Brussels, 15/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - According to a report unveiled by the International Energy Agency on Monday 15 June, a peak in global energy-related emissions could be achieved as early as 2020 if governments implement just five key policy measures, including the scrapping of subsidies for fossil fuels and a ban on the building of new coal plants. Ahead of the UN conference on climate in Paris next December (COP 21), the IEA explains that this peak would create a real turning point in the fight against climate change and at no extra cost.
The IEA proposes that the following four key pillars are needed to make COP21 a success, from an energy perspective: set the conditions to achieve an early peak in global energy-related emissions; five-yearly revision of climate targets regularly, to test the scope to raise ambition; translate the world's climate goal into a collective long-term emissions goal and establish a process for tracking achievements in the energy sector.
To achieve a peak in global energy-related emissions as early as 2020, the IEA advocates five key policy measures, focusing 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 and reducing methane emissions in oil and gas production.
IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said: “It is clear that the energy sector must play a critical role if efforts to reduce emissions are to succeed”. The IEA also explains that world greenhouse-gas emissions from energy production and use are double the level of all other sources combined.
The IEA also warns that “Any delay in taking action can be costly”. One assessment made of the COP21 commitments already revealed by some other countries accounting for two thirds of energy-related emissions illustrates that emissions growth linked to the energy sector will decline but that it will not reach a peak before 2030, explains the agency.
Without implementation of the five measures advocated by the IEA, the link between economic growth and emissions weakens significantly but will not be broken before 2030: the economy will grow by 88% from 2013 to 2030 and energy-related carbon dioxide emissions by just 8%. Renewables are expected to be the leading source of electricity by 2030, but inefficient coal-fired power generation capacity will only decline slightly. (Emmanuel Hagry)