middle band, and agriculture and land-use bands lower down. A purple band drops below zero at the bottom, and the dashed net-emissions line cuts downward through the stack toward the zero mark at 2050.
Main takeaway from the visual
The whole emissions stack contracts sharply over time until the net line reaches zero by 2050, and the power band thins out earlier and faster than the others. That visual pattern is what supports the headline claim that power could decarbonize before the rest of the economy.
Key standout values or extremes
The right side of the chart explicitly marks a 55 percent reduction partway through the transition and a 100 percent reduction by 2050. The endpoint is visually anchored at the zero line, with the net-emissions marker landing there while some lower bands move below zero.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.