Page 50 - Nigeria one mag en-21

A concept based on a Manichean assumption
Taking out oil, coal, and gas and replacing them with renewable and decarbonized sources of energy?
No easy task, as it turns out. This process is lengthy, onerous, and requires a complete overhaul of our
consumption models.
According to Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, "there has never been an energy transition. We do not go from
wood to coal, then from coal to oil, then from oil to nuclear. The history of energy is not one of the
transitions, but of successive additions of new primary energy sources. The error of perspective lies in
the confusion between relative and absolute, between local and global: if in the 20th century, the use of
coal decreases relative to oil, the fact remains that its consumption increases continuously and that
globally, we have never burned as much as in 2016."
Furthermore, currently, we do not know how to generate renewable energy sources without using fossil
fuels. Also, "oil has enabled the development of the car, but it takes a lot of coal to produce vehicles,
refineries, and rebuild roads. Therefore, increasing the share of renewable and decarbonized energy in
the energy mix is not synonymous with a decrease in the use of fossil fuels in absolute terms. "The
problem is that we look at the rise of renewable energies in recent years and say to ourselves: 'Great,
the transition is underway. But this rise is made on a fossil base that remains quite stable," says the
historian.

Coal mine

Energy transition 50