Global Warming and Climate Change

The World Meteorological Organization has recorded the warmest 20 years in the last 22 years. According to the record the warmest four years were 2015 to 2018. This means that global average temperature now is 1.2C (2.16F) higher than in the pre-industrial era. This incremental warming appears to be having negative impact in all parts of the Earth. Many people think that climate change mainly means warmer temperature but it is only the beginning. If the recent trend continues by 2100 as the global warming intensifies, the consequences of climate change such as erratic weather patterns, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, and melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity will worsen.

Scientists and different government around the globe recognized that climate change is triggered by a higher level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Excess of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere triggers harmful global warming resulting to climate change. Greenhouse gases concentrate are at their highest levels in 2 million years and emissions continue to rise. Greenhouse gases trap the energy from the sun in the atmosphere and create a greenhouse effect causing a warmer temperature. The most common greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. Since the Industrial Revolution in the       

late 1700s and early 1800s, people have been releasing large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. That amount has skyrocketed in the past century. Greenhouse gas emissions increased 70% between 1970 and 2004.

Carbon Emission

CO2 is the most dangerous and abundant in the atmosphere. Emissions of carbon dioxide, rose by about 80% during that time. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today far exceeds the natural range seen over the last 650,000 years. Most of the carbon dioxide that people put into the atmosphere comes from burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas. Cars, trucks, trains, and planes burn fossil fuels. Many electric power plants also burn fossil fuels. Another way people release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is by cutting down forests. Decaying plant material, including trees, releases tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Living trees absorb carbon dioxide. By diminishing the number of trees to absorb carbon dioxide, the gas remains in the atmosphere. Cutting carbon emissions, carbon footprints or seeking low-carbon alternatives are suggested as ways to address climate change.         

What is Net Zero Carbon Emission and its importance?

Given the impact that carbon emissions have on our planet, we aim for a net zero carbon emission. You might wonder why we aren’t aiming real zero, rather than net zero. Real zero would mean stopping all emissions, which isn’t realistically attainable across all sectors of our lives and industry. Even with best efforts to reduce them, there will still be some emissions. While net zero emission refers to overall balance between the greenhouse gas emissions produces and greenhouse gas emissions taken out of the atmosphere. It means producing greenhouse gas emissions tips the scales and we want to get those scales back into balance. Getting to net zero emissions means we still produce some emissions as long as they are offset by processes that reduces greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. This could also means to transition to renewable energy. The end goal is to balance the scales again, and restore the global climate to pre-climate change levels. To get there, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero and then get cracking on repairing past harm by drawing down past emissions.

Net Zero Carbon Emission

Government’s Projects and Policies on Net Zero Carbon Emission

Many climate change solutions can deliver economic benefits while improving our lives and protecting the environment. We also have global frameworks and agreements to guide progress, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. A growing coalition of countries all over the world is committing to net zero emissions by 2050; half of emissions cut must be in place by 2030 to keep warming below 1.5°C. The biggest effort so far has been the Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted in 1997 and went into effect in 2005. By the end of 2009, 187 countries had signed and ratified the agreement. Under the protocol, 37 industrialized countries and the European Union have committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Some ways to reduce the emissions are changing farming practices. For example, reducing the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers which increase nitrogen oxide emission would reduce the amount of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. Protecting forests and planting new ones can help balance greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Private Companies Committed to Achieve Net Zero Carbon Emission

As the governments introduces policies to reduce greenhouse gases; and understanding the impact of continuous rise on Carbon Emission; companies from different industries have also committed in achieving the Net Zero Carbon Emission like Abbot (USA), Adidas AG (Germany), and Aeon Co. Ltd. (Japan) among others. They have set up a science –based target grounded on the Corporate Net-Zero Standard; the world’s first framework for corporate net-zero target setting in line with climate science.  It includes the guidance, criteria, and recommendations companies need to set science-based net-zero targets consistent with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Companies like PWC committed to a 50% absolute reduction of greenhouse gas emission across its network as well as reduction in its business travel emission, their largest source of emission. In 2022 the company switch into a 100% renewable electricity across its 21 largest territories. They embed implications of climate change and other environmental, social and governance factors into clients and suppliers work requiring them to set a science –based targets to reduce their own climate impact. The company reshape its client service model to balance remote and on-site working. The company also counterbalance its emission through a high quality carbon offsetting projects, targeting that by 2030 they’ll transition its portfolio to carbon removals.  Others have committed to the use of a diverse mix of renewables, alternative fuels, nuclear, natural gas, hydro, raw materials and energy efficiency to meet net zero target. Companies like Repsol pursue a number of measures to reach its goals which includes scaling up its renewable energy portfolio, increasing its production of biofuels and chemical products with low-carbon footprints, and ensuring that all its future oil and gas projects are compatible with the emissions levels implied by the Paris Agreement. 

Genevieve Rikah Dimacuta
Contributor

References:     

https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/what-is-net-zero https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/greenhouse-effect https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/what–does–net–zero–emissions–mean/ https://sciencebasedtargets.org/companies–taking–action

https://www.unpri.org/pri–blog/seven–major–companies–that–committed–to–net–zeroemissions–in–2021/9197.article

https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/sustainability/climate.html