Low-carbon economy
It has been suggested that Hydrogen economy be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since March 2024. |
A low-carbon economy (LCE) is an economy which absorbs as much greenhouse gas as it emits.[2] Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to human activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the mid-20th century.[3] There are many proven approaches for moving to a low-carbon economy, such as encouraging renewable energy transition, energy conservation, electrification of transportation (e.g. electric vehicles), and carbon capture and storage. An example are zero-carbon cities.
Shifting from high-carbon economies to low-carbon economies on a global scale could bring substantial benefits for all countries.[4] It would also contribute to climate change mitigation.
Definition and terminology
There are many synonyms or similar terms in use for low-carbon economy which stress different aspects of the concept, for example:
The term carbon in low-carbon economy is short hand for all greenhouse gases.
The
Rationale and aims
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Climate change mitigation |
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GHG emissions due to human activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the mid-20th century.[3] Continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause long-lasting changes around the world, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive, and irreversible effects for people and ecosystems.[3]
Nations may seek to become low-carbon or decarbonised economies as a part of a national
Methods
Achieving a low-carbon economy involves reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors that produce greenhouse gases, for example energy, transportation, industry, and agriculture. The literature often speaks of a transition from a high-carbon economy to a low-carbon economy. This transition should take place in a just manner (this is termed just transition).[7]: 75
There are many strategies and approaches for moving to a low-carbon economy, such as encouraging renewable energy transition, efficient energy use, energy conservation, electrification of transportation (e.g. electric vehicles), carbon capture and storage, climate-smart agriculture. This requires for example suitable energy policies, financial incentives (e.g. emissions trading, carbon tax), individual action on climate change, business action on climate change.
Actions taken by countries
On the international scene, the most prominent early step in the direction of a low-carbon economy was the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, which came into force in 2005, under which most industrialized countries committed to reduce their carbon emissions.[8][9]
OECD countries could learn from each other and follow the examples of these countries in these sectors: Switzerland for their energy sector, UK for their industry, Netherlands for their transport sector, South Korea for their agriculture, and Sweden for their building sector.[10]
Co-benefits
During the green transition, workers in carbon-intensive industries are more likely to lose their jobs. The transition to a carbon-neutral economy will put more jobs at danger in regions with higher percentages of employment in carbon-intensive industries.[14][15][16] Employment opportunities by the green transition are associated with the use of renewable energy sources or building activity for infrastructure improvements and renovations.[17]
Low emission industrial development and
Energy aspects
Low-carbon electricity
Nuclear power
As of 2021, the expansion of nuclear energy as a method of achieving a low-carbon economy has varying degrees of support.[23] Agencies and organizations that believe decarbonization is not possible without some nuclear power expansion include the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe,[24] the International Energy Agency (IEA),[25] the International Atomic Energy Agency,[26] and the Energy Impact Center (EIC).[27] Both IEA and EIC believe that widespread decarbonization must occur by 2040 in order mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and that nuclear power must play a role. The latter organization suggests that net-negative carbon emissions are possible using nuclear power to fuel carbon capture technology.[27][28]
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Environmental economics |
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Energy transition
An
Over three-quarters of the
Indices for comparison
The GeGaLo index of geopolitical gains and losses assesses how the geopolitical position of 156 countries may change if the world fully transitions to renewable energy resources. Former fossil fuel exporters are expected to lose power, while the positions of former fossil fuel importers and countries rich in renewable energy resources is expected to strengthen.[42]
See also
- Carbon footprint
- Eco-economic decoupling
- Emission intensity
- Fossil fuel phase-out
- Just transition
- Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of energy sources
- Emissions trading
- Green industrial policy
- Low-carbon diet
- Low-carbon fuel standard
- Low-carbon power
References
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- ^ "Three steps to a low-carbon economy: THE GOAL OF ZERO NET EMISSIONS CAN BE ACHIEVED" (PDF).
