Ramp up efforts to fight climate change

First, the good news. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have stayed nearly the same for three years till 2015 at 36.3 billion tonnes. It will rise only by 0.2 percent by this year-end. Now, the bad news. Despite the levelling off of CO2 emission, it is not enough to check global warming and tackle climate change.
The annual Global Carbon Budget report — which has made these findings — comes at a crucial time as climate scientists and diplomats are meeting in
Marrakesh to draw a roadmap for implementation of the Paris pact. The study indicates that there has been no rise in CO2 emissions for three years even as economic activities are going on at an unprecedented rate. This must be a great relief for conservationists. It reaffirms the hope that sustainable economic
development and environmental protection can go hand in hand.
However, let’s not get carried away by the CO2 stabilization saga. We need to have a very guarded optimism. Reason: The carbon emission may have not
increased, but an UNEP report says the total greenhouse gases from all sources continued to show a steady increase in 2014. Hence, the Global Carbon Budget report should undoubtedly make us happy, but complacency shouldn’t set in.
The current stabilization in CO2 emissions can largely be attributed to policies of many countries that are breaking away from coal use and decarbonizing their economies. Renewables are being given a huge impetus. Renewable energy attracted record investment of $300 billion in 2015, outstripping fossil fuels. The installed capacity of solar and wind has overtaken that of coal for the first time. The rapid shift has helped the carbon emission rate to become flat. In fact, the CO2 emission grew at a rate of 2.3 percent per year from 2004 to 2013. But it actually dipped to 0.7 percent in 2014.
Even though it is really encouraging to see the emission levels getting static, it is not enough to meet the goal of limiting the average global warming to
2 degrees Celsius (1.5 degrees ideally) over pre-industrial era levels. We need a decrease of 0.9 percent per year to be on track to save the planet from massive climate change impacts.
As Professor Corinne Le Quere, director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia, rightly points out, “Global emissions now need to decrease rapidly, not just stop growing.”
There is urgent need to ramp up efforts and raise the bar when it comes to carbon cuts. The climate commitments made in Paris pact are way too short to plug the emission gap. UNEP head Erik Solheim says, “If we don’t start taking additional action now, we will grieve over the avoidable human tragedy.”
Every single day is crucial in the fight against climate change. Time is running out for us. The role of businesses — and energy sector — is becoming more
important in this global battle. Oil companies have to invest in renewables and sustain it by profits. ENI of Italy has plans to pump in $1.1 billion over the next three years in solar projects. Shell, BP and Statoil are putting their focus on
wind power. The UAE is developing renewable energy assets — with DEWA and Masdar leading the way. DEWA’s Shams Dubai initiative to boost solar energy is producing outstanding results. Masdar has invested US$1.7 billion in renewable energy developments while delivering 1,000 megawatts of projects since 2008. The carbon capture, utilization and storage project — which became operational recently — was made possible because of the joint efforts of ADNOC and Masdar. The plan will sequester 800,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. More such projects are needed around the world to combat climate change.