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News: IPCC has come out with the third instalment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). The IPCC reports are created by its three working groups.
This report, which deals with actions that can be taken to combat climate change, has been prepared by the Working Group III.
Assessment reports by Working group I and II have already been released earlier.
What are the findings of the report?
Limiting global warming will require major transitions in the energy sector and this will mean drastically reducing fossil fuel use, widespread electrification, improved energy efficiency, and the use of alternative fuel
On financial support: It falls short of the levels needed to achieve mitigation goals across all sectors and regions. The challenge of closing gaps is largest in developing countries as a whole. It also states that public finance falls short of the Copenhagen (reiterated in the Paris Agreement) goal of USD 100 billion per year by 2020.
– To accelerate the low-carbon transition, developed countries should ensure higher flows of finance and technology transfer in critical areas such as renewables, electric vehicles, green hydrogen, and others.
With a shrinking remaining carbon budget, the access to a fair share of this budget for developing countries has become an important question.
Changes in lifestyle and behaviours have a significant role to play in mitigating climate change. The Report endorses India’s view on the need for curbing unsustainable consumption and is in line with its call of L.I.F.E. – Lifestyles for Environment which it gave at COP26 at Glasgow. Having the right policies, infrastructure and technology in place to enable changes to our lifestyles and behaviour can result in a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Emissions reduction: There is a need for deep and urgent global emissions reduction. Four-fifths of the total carbon budget for 1.5 deg C temperature increase and two-thirds of the total carbon budget for 2 deg C warming has been already consumed.
Limiting warming to around 1.5°C requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest and be reduced by 43% by 2030; at the same time, methane would also need to be reduced by about a third.
Net-zero: The global temperature will stabilise when carbon dioxide emissions reach net-zero. For 1.5°C, this meant achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions globally in the early 2050s; for 2°C, it is in the early 2070s.
For a 1.5°C goal of net-zero, the world’s dependence on coal must drop 95% by mid-century, on oil 60% and on gas 45%
India
– Both historical cumulative emissions and per capita annual emissions show that India’s role (as part of South Asia) is minimal.
– The report justifies India’s emphasis on equity, stating that it is fundamental to international co-operation on climate change. Equity remains a central element in the UN climate regime, notwithstanding shifts in differentiation between states over time and challenges in assessing fair shares”
– Coal plants: There is no place for new coal plants in the world. The report finds that all coal-fired power plants, without the technology to capture and store carbon (CCS), need to be shut down by 2050 if the world aspired to limit global temperature rise to 1.5oC. None of the existing under construction coal-fired power plants in India have CCS facilities.
As per some experts, if all else fails, India can look at geo-engineering solutions like placing reflectors in orbit, say, to adjust how much solar heat reaches us. But, any such solution would require a global consensus.
Source: This post is based on the following articles –
“Explained: What is the IPCC, and why are its Assessment Reports important?” published in The Indian Express on 5th Apr 22.
‘We must keep hope alive as climate aims slip away” published in Livemint on 6th Apr 22.
“IPCC report on Mitigation of Climate Change scientifically establishes India’s position on the historical responsibility of developed countries for consuming the carbon budget” published in PIB on 5th Apr 22
