Several countries that are considered key emitters of greenhouse gases will struggle to achieve the emissions targets agreed at the COP21 climate change talks in Paris last year, according to a new report.
Sian Crampsie
Several countries that are considered key emitters of greenhouse gases will struggle to achieve the emissions targets agreed at the COP21 climate change talks in Paris last year, according to a new report.
Commissioned by the IChemE Energy Centre, the study concludes that significant changes in national energy policies, such as Australia’s repeal of its carbon tax in 2014, will have a negative effect on progress towards lower CO2 emissions.
The report, Transitions in Electricity Systems Towards 2030, reinforces the widely-held view that a strong focus on the power generation sector is needed in order to secure progress. Power generation accounts for 30-40 per cent of CO2 emissions in the countries examined in the report.
In order to achieve the emissions targets agreed at COP21 in December 2015, alternative power generation technologies must be deployed urgently, says IChemE.
The report examines the electricity generation systems in seven countries – Australia, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and the UK. These countries have a substantial community of chemical engineers, and are all significant emitters of greenhouse gases. The report describes a scoring methodology based on ‘condensed principles of rational energy policy’. Each country’s performance is assessed based on existing low-carbon generation capacity and current policy trends’.
The UK ranks top with a score of +2, indicating positive moves in evidence-based policy, a focus on negative emissions, and continuing deployment of renewable energy sources. India scored a -4 with South Africa on -3, but Australia scored lowest at -5 as a result of weak targets and policy reversal, driven by cost reduction rather than environmental goals.
The research team for the report was supervised by Energy Centre Board member, Dr Niall Mac Dowell, a lecturer in Energy and Environmental Technology at Imperial College, who said: "The Paris agreement represents an important step in tacking climate change, but this must now be matched with sustained action commensurate with achieving the ambitious 1.5°C target.
"Many governments are taking positive steps, but the current commitments by some nations will be insufficient to meet climate goals. Serious consideration must be given to the policy measures that will be required to achieve these demanding emissions targets; and implementation must follow quickly."
To view the report go to <http://www.icheme.org/albums/reports/icheme-energy-centre-full-report-transitions-in-electricity-systems-towards-2030-june-2016.pdf> or follow the link above.