Increased reliance on high-efficiency motors and variable-speed drives is key to meeting the 2040 climate goals established by the Paris Agreement, according to ABB. The company has issued a white paper that emphasizes the need for governments and industry worldwide to accelerate the adoption of these technologies to help combat climate change.

About 300 million of the electric motors now in use globally are inefficient or consume more power than required. Replacing these systems with optimized, high-efficiency equipment is projected to reduce world Pumping applications are a prime target for energy savings. Source: ABBelectricity consumption by up to 10%, which in turn would account for more than 40% of the reductions in emissions needed to reach the 2040 goals of the Paris Agreement.

ABB estimates that installation of its high efficiency motors and drives resulted in 98 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity savings in 2020, more than half of annual consumption in the U.K. By 2023, ABB motors and drives are expected to enable customers globally to save an additional 78 TWh of electricity per year, almost as much as the annual consumption of Belgium, Finland or the Philippines.

ABB urges public decision makers and government regulators to incentivize the rapid adoption of energy efficient drives and motors.