Chuck DarwinSolar energy is the most widely available energy resource on Earth,
and its economic attractiveness is improving fast in a cycle of increasing investments.
Here we use data-driven conditional technology and economic forecasting modelling to establish which zero carbon power sources could become dominant worldwide.
We find that, due to technological trajectories set in motion by past policy,
a global irreversible solar tipping point may have passed where solar energy gradually comes to dominate global electricity markets,
without any further climate policies.
Uncertainties arise, however, over grid stability in a renewables-dominated power system,
the availability of sufficient finance in underdeveloped economies,
the capacity of supply chains and political resistance from regions that lose employment.
Policies resolving these barriers may be more effective than price instruments to accelerate the transition to clean energy
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