The International Energy Agency has laid out a report containing a roadmap for countries to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. However, it warns that governments must act fast to slow climate change.
Called Net-Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector, the report states that current climate pledges made by governments may fall short of what is required to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
To reach net-zero, countries must add no more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than they take out.
Suggestions from the report include,
- Ban on sale of new fossil-fuel run vehicles
- Rapidly scaling up renewable energy projects
- Immediately stopping investment in new fossil fuel supplies.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an intergovernmental organization based in Paris that advises its members, who are all signatories of the Paris Agreement, on managing their energy supplies.
The energy sector is responsible for around three-quarters of global greenhouse emissions, according to the IEA.
No Investment in Fossil Fuels
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), human-induced warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels could cause extreme rain, drought, and damage to ecosystems.
The IEA has laid out a timeline of actions for governments to take to avoid this scenario.
The report states that countries must halt investment in fossil fuel supply projects and coal power plants that don’t use carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, preventing waste carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
No new boilers that use fossil fuels, such as gas, should be sold after 2025. By 2030, solar and wind power capabilities will need to be significantly increased.
More Funding for Clean Technologies
The report recommends banning vehicles that use internal combustion engines by 2035.
The report advised that governments must also fund research and development into new technologies such as better batteries for storing renewable energy and systems for capturing carbon from the air and storing it.
Worldwide investment in clean energy, it estimated, will need to be $4 trillion by 2030.
Countries that have made legally binding pledges to be net-zero on carbon emissions by 2050 include Sweden, the UK, France, Denmark, New Zealand, Hungary, Japan, and Korea.
A host of companies have pledged to go net-zero sooner than 2050. Technology company Apple promised to go net-zero by 2030, while Microsoft announced it will be net-zero by 2030 and aims to have removed more carbon from the atmosphere than it has ever emitted by 2050.
Reference Link
https://www.dezeen.com/2021/05/19/net-zero-2050-international-energy-argency-report/
