Why we need to start now to reach zero emissions

 

Countries around the world can move their economies onto a path that cuts net emissions of climate-changing gases to zero at an affordable cost but they should start now, the World Bank said. The latest science says the world needs to reach zero net emissions by 2100 to stabilise global warming at about 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, agreed by governments as the maximum acceptable, the bank said in a report on Monday. Zero net emissions means that no more greenhouse gases would be released into the atmosphere than can be absorbed by natural carbon sinks – oceans, forests and other vegetation. “Choices made today can lock in emissions trajectories for years to come and leave communities vulnerable to climate impacts. We will help support robust decisions when we can,” Rachel Kyte, the World Bank Group’s special envoy for climate change, said in a statement. The report, intended as a guide for policy makers in developed and developing countries, sets out three key steps to a “zero-carbon future”. Those are to plan for the long-term and avoid quick fixes that could undermine the end goal, such as swapping coal for gas; price carbon alongside policies to encourage changes in investment and behaviour; and help those negatively affected by the transition. “Decarbonising development is necessary to stabilise climate change,” the report said. “All countries are well-advised to start now, but not all will.” Kyte told reporters there had been a “fairly seismic” shift in the kind of expertise the developing countries that are the World Bank’s clients are seeking. They are now asking how to close their energy gap with the cleanest energy mix they can afford, she said, adding that they needed financing to enable them to make the right choices. The report said models reviewed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed that postponing mitigation of climate change until 2030 would hike the cost by an average 50 percent through to 2050, and 40 percent beyond then to 2100. Countries can reach zero net emissions by shifting to clean energy from fossil fuels as their source of electricity, and then expanding access to electricity, it said. Efforts are also required to improve energy efficiency and cut waste, and keep natural carbon sinks healthy through forest and land management so they can offset remaining emissions. Easing the pain The World Bank has been a strong advocate for schemes that set a price on carbon, such as emissions trading and taxes. The report notes that taxes on carbon can be easier to administer and harder to evade than other taxes. For example, in Britain, evasion is around 9 percent for corporate tax and 17 percent for income tax, compared with only 2 percent for an excise tax on diesel. But due to market failures and entrenched behaviour, policy makers also need to adopt measures like targeted subsidies, performance standards and awareness campaigns to catalyse shifts in investment and technology innovation, the report said. It also encourages the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, which reached around $548 billion in 2013. More than 25 countries – most of them in Asia – have significantly reformed such subsidies over the past two years, it notes. But change must be accompanied by efforts to ease the pain for poorer people who may suffer as a result, it adds. “None of this will happen unless the reforms are socially and politically acceptable,” said Marianne Fay, World Bank Group chief economist for climate change and report lead author. Where countries have removed fossil fuel subsidies, for example, some have used the resources released to fund tax cuts and cash transfers. “It is … critical to use the savings or new proceeds generated by climate policies to compensate poor people, promote poverty reduction, and boost safety nets,” the report said. This article is published in collaboration with Thomson Reuters Foundation. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum. Author: Megan Rowling is a Journalist at Thomson Reuters Foundation.  Image: Maintenance officer Wilson Ting of Sunseap Leasing inspects photovoltaic solar modules on top of a block of public housing estate apartments in Singapore. REUTERS/Edgar Su Posted by Megan Rowling - 11:00 All opinions expressed are those of the author. The World Economic Forum Blog is an independent and neutral platform dedicated to generating debate around the key topics that shape global, regional and industry agendas.

20 images that show the human impact on the planet

 

