% IMPORTANT: The following is UTF-8 encoded.  This means that in the presence
% of non-ASCII characters, it will not work with BibTeX 0.99 or older.
% Instead, you should use an up-to-date BibTeX implementation like “bibtex8” or
% “biber”.

@ARTICLE{Peters:1047011,
      author       = {Peters, Ian Marius},
      title        = {{F}rom fossil fuels to photovoltaics: energy's role in
                      human development and sustainability},
      journal      = {EES solar},
      volume       = {1},
      number       = {5},
      issn         = {3033-4063},
      address      = {Washington DC},
      publisher    = {Royal Society of Chemistry},
      reportid     = {FZJ-2025-04067},
      pages        = {712-723},
      year         = {2025},
      abstract     = {The evolution of human civilization—from subsistence
                      societies to a globally productive and interconnected
                      economy—has been fundamentally driven by our evolving
                      ability to harness energy. Each major transition in our
                      dominant fuel source—from biomass to coal, then to oil and
                      gas—has marked a pivotal turning point in productivity,
                      economic development, and global well-being. Perhaps our
                      greatest achievement is lifting large portions of humanity
                      above poverty; today, global productivity surpasses the
                      threshold needed to universally eliminate poverty more than
                      twentyfold. However, reliance on fossil fuels has brought
                      serious unintended consequences: rising greenhouse gas
                      emissions, mounting waste, and accelerating biodiversity
                      loss, threatening the stability of the very systems enabling
                      prosperity. Addressing these challenges requires a
                      transformation of our energy system as a foundational step
                      toward sustainability. This paper argues that transitioning
                      toward decarbonized and circular infrastructures is both
                      technically and economically feasible, requiring investments
                      on the order of $1\%$ of global GDP—a figure consistent
                      with multiple global assessments. Among available
                      technologies, photovoltaics emerge as uniquely scalable,
                      mature, and rapidly advancing. With over 2 TW installed
                      capacity and utility-scale electricity costs below 1.5 cents
                      per kilowatt-hour, solar energy has become the
                      fastest-developing energy source in history. Promising
                      advancements, particularly perovskite-based photovoltaics
                      combined with circular material strategies, could boost the
                      energy return on investment (EROI) beyond 90. By aligning
                      our productivity with ecological boundaries through
                      innovations in solar energy, we have the opportunity to
                      redefine prosperity—making sustainability a source of
                      economic growth, improved public health, global equity, and
                      environmental resilience.},
      cin          = {IET-2},
      ddc          = {620},
      cid          = {I:(DE-Juel1)IET-2-20140314},
      pnm          = {1214 - Modules, stability, performance and specific
                      applications (POF4-121)},
      pid          = {G:(DE-HGF)POF4-1214},
      typ          = {PUB:(DE-HGF)16},
      doi          = {10.1039/D5EL00039D},
      url          = {https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/1047011},
}