• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
  FEATURED
Thorold Gas Peaker Plant Won’t Be Built After Unanimous City Council Vote September 20, 2023
Indoor Heat Leaves Canadians Unsafe with ‘No Escape’, CBC Investigation Finds September 20, 2023
Agrivoltaics a Win-Win for Farmers, Communities, Solar Developers, and Alberta’s UCP September 20, 2023
‘Beginning of the End’ for Oil and Gas as IEA Predicts Pre-2030 Peak September 19, 2023
‘Turning Point’ for PR Industry as Clean Creatives Targets Fossil Industry Contracts September 19, 2023
Next
Prev

Carbon cut-off point 'is 27 years away'

October 26, 2013
Reading time: 3 minutes
Primary Author: Alex Kirby

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
An end to greenhouse gas emissions is possible by 2050, a report finds. But a decade before that, other researchers say, the world is set to cross a fateful threshold.

LONDON, 26 October – If you plan to be around in mid-century you may find yourself living in interesting times. We could have solved climate change – or it could have spiralled beyond hope of repair.

  • The climate news you need. Subscribe now to our engaging new weekly digest.
  • You’ll receive exclusive, never-before-seen-content, distilled and delivered to your inbox every weekend.
  • The Weekender: Succinct, solutions-focused, and designed with the discerning reader in mind.
Subscribe

Here’s the good news. Scientists say it is technically and economically feasible to phase out net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions almost entirely by 2050.

A report published by the energy consultancy Ecofys and the Global Call for Climate Action, a campaigning NGO, says technological options available today and in the near future could reduce emissions to zero for roughly 90% of current sources of GHG emissions. The remaining emissions could be offset by carbon sinks.

The report concludes that a net GHG phase-out by 2050 would mean there was a very high likelihood of meeting the internationally agreed goal of preventing global average temperatures rising more than 2°C above their pre-industrial level, and a 50% chance of staying below 1.5°C by the end of the century.

But there’s some less good news as well. A decade before that, in just 27 years from now, researchers believe that, based on present emissions trends, there is a strong chance the world will have emitted the last tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) it can afford to produce if it is to stay below that 2°C limit.

27 years and counting

Last month’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that the world’s “climate budget” – the amount of CO2 it can afford to emit if it is to stay below 2°C – is a trillion tonnes.

Researchers at the University of Oxford, UK, say global emissions already amount to 574 billion tonnes – and show every sign of increasing. Based on emission trends over the past 20 years, they expect at the moment that the trillionth tonne will be emitted some time during November 2040 (the exact date is moving slowly closer).

To prevent the world emitting the trillionth tonne, the Oxford team says, CO2 emissions will have to be cut by 2.47% a year, and to keep falling at that rate until they reach zero.

The Oxford research may make sober reading, but it could be worse. It does not take into account emissions of greenhouse gases apart from CO2, and it does not allow for “feedbacks” – the possibility that global warming could itself trigger damaging consequences, for example the release from the Arctic permafrost of methane, a potent GHG.

Who cuts first – and deepest?

Reporting the Oxford research on Yale Environment 360, an online magazine, the British science journalist Fred Pearce writes: “We have options, but the stakes are high. And the worst thing may be that there is no guarantee that keeping below the trillion-ton target will be enough.”

Problems he identifies include practical ways to reduce emissions far and fast enough. Possibilities he mentions – all of them controversial – include nuclear power, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and geo-engineering.

Renewable technologies may close the gap, if they can produce enough energy soon enough. Some of the scenarios examined in the Ecofys report find that 100% renewable energy by 2050 is possible. Others assume a smaller contribution from renewables, but more from CCS, energy efficiency, and possibly also nuclear power.

Whatever technology the world chooses, there will still be the thorny question of who should make the biggest cuts. As the Ecofys report says, “Whether a phase-out is politically feasible will be determined in the coming years.”

In November the UN’s Climate Change Convention will hold its main annual negotiating session, this year meeting in the Polish capital, Warsaw. It is trying to work out an agreement on emissions cuts which can be agreed in Paris in 2015 and come into effect in 2020. Watch out for the talks on the carbon budget. – Climate News Network



in Climate News Network

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

moerschy / Pixabay
Biodiversity & Habitat

Planetary Weight Study Shows Humans Taking Most of Earth’s Resources

March 19, 2023
53
U.S. Geological Survey/wikimedia commons
Biodiversity & Habitat

Climate Change Amplifies Risk of ‘Insect Apocalypse’

December 1, 2022
67
Alaa Abd El-Fatah/wikimedia commons
COP Conferences

Rights Abuses, Intrusive Conference App Put Egypt Under Spotlight as COP 27 Host

November 14, 2022
34

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Jon Sullivan/flickr

Thorold Gas Peaker Plant Won’t Be Built After Unanimous City Council Vote

September 20, 2023
334
/Piqusels

‘Beginning of the End’ for Oil and Gas as IEA Predicts Pre-2030 Peak

September 19, 2023
356
Clean Creatives

‘Turning Point’ for PR Industry as Clean Creatives Targets Fossil Industry Contracts

September 19, 2023
233
William Munoz/Flickr

‘Obituary-Changing’ Revelations Show Exxon’s Tillerson Undermining Climate Science

September 19, 2023
186
HiMY SYeD/flick

Ontario Waits 8 Months to Release Dire Climate Impact Report

September 14, 2023
486
Beckyq6937/Wikimedia Commons

Solar Geoengineering Means ‘Game Over’ for Life on Earth, Critics Warn

September 19, 2023
97

Recent Posts

Rewat Wannasuk/Pexels

Virtual Power Plants Could Cut Peak Demand 20%, Save U.S. Grid $10B Per Year

September 20, 2023
1
Jeremy Bezanger/Unsplash

Indoor Heat Leaves Canadians Unsafe with ‘No Escape’, CBC Investigation Finds

September 20, 2023
1
Wesley Fryer/flickr

Smart Thermostats Boost Grid Stability Amid Intense Heat

September 20, 2023
1
Cullen328/wikimedia commons

Manufactured Housing Could Dent the Affordable Housing Crunch with Energy-Efficient Designs

September 20, 2023
1
Mr Renewables/Wikipedia

Californians Fight for Approval of New Community Solar Plan

September 20, 2023
2
Asurnipal/wikimedia commons

Agrivoltaics a Win-Win for Farmers, Communities, Solar Developers, and Alberta’s UCP

September 20, 2023
1
Next Post

Green Climate Fund 'can power poor'

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
The Energy Mix - Energy Central
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}