Light as the Key to Global Environmental Sustainability

Climate protection is one of the most important challenges of our time. The first signs of the dramatic consequences of human-caused global warming give us a glimpse of the price we will all pay if we act too late or too hesitantly. That price is measured in terms of a decline in prosperity, migration, extreme weather, and species extinction—to name just a few of the impacts. Yet some of the technologies needed to limit the rise in temperature are already available. Let me state this clearly: photonics—the technical application of light—is a key element in this effort. The Paris Agreement on climate change set the goal of limiting the rise in global temperatures to well below 2 degrees Celsius, or preferably 1.5 degrees, compared to pre-industrial levels. This goal requires behavioral changes on the part of every individual as well as government measures. But that alone will not be enough. We also need technical innovations that make it possible to reconcile the environmental, social, and economic aspects of climate protection and thereby achieve acceptance from all sides.

Three billion metric tons less_CO2: That is the expected indirect climate protection potential of photonics in 2030, based solely on a few examples—ranging from photovoltaics to energy-efficient lighting and early forest fire detection. None of these applications could achieve their climate protection impact without photonics. The significant reduction in emissions demonstrates the enormous potential of innovative technologies for generating, amplifying, shaping, transmitting, and harnessing light. As a key technology, photonics offers high-tech solutions for countless fields of application that—due to their properties, potential uses, or modes of action—can make a significant contribution to sustainability, for example by reducing electricity consumption, CO2 emissions, or fertilizer use; by saving materials; or through new recycling processes and technologies for environmental protection.

Through our study, we aim to highlight this potential, this diversity, and the innovative spirit of photonics as an “enabler” of sustainability. It should also be seen as a call to action to support the vital importance of photonics through dedicated research, research funding, and an innovation-friendly policy environment.

Jörg Mayer, Managing Director of SPECTARIS

1.1 billion metric tons less_CO2 today and 3 billion metric tons by 2030: Photonics makes a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement: through reduced electricity consumption,_{CO2 emissions}, or fertilizer use; through material savings; or through new recycling processes and technologies for environmental protection. 2030 is a milestone on the path to climate neutrality, which, according to the Paris Agreement, is to be achieved by 2050. The goal of the Paris Agreement is to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Eleven percent of_{the CO2} savings in 2030 will result directly or indirectly from applications of photonics. This is demonstrated by the new study “Light as the Key to Global Sustainability” by the industry association SPECTARIS and Messe München, in cooperation with Fraunhofer ILT and the Fraunhofer Light & Surfaces Network. The study describes the ecological benefits of selected technical applications of light and presents the underlying innovations. 

“Climate and environmental protection are among humanity’s greatest challenges. The technical achievements of photonics show that we already have important tools at our disposal,” explains SPECTARIS Managing Director Jörg Mayer. “What we have achieved today with lasers and light sensors was still considered science fiction just a few years ago. Today, these technologies are permeating our everyday lives and significantly reducing climate-damaging emissions on a large scale—for example, photovoltaics, energy-efficient lighting, and optical communication.” Today’s contribution to_{CO2 reduction} is expected to nearly triple by 2030, reaching a figure of around three billion metric tons. The photonics industry can thus contribute at least 11 percent toward the goal of limiting the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees by 2030, or 22 percent toward the less ambitious 2-degree pathway of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Prof. Reinhart Poprawe, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT/RWTH Aachen University, emphasizes: “Today, our society faces the challenges posed by megatrends such as mobility, energy, communication, climate protection, security, and health. These challenges call for rapid and effective solutions. Photonics offers potential solutions to the challenges posed by these megatrends. In many cases, the environment benefits as a result.” Poprawe continues: “Solutions based on photonics have already been honored three times with Europe’s most prestigious environmental award, the German Environmental Prize.” And there are now 32 Nobel laureates in the field of photonics.

Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Messe München, adds: “Our LASER World of PHOTONICS, the world’s leading trade fair for optical technologies, demonstrates just how dramatically applications in the fields of lasers and photonics have evolved since 1960. We highlight sustainability, for example, in the context of electric mobility—which cannot function without laser technology: from battery production to lightweight construction to the manufacture of cockpit components. Many of our exhibitors are among the companies doing pioneering work in combining photonics and sustainability.”

SPECTARIS Managing Director Mayer is certain: “The future of photonics has only just begun. Our study should also be seen as a call to action to support the vital importance of photonics through dedicated research, research funding, and an innovation-friendly environment.”