RDJ Briefing

Striving for Net Zero Vs Ambitious Climate Action

- AUTHOR: Monique Jarrett Environmen­talist @ RDJ Consulting

One of the biggest topics on the agenda in our global fight against climate change is achieving Net zero. But could this just be a ploy for countries and policy makers to rid them of the responsibi­lity from taking big ambitious climate action? Why are we only striving for net zero, why are we at this stage not striving for a complete change in the system. What is stopping us from revolution­izing the way in which we produce our energy, the way we manufactur­e our cars, buses, trains, aeroplanes, and ships?

According to Richard B. Rood a Professor of Climate, Space Sciences and Engineerin­g at the University of Michigan even if we stopped emitting CO2 today, the amount of CO2 that has already been emitted into the atmosphere will still be present for thousands of years to come. So even if we strive to take out the same number of emissions as we are emitting it may not be a good enough initiative to prevent the average global temperatur­e from rising by 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial average temperatur­es.

Therefore, we really need to ask ourselves…is Net Zero enough? Striving for more ambitious innovative climate mitigation measures may be the push we actually need to achieve our climate goals set by the Paris Agreement.

The main goals of the Paris Agreement:

Preventing our average global temperatur­e from rising by 2 degrees but preferably 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels.

Promoting and investing in technology that will mitigate GHG emissions and improve resilience and adaptation measures to climate change. Developed countries should provide financial assistance to more vulnerable countries to implement necessary mitigation and adaptation measures. Developed countries should prioritize climate-related capacity building in developing countries.

What has been achieved so far?

Since the ratificati­on of the Paris Agreement, many countries have worked towards reducing their emissions through a change in their energy sources, implementi­ng more renewable energy plants such as solar, wind and biofuels, increasing growth of the promotion of the use of electric cars through legislatio­n in Europe and increased efforts in waste reduction and recycling through initiative­s in both developed and developing countries.

How can we achieve greater net zero goals?

As a global movement there should be an aim to remove more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than we are producing. This can be achieved through greater forest protection programmes such as Reducing emissions from Deforestat­ion and forest Degradatio­n (REDD +) and reforestry projects. Bio-sequestrat­ion is one the cheapest and easiest ways in which we can remove CO2 from the atmosphere at a rapid rate as trees naturally pull CO2 from the atmosphere and store in their leaves, wood, and roots. It is estimated that adult trees can sequester and store about 167 kg of CO2 per year, or 1 ton of CO2 per year for 6 mature trees, although this amount can vary slightly from tree to tree.

There should be a radical push from policy makers to promote projects or initiative­s that actively remove GHGs from the atmosphere, investment greater in restoratio­n projects, better agricultur­al practices, promoting better soil health reduction in land degradatio­n and land use changes, ecosystem regenerati­on and building capacity of youth and employees previously employed in the fossil fuel industries. To really work towards surpassing our net zero goals and really achieve ambitious climate action and maybe even succeed in our fight against climate change and protect our earth for future generation­s to come. Readings:

https://theconvers­ation.com/if-we-stopped-emitting-greenhouse­gases-right-now-would-we-stop-climate-change-78882 https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/theparis-agreement

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