The efforts to reduce GHG emissions are undertaken to decrease the rate at which the temperature of the planet is increasing.
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| Temperature rising |
Nicole Mortillaro of the CBC reports that the Earth is set to warm 3.2 C by 2100 unless efforts to cut emissions are tripled according to a new UN report. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released its annual Emissions Gap Report on Tuesday — 168 pages, compiled by 57 leading scientists from 33 institutions across 25 countries — calling on governments to act immediately, within the next decade, to limit global warming to 1.5 C or 2 C by 2100.
Some key highlights from the report include:
Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) have increased 1.5 per cent annually over the past decade. By 2030, annual emissions need to be 15 gigatonnes of CO2 lower to reach the 2 C goal, and 32 gigatonnes lower for 1.5 C. GHG emissions have to drop by 2.7 per cent per year from 2020 to 2030 for the 2 C goal, and by 7.6 per cent per year for the 1.5 C target.To reach these goals, efforts must increase at least fivefold for the 1.5 C goal and threefold for the 2 C.Of the G20 nations, of which Canada is one, only five countries have committed to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) set out in the Paris Agreement, which outline each country's efforts to reduce national emissions to limit global warming to 2 C below pre-industrial levels.
Canada has not committed to a target that is in line with this scenario.1
Another report by Climate Analytics, released for the UN Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit, shows how fast coal needs to be phased out in order to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement, in light of the latest science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
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| No fossil fuels |
It also assesses whether the efforts to reduce coal use in electricity generation since the adoption of the Paris Agreement put us any closer to a pathway consistent with its 1.5°C limit.
Key messages
Although the new coal pipeline shrunk by 75% since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, cancelling new coal is nowhere near enough to meet its 1.5°C limit Phasing out coal from the electricity sector is the single most important step to get in line with 1.5°C Governments are not on track to phase coal out of the electricity sector in line with the 1.5°C in the Paris Agreement To get on a 1.5°C pathway, they will need to introduce effective regulation to shut down coal plants before the end of their technical lifetime and to significantly limit their use in the meantime, and refrain from building new coal capacity It is critical that governments significantly scale up their NDCs by 2020. The new pledges must include clear commitments to phase out coal, remove subsidies for fossil fuels, and build support for renewables and energy efficiency2
Ralph Torrie of Torrie Smith Associates has prepared a new report that provides a 'pathway' to get Nova Scotia off coal by 2030.
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| Nova Scotia off coal path |
Jack Julian of CBC News quotes the Ecology Action Centre 'We've known that this is technically possible for a long time.'
This would include:
"Deep-energy retrofits" for 80 per cent of homes and commercial buildings, which would help reduce power consumption by seven per cent of current levels. Forty per cent of personal vehicles being either fully electric or plug-in hybrid cars. Doubling the province's wind power capacity.Increases in solar power. Building a second transmission link to New Brunswick, which would allow greater reliance on hydro power from Quebec. Torries said the cost of making these changes and the corresponding savings would almost net out.3
Continuous improvement is an engineering and economically sound strategy to combat the climate emergency.
Transportation is the largest source of carbon pollution in the U.S., but it doesn't have to be that way.
Carmakers have proven time and time again that they are fully capable of making their vehicles cleaner and more fuel efficient. The government just has to ask them. Energy expert Hal Harvey explains. Youtube A Plan For Zero Carbon Transportation4
The path to mitigate the effects of the climate emergency can be followed using best practices of engineering and economics.
References
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