IEA: ‘Wereld moet meer doen tegen de opwarming’

Gepubliceerd op 16-06-2015 om 17:15

16 juni 2015 – Met de huidige voornemens gaat het de wereld niet lukken de mondiale temperatuurstijging binnen de 2 graden te houden, concludeert het IEA, dat oproept tot extra inspanningen.

Schermafdruk 2015-06-17 12.53.54 Het IEA inventariseert in het rapport ‘Energy and Climate Change’ alle nationale klimaatverplichtingern en toezeggingen (de INDC’s, Intended Nationally Determined Contributions).
‘If stronger action is not forthcoming after 2030, the path in the INDC scenario would be consistent with an average temperature increase of around 2.6C by 2100 and 3.5C after 2200.’
‘(The report) finds that while global energy-related emissions slow as a result of the climate pledges, they still increase. To compensate, governments will need to ramp up efforts, reviewing their pledges regularly, setting realistic and attainable longer-term goals and tracking their progress’, schrijft IEA-directeur Maria van der Hoeven in het voorwoord.
Bij de presentatie van het rapport in Londen had Van der Hoeven het vooral over de woorden die nu toch echt in daden moeten worden omgezet. ‘The true test of commitment will be in the translation of these pledges into actions. This will mean putting a price on carbon, whether through a tax, trading scheme or otherwise. It will mean continuing to increase efficiencies across the board. And it will mean investing in research and development, spurring the kinds of innovative technologies and thinking that will be necessary for taking us toward a cleaner, brighter future.’
Fatih Birol (per 1 september de opvolger van Maria van der Hoeven) wees bij de presentatie op de morele plicht van regeringen: ‘The world must quickly learn to live within its means if this generation is to pass it on to the next with a clear conscience.’
Het IEA wil met zijn rapport de sleutelfiguren steunen die betrokken zijn bij de voorbereiding van de klimaatonderhandelingen (COP21) in Parijs in december.

Toch heeft het IEA-rapport ook een positieve ondertoon: met niet al te ingrijpende middelen is het wel degelijk mogelijk de opwarming binnen aanvaardbare grenzen te houden. En ook economisch kan de hele operatie kostenneutraal verlopen. ‘A peak in global energy-related emissions could be achieved as early as 2020 and at no net economic cost.’

Het IEA pleit voor vier pijlers die kunnen helpen COP21 tot een success te maken:

‘Peak in emissions – set the conditions to achieve an early peak in globalenergy-related emissions.
Five-year revision – review national climate targets regularly, to test the scope to raise ambition.
Lock in the vision – translate the world’s climate goal into a collective long-term emissions goal.
Track the transition – establish a process for tracking achievements in the energy sector.’

‘A peak in global energy-related emissions could be achieved as early as 2020 if governments implement just five key policy measures, as shown in the IEA’s “Bridge Scenario”. This major climate milestone is possible utilising only proven technologies and policies, and without changing the economic and development prospects of any region. Intended as an effective bridge to further action, the five measures focus on:

Increasing energy efficiency in the industry, buildings and transport sectors
Reducing the use of the least-efficient coal-fired power plants and banning their construction
Increasing investment in renewable energy technologies in the power sector from $270 billion in 2014 to $400 billion in 2030
Gradual phasing out of fossil-fuel subsidies to end-users by 2030
Reducing methane emissions in oil and gas production

.

WEO Special Report on Energy & Climate Change: Part 1 – Opening Remarks Press Conference