- ^ a b c "IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)" (PDF). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
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- ^ "Low carbon and renewable energy economy, UK - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
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- ^ M. Pathak, R. Slade, P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, R. Pichs-Madruga, D. Ürge-Vorsatz,2022: Technical Summary. In: Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, R. Slade, A. Al Khourdajie, R. van Diemen, D. McCollum, M. Pathak, S. Some, P. Vyas, R. Fradera, M. Belkacemi, A. Hasija, G. Lisboa, S. Luz, J. Malley, (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA. doi: 10.1017/9781009157926.002.
- ^ "Low-Carbon Society Research Project". Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ Margot Wallström (11 March 2004). Towards a low carbon economy (Speech). Brussels. Archived from the original on 21 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
- ^ "Building a prosperous world with fewer emissions". Brookings. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
- Low Emission Development Strategies Global Partnership (LEDS GP). Archivedfrom the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- Low Emission Development Strategies Global Partnership (LEDS GP). 27 June 2016. Archivedfrom the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
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- ^ "5 facts about the EU's goal of climate neutrality". www.consilium.europa.eu. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
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- ^ "Assessing the Implications of Climate Change Adaptation on Employment in the EU" (PDF).
- ^ "Press corner". European Commission - European Commission. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
- Low Emission Development Strategies Global Partnership (LEDS GP). Archivedfrom the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Global Electricity Review 2021". Ember. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
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- ^ "The European Strategic Energy Technology Plan SET-Plan Towards a low-carbon future" (PDF). 2010. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 February 2014.
... nuclear plants ... currently provide 1/3 of the EU's electricity and 2/3 of its low-carbon energy.
- ^ "Innovation funding opportunities for low-carbon technologies: 2010 to 2015". GOV.UK. 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ Meyer, Robinson (November 10, 2021). "Nuclear Is Hot, for the Moment". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ "Global climate objectives fall short without nuclear power in the mix: UNECE". United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. August 11, 2021. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ Johnson, Jeff (September 23, 2019). "Can nuclear power help save us from climate change?". Chemical & Engineering News. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ Ingersoll, Eric; Gogan, Kirsty (September 2020). "Driving deeper decarbonization with nuclear energy". International Atomic Energy Agency. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ a b Takahashi, Dean (February 25, 2020). "Last Energy raises $3 million to fight climate change with nuclear energy". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ Chestney, Nina (May 18, 2021). "End new oil, gas and coal funding to reach net zero, says IEA". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ Andrew, Robbie. "Figures from the Global Carbon Budget 2021". Retrieved 22 May 2022.
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- ^ Davidsson, Simon (2015). "Global Energy Transitions" (PDF).
- ^ Smil, Vaclav. "Energy Transitions" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-06-07.
- ^ "Fossil Energy". Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA | CGEP. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
- ^ "Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Energy Data Explorer – Data Tools". IEA. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
- ^ "The Paris Agreement". United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
- ^ "Plunging cost of wind and solar marks turning point in energy transition: IRENA". Reuters. June 1, 2020. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ a b "Life Cycle Assessment of Electricity Generation Options" (PDF). United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. 2021. pp. 49–55. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
- ^ "Are renewable heating options cost-competitive with fossil fuels in the residential sector?". IEA. 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
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- ^ "Abolishing fossil fuel subsidies: a brain teaser rather than a no-brainer".
Reforming fossil fuel subsidies is a complex task for politicians. All in all, our study shows that abolishing fossil fuel subsidies is a no-brainer only for a limited number of subsidies. Abolishing inventoried fossil subsidies does not appear to help the energy transition in all cases. It is important to assess policies from the perspective of adequate pricing of climate damage and other externalities.
- ^ Tripathi, Bhasker. "How fossil fuel subsidies are hurting the energy transition | Context". www.context.news. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
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- IPCC (2018). Masson-Delmotte, V.; Zhai, P.; Pörtner, H.-O.; Roberts, D.; et al. (eds.). Global Warming of 1.5 °C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty (PDF). Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 November 2020.
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