Posted by Michael Thomas April 6, 2015 The human impact on this planet has been huge in a relatively short period of time. These pictures are not about data, but about better picturing this impact through visual examples. While viewing these, keep in mind that our current extinction rate is 1000x the background level and that wild animal populations have shrunk an average of 52% in 40 years. 1. A surfer riding through debris Photograph: Zak Noyle Plastic has permeated our oceans, with over 270 million metric tons of in the ocean there is potentially more plastic than fish in the oceans right now. This becomes even more believable when we consider that up to 85% of fisheries are being overexploited. 2. Deforestation in British Columbia, Canada Photograph: Garth Lentz Deforestation is a major problem, and we now have only half as many forests as we did in 1950. We are simultaneously putting out vastly more carbon into the atmosphere while depleting the planet’s capacity to absorb it. 3. Animal agriculture Photograph: Peter Beltra Animal agriculture, as a whole, requires tremendous amounts of resources and is a leader in environmental degradation, responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions (more than all transportation combined). Clearing land for animal agriculture, and the food it requires, accounts for 91% of amazon deforestation. 4.  Kowloon City in Hong Kong Hong Kong is still one of the most densely populated cities on Earth with 6,650 people per square kilometer. When Kowloon City still stood, it housed 33,000 people in a single city block. 5. Mexico City, urban sprawl Photograph: Pablo Lopez Luz Mexico City is also one of the most populated cities in the world, and its expansion has wiped out natural ecosystems for many kilometers. Together, this has led to very bad air quality, a continuing concern for Mexican health authorities. 6.  Port au Prince, Haiti 7. Crop “desert” in China, no room for nature Huge swaths of China, and indeed many developed and developing countries, is covered in fields containing only one kind of plant. Where fields and forests once stood, now stands neat rows of single species, far more sensitive to environmental fluctuations than a diverse ecosystem. 8. Deforestation in Brazil Brazilian rainforest being clear-cut for cattle raising, photograph: Daniel Beltra 9. Plastic moves up the food chain In both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems: plastic moves up. The tiny and not so tiny pieces are eaten by animals which are themselves then eaten: it moves up the food chain. With all the microplastics in our oceans and water: do we really think this isn’t reaching us? 10. Cheap fossil energy won’t last forever, and it certainly wasn’t free Depleting oil fields are yet another symptom of ecological overshoot, as seen at the Kern River Oil Field, California. 11. The Yangtze River turning red Whether due to microorganisms or industrial pollution: this is certainly a bad sign for the ecosystem. There is reason to believe that when enough small ecosystems collapse, the global biosphere will become destabilized and mass extinction will intensify. 12. Alberta Tar Sands, where there was once a boreal forest Photo by Garth Lenz The tar sands are one of the most dirty sources of oil, and the extraction of this oil has polluted both the water and the land locally in Alberta. The fact that this project was OK’d by any environmental regulator is shocking, but this becomes less shocking when you realize that Alberta literally sold their regulator posts to the oil industry. 13. The Deepwater Horizon crisis Approximately 5 million barrels of oil (almost a million cubic meters) spilled into the ocean. In response to this disaster, BP sprayed Corexit (which is so poisonous that the US government demanded they stop) onto the oil to get it to disappear from sight. Millions of barrels of oil still lay on the bottom of the Gulf, rendering hundreds to thousands of square miles devoid of life. Meanwhile, BP got off with a slap on the wrist and a connected high-ranking Halliburton manager who destroyed evidence was fined only $1,000. 14.  What was once a forest in Oregon is now a wasteland Industrial forestry degrading public lands, Willamette National Forest in Oregon, Photograph: Daniel Dancer See previous points about deforestation, also keep in mind that the prices demanded for exploitation of Federal/public lands is pennies on the dollar for the ecological costs and profit the companies make. They demand so little that the Navajo were able to sue them for exploiting their lands and not returning even close to market price. 15. Oil filters in Seattle, 2003 Photography: Chris Jordan 16. Junkyard full of metal scraps Photography: Chris Jordan 17. Mountain of phone chargers Photography: Chris Jordan 18. Sea of cellphones Photography: Chris Jordan Our lust and desire for smartphones, and next-generation technologies of all kinds, are fueling conflict and loss of life the Congo. 19. Clearcutting in Finland 20. Fish die-off at Redondo Beach, California With our population already at 7 billion people and overconsumption rising at a terrifying rate, this is something serious that many people have a hard time picturing. The truth is shocking, and when I look at these photos I can only imagine all the heart-wrenching images of environmental destruction that go unseen by most humans, the scenes which lay unvisited in the mountains or in the hearts of what were once forests.