Economist Tore Andøl Calculates $60 Trillion Cost of Net‑Zero Energy Goal

Norwegian economist Tore Andøl estimates that achieving net‑zero emissions by 2050 would require roughly $60 trillion in investment and a continuous supply of about 12 terawatts of power. He bases his calculation on current global energy consumption of around 600 exajoules per year, of which roughly 86 % still comes from oil, gas and coal. Even with rapid growth in wind and solar—accounting for about 1.6‑1.7 % of total use—absolute fossil‑fuel consumption has risen, and CO₂ emissions have increased about 9 % since the Paris Agreement.

Andøl projects global energy demand in 2050 to be about 370 exajoules, a modest 1 % annual increase driven by higher efficiency of appliances, motors and heating systems. Nevertheless, the scale of required infrastructure and the constant 12 TW baseline highlight the massive financial and technical challenges of the net‑zero ambition.