Check emissions fast or nothing will help after 2030: IPCC report

The 2015 Paris Agreement aims to hold the global rise in temperatures to within 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times, while striving to keep it below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Navroz Dubash, one of the lead authors of the report, said enhanced climate action in the near term was the key. “The report clearly indicates that we are not on the path to keeping the 1.5 target. It is not about 2050, but what we do in the coming decade that is crucial,” Dubash, a professor at the Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research, said.

“This is the first time that an IPCC report has looked at sustainable development in detail. What kind of urbanisation, for example, will allow you to have a better living standard, but at the same time reduce emissions. These are not exclusive of each other,” he said.

Emphasising that it was urgent to scale up measures for mitigating emissions in order to achieve the 1.5 target, Dr Jayoshree Roy, a professor of economics at Jadavpur University and a coordinating lead author, said the report showed that enhanced climate action was possible. She said since a large chunk of India’s infrastructure was still being built, there was an opportunity for India to take the lead.

“We have detailed as many as 60 different options and pathways, concrete measures, that can lead to 40-70 per cent reduction in global emissions. These options don’t just cover governmental strategies and policies but also what can be done at an individual level. For instance food waste reduction is an effective mitigation tool. Likewise, nutrition and dietary choices made, shifting to a plant-based diet, for example, can help reduce emissions. Such choices can reduce emissions by 45 per cent from the nutrition sector alone. Choices we make in transportation as well – cycling and walking to cover short distances, can also lead to emission reduction. While this is an individual choice, the cities have to be made walkable – and that’s where government and development of appropriate infrastructure comes in,” Roy said.

The report points out that reducing emissions from the energy sector required a major transition, including a substantial reduction in overall fossil fuel use, deployment of low-emission energy sources, switching to alternative energy carriers, and energy efficiency and conservation.

“Electricity systems powered predominantly by renewables are becoming increasingly viable. Electricity systems in some countries and regions are already predominantly powered by renewables. It will be more challenging to supply the entire energy system with renewable energy,” the report said.