What would it take to decarbonise the global economy?

FROM BEHIND the wheel of a self-driving electric Tesla model S, gliding amid the forests and fjords of Norway, the future of the planet looks pretty good. It almost feels as if you are on the road, hands-free, to a post-fossil-fuel future. Virtually all of Norway’s electricity is emissions-free. It comes from hydropower delivered by cascading waterfalls, dams and rivers that run so close to the roads that you can almost run your fingers through them. There are so many fast-charging stations that you are unlikely to get stranded. Teslas have become so run-of-the-mill in Oslo that it is not unusual to see them spattered with mud, their seats matted with dog hair.

When your destination is Rjukan, three hours west of Oslo, which in the early 20th century was one of the world’s biggest power plants, alternatives to fossil fuels look even more achievable. This is where one of the best potential zero-carbon options, hydrogen, was produced by hydroelectricity as far back as 1928. Cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells have now started to appear on Norway’s streets, even though there may be much better uses of the gas than powering vehicles over short distances. A Hyundai Nexo, owned by Nel, a Norwegian hydrogen company that traces its roots back to Rjukan, carries a message on its rear window: “Thanks for the ride, dinosaurs! We’ll take it from here.” That could be the motto for the age of decarbonisation. Or it could be extreme hyperbole.