Current:Home > Contact-usA new climate change report offers something unique: hope-VaTradeCoin
A new climate change report offers something unique: hope
View Date:2025-01-09 23:40:27
Here's something you don't hear much when it comes to climate change: hope.
Countries are setting records in deploying climate-friendly technologies, such as solar power and electric vehicles, according to a new International Energy Agency report. The agency, which represents countries that make up more than 80% of global energy consumption, projects demand for coal, oil and natural gas will peak before 2030.
While greenhouse gas emissions keep rising, the IEA finds that there's still a path to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. That's what's needed to avoid the the worst effects of climate change, such as catastrophic flooding and deadly heat waves
"The pathway to 1.5 [degrees] C has narrowed in the past two years, but clean energy technologies are keeping it open," said Fatih Birol, IEA Executive Director, in a statement. "The good news is we know what we need to do – and how to do it."
That overall message is more optimistic than the one issued in 2021, when the IEA released its first Net Zero Roadmap.
In addition to optimism, the 2023 version shows that the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner forms of energy will have to speed up even more in the coming decade. For example, the world is on track to spend $1.8 trillion on clean energy this year. To meet the target outlined in the 2015 Paris climate agreement among the world's nations, the IEA finds annual spending would have to more than double to $4.5 trillion by the early 2030s.
As renewable energy costs continue to decline, the IEA says tripling installations of new renewable energy, mostly solar and wind power, will be the biggest driver of emissions reductions. But the agency warns countries will have to speed up permitting and improve their electricity grids for that power to get to where it's needed.
The agency also finds a little room for new fossil fuel developments, such as the controversial Willow project the Biden administration approved in Alaska earlier this year. The roadmap does leave room for some new oil and gas drilling to avoid "damaging price spikes or supply gluts."
The report comes as countries prepare to meet for an annual climate summit in Dubai at the end of November and amid calls to phase out fossil fuels entirely.
"It's an extraordinary moment in history: we now have all the tools needed to free ourselves from planet-heating fossil fuels, but there's still no decision to do it," said Kaisa Kosonen with Greenpeace International in a statement.
The oil and gas industry continues to argue it can be a part of addressing climate change, despite research showing most oil, gas and coal reserves would have to stay in the ground. The American Petroleum Institute did not respond to requests for comment.
If countries fail to achieve climate goals, the IEA report warns carbon removal – essentially vacuuming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – would be required. The agency calls those technologies "expensive and unproven" at the scale that would be needed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
"Removing carbon from the atmosphere is very costly. We must do everything possible to stop putting it there in the first place," Birol said.
veryGood! (85)
Related
- Amazon Black Friday 2024 sales event will start Nov. 21: See some of the deals
- Mississippi ex-deputy seeks shorter sentence in racist torture of 2 Black men
- The Best Breathable, Lightweight & Office-Ready Work Pants for Summer
- Georgia sheriff's deputy dies days after he was shot during search, sheriff's office says
- Padma Lakshmi, John Boyega, Hunter Schafer star in Pirelli's 2025 calendar: See the photos
- Deion Sanders discusses external criticism after taking action against journalist
- German police say 26-year-old man has turned himself in, claiming to be behind Solingen knife attack
- Florida State's flop and Georgia Tech's big win lead college football Week 0 winners and losers
- A crowd of strangers brought 613 cakes and then set out to eat them
- Hailey and Justin Bieber reveal birth of first baby: See the sweet photo
Ranking
- Pie, meet donuts: Krispy Kreme releases Thanksgiving pie flavor ahead of holidays
- How women of color with Christian and progressive values are keeping the faith — outside churches
- Double-duty Danny Jansen plays for both teams in one MLB game. Here’s how
- Four men found dead in a park in northwest Georgia, investigation underway
- Exclusive Yankee Candle Sale: 50% Off Holiday Candles for a Limited Time
- Florida State's flop and Georgia Tech's big win lead college football Week 0 winners and losers
- 'We dodged a bullet': Jim Harbaugh shares more details about Chargers elevator rescue
- When is Labor Day 2024? What to know about history of holiday and why it's celebrated
Recommendation
-
Deion Sanders says he would prevent Shedeur Sanders from going to wrong team in NFL draft
-
Horoscopes Today, August 24, 2024
-
Get 50% Off Spanx, 75% Off Lands' End, 60% Off Old Navy, 60% Off Wayfair & Today's Best Deals
-
TikToker Jools Lebron Shuts Down Haters With Very Demure Response
-
Ranked voting will decide a pivotal congressional race. How does that work?
-
8 wounded in shootout involving police and several people in Pennsylvania
-
Alaska governor declares disaster following landslide in Ketchikan
-
Lights, camera, cars! Drive-in movie theaters are still rolling along