How to Reduce Emissions and Maintain Prosperity
December 4, 2015 | Imperial College LondonEstimated reading time: 6 minutes
Since the first UN Earth Summit in 1992, governments have been trying to encourage sound environmental management in tandem with economic growth and social welfare. From 30 November – 11 December, delegates from more than 190 nations will meet at the 21st annual Conference of Parties (COP 21) in Paris. This year’s meeting is geared towards forming a legally binding agreement on limiting climate change, the first of its kind since the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. We took a look at some Imperial projects that are having an impact at COP 21 and beyond.
Accountability
In the run-up to the Paris talks, countries have been submitting their plans to curb greenhouse gas emissions after 2020. Using this data, researchers from Imperial and collaborators at the international network Climate-KIC, have created a Climate Calculator to assess just how effective the changes will be. In partnership with the Financial Times, the Calculator has been turned into an interactive graphic with funding from the Grantham Institute.
Their calculations predict that even with the proposed cuts, global warming could still reach up to four degrees Celsius (4°C) of warming by 2100, overshooting the 2°C warming threshold that could spell ‘dangerous and irreversible’ climate change.
A ‘business as usual’ scenario where countries do nothing to limit their emissions would likely cause a global temperature rise up to 6°C or more.
“It is imperative the Paris agreement includes a system requiring countries to drastically ramp up emissions cuts beyond their current promises,” said Dr Jeremy Woods, from Imperial’s Centre for Environmental Policy and a collaborator on the Calculator.
The FT Climate Calculator allows users to pick apart the contributions of different regions and their respective plans. Users can also change the plans to see what level of action would be needed to reach the 2°C warming goal.
“What is clear from our analysis is that no country is doing enough but some countries are doing far less than they are capable of doing,” said Dr Rajiv Chaturvedi of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, a collaborator on the Calculator’s data.
For example, Russia has tabled plans to cut emissions by 30 percent of 1990 levels by 2030. However, its emissions in 2030 will be similar to those of 2010. The researchers suggest that to make a meaningful contribution to limiting climate change, Russia needs to cut its emissions by up to 40 percent of 2010 levels.
Page 1 of 3
Suggested Items
Boeing Opens Research & Technology Center in Japan
04/23/2024 | BoeingBoeing today opened a Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T) Center in Japan that will focus on innovation to enable the commercial aviation industry meet its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
GlobalFoundries Commits to Achieving Net Zero Emissions and Carbon-Neutral Power by 2050
04/23/2024 | GlobalFoundriesGlobalFoundries (GF) is furthering its commitment to sustainable operations and fighting climate change with the announcement of two new long-term goals to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 100% carbon-neutral power by 2050.
Amphenol Corporation Releases 2023 Sustainability Report
04/23/2024 | Amphenol CorporationAmphenol Corporation released its 2023 Sustainability Report.
Aaron Woolf, Dylan Peterson Join SIA Team
04/22/2024 | SIAThe Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced Aaron Woolf and Dylan Peterson have joined the SIA team. Woolf will serve as director of global policy for economic security and Peterson will be a communications associate. SIA represents 99% of the U.S. semiconductor industry by revenue and nearly two-thirds of non-U.S. chip firms.
Digitalisation and ESG
04/19/2024 | Marina Hornasek-Metzl, AT&SDigitalisation and ESG are prominent and high-priority topics in the global business community. The first focuses on applying technology throughout the value chain to produce faster, smarter, and more desirable business outcomes. The latter emphasises the broader value a business is expected to create for its stakeholders from an environmental, social, and governance perspective.