The global energy transition increasingly emphasizes electrification as the primary pathway toward decarbonization. Electric vehicles, heat pumps, and industrial processes shifting from fossil fuels to electricity are widely seen as significant solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Yet behind this enthusiasm lies a major paradox: the majority of electricity consumed worldwide today is still generated from coal, natural gas, and oil, meaning its carbon footprint remains high.
This article explores how “green” electricity truly is, examines the challenges of reducing emissions within power systems, and offers a roadmap toward a genuinely carbon-free grid.
- Electrification and the Sustainability Narrative
- Electricity Sources: Between Green and Gray
- Decarbonizing the Power System: Complex Challenges
- Solutions and Future Directions
Electrification and the Sustainability Narrative
Electrification is often marketed as “clean energy” because at the point of use whether in car motors, heating elements, or factory machinery, there is no direct combustion. In many national policies, electricity is positioned as the backbone of low-carbon growth. For example, electric vehicle subsidies and targets to increase the share of renewables in national power generation are common.
This narrative is rooted in the assumption that replacing fossil fuel combustion with electricity will significantly cut emissions, without fully accounting for upstream sources. Public campaigns frequently claim that switching to electricity drastically reduces carbon footprints, even though emissions from power generation are not always factored into simplified energy efficiency calculations.
Electricity Sources: Between Green and Gray
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), over 60% of global electricity in 2023 was still produced from coal and natural gas. In Indonesia, coal accounts for more than 65% of installed generation capacity, making its electricity “gray” by many decarbonization indicators. CO₂ emissions per kWh from coal-fired power plants typically range between 800–1,000 grams, far above the global average for renewable sources, which is below 50 grams CO₂/kWh.
Moreover, coal-fired plants generate other environmental impacts such as fly ash and high water consumption for cooling. On the other hand, solar and wind power offer near-zero operational emissions but face challenges related to intermittency and land use. These conditions create a gap between the perception of “clean electricity” and the reality of power generation’s carbon footprint, highlighting the urgent need for energy source transparency and carbon labeling for electricity.
Decarbonizing the Power System: Complex Challenges
Decarbonizing electricity is not just about adding renewable capacity, it requires addressing a range of technical, economic, and social challenges. From an infrastructure standpoint, integrating fluctuating sources like solar and wind demands grid adjustments, including energy storage technologies, expanded transmission capacity, and smart control systems. High upfront investment costs remain a major barrier, especially in developing countries.
The challenges of building a decarbonized energy sector span environmental sustainability, energy security, economic stability, and social dimensions, making a holistic and cross-sectoral approach essential. Policy-wise, incentives remain imbalanced, often favoring fossil-based generation; coal subsidies frequently exceed support for renewables. Socially, rapid transitions can trigger resistance from communities concerned about job losses and local impacts.
From an energy justice perspective, low-carbon transitions do not automatically guarantee equitable outcomes. Transitions can create new injustices and deepen social inequalities, especially when vulnerable groups are excluded from decision-making or access to clean technologies. Therefore, energy transition strategies must seriously consider social dimensions to ensure benefits are truly inclusive and sustainable.
Solutions and Future Directions
To build a truly green electricity system, several integrated steps must be taken:
1. Diversifying Energy Sources
A mix of solar, wind, hydro, biomass, and potentially nuclear power can reduce reliance on any single source.
2. Expanding Storage Capacity and Smart Grids
Large-scale battery technologies and smart load management can stabilize fluctuations in renewable energy supply.
3. Reforming Subsidies and Carbon Pricing Policies
Shifting incentives from fossil fuels to clean energy and implementing carbon trading or taxation can internalize external costs.
4. Carbon Labeling for Electricity
Requiring electricity providers to disclose energy composition and emissions per kWh enables more informed consumer choices.
5. Applying Transition Technologies to Existing Infrastructure
Transitioning doesn’t always require starting from scratch. One increasingly relevant approach is to repurpose existing thermal infrastructure, such as coal-fired power plants, by replacing their heat sources with cleaner options like biogas or geothermal energy. This allows existing assets to be reused without rebuilding entire generation systems. Using carbon-neutral heat sources can preserve current power infrastructure while saving substantial time and money during the energy transition.
These steps must be accompanied by cross-sector collaboration such as between governments, technology developers, utilities, and civil society to address both technical and social barriers simultaneously. Electrification offers a major opportunity to reduce emissions in transportation and industry, but the assumption that electricity is inherently green can be misleading. The “gray” carbon footprint of power generation, along with policy, infrastructure, and energy justice challenges, shows that decarbonizing electricity systems requires a holistic strategy.
Integrating renewable sources, reforming policy frameworks, strengthening smart grids, and ensuring transparency in carbon accounting together form the foundation for a truly fossil-free and environmentally responsible future for electricity. Electrification certainly offers significant opportunities for reducing emissions, but without thorough planning and data transparency, the energy transition can end up as little more than a narrative. Every project needs robust documentation, proper consultation, and credible verification to truly measure its impact.
This is where services like Verra standard documentation preparation, AFOLU project consultation, and offset project management, compliance, market insights, and verification support play a crucial role. With this support, your decarbonization efforts will no longer be mere talk but a tangible contribution that will be recognized globally.
Author: Nadhif
Editor: Sabilla Reza
References:
Papadis, E., & Tsatsaronis, G. (2020). Challenges in the decarbonization of the energy sector. Energy, 190, 116471.
Sovacool, B. K., Martiskainen, M., Hook, A., & Baker, L. (2019). Decarbonization and its discontents: A critical energy justice perspective on four low-carbon transitions. Climatic Change, 155(4), 581–619. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-019-02521-7
Soeder, D. J. (2025). Decarbonizing electricity. In D. J. Soeder (Ed.), Energy Futures (pp. 185–236). Springer.