Akepa’s Post

What news: the German #climate targets for 2030 are not within reach without big changes. This is shown by the new projections of the Umweltbundesamt - German Environment Agency based on current figures and developments. The course is set at -64% reduction compared to 1990, the target is -65%. The graph shows what I consider to be the most important diagram from the projection report: 126 Mt CO2e are missing to achieve German legal goal. Yes, the targets are achievable. But not with the actual mindset and actions. Explanations on the electricity sector there in German: https://lnkd.in/eNuN-rcH The actual figures for 2023 have also just been published and are positive in few sectors, but not sustainable. The fact that #CO2 emissions have fallen sharply compared to 2022 was to be expected. The weak economy has made a significant contribution, most of it comes from the energy sector: coal-fired power generation has lost significant market share, due to consumption reduction and imports of #fossil free #electricity. https://lnkd.in/eTE7enij

GHG emissions are down. Oh wait, they’re up. It's a story of two worlds. Here's what I mean and why it matters so much... 1. The EU and US — We’re getting on the right track. 2. China, India, and the rest of the world — "Oh, $%#@!" -- So what? 1. How can we focus more on investing and scaling climate innovation outside the OECD countries? This is especially important since over 85% (per MIT research) of future GHG emissions will come from "developing" nations. 2. If we replace “energy efficiency” with “opportunities for GHG reduction in the rest of the world,” then former US Energy Secretary Steven Chu's quote could be relevant here: “Energy efficiency is not just low-hanging fruit; it is fruit lying on the ground.” -- Thanks to Nat Bullard (curator) and Friedlingstein et al. (authors, Global Carbon Budget 2023) for the graphs below. -- If you found this valuable, give these folks some love with a repost of this. 🙏 ♻

#EU GHG emissions reduction efforts and bearing fruit! Last year the EU reduced its #emissions by 8%, moving closer to the 2030 target of 55% reduction compared to 1990 levels. The #transport sector is lagging behind, however, and considering that is amounts to roughly a quarter of EU emissions this emphasizes the need for continued and ambitious climate action in transport. At Ecorys Transport, Infrastructure & Mobility we are helping the Commission on a number of important policy files with this aim, such as the Fit for 55 package, Social Climate Plans, FuelEU Maritime, and integration of urban nodes on the TEN-T network to achieve multimodal transport. I'm glad to be contributing to these files for a more sustainable, resilient, connected, and competitive European transport sector.

Dare to dream. The last BC Climate Change Accountability Report from 2023 indicated that between 2007 and 2021, emissions from "buildings and communities" (includes waste and land use change) fell by 6%. Shall we compare that to the EU? Stop reading here if you'd rather not. No really. You should stop here ... because ... between 2005 and 2022, their emissions from buildings fell by 34% [insert blank stare emoji here]. I think we have a winner. If you're of Swedish, Danish or Slovenian descent, treat yourself to a Friday afternoon off work. Those top three countries clocked in at 68%, 64% and 58% reductions in building emissions over that period. "This trend was largely driven by the EU decarbonisation strategy which ... promotes simultaneous end-user electrification in the residential sector, decarbonisation of the electricity and heating/cooling sectors, and improvements of energy efficiency in buildings. A general trend toward warmer winter temperatures, and therefore reduced winter heating needs, has also contributed to the emission reductions from buildings." Governments and the building industry have done incredible work here in BC, but we still have a long way to go in getting fossil fuels out of new and existing buildings. I think fundamentally though, EU governments, citizens and industries are acting with a much greater sense of urgency than we are.

Important milestone for progress toward the #EU 2030 and 2025 GHG emissions reduction targets. Figure ES.2 is revealing, showing where there is work to be done outside the energy sector. Especially #transport #buildings which are outside the current ETS and there are large mitigation needs, some of which may be captured by the new #ETS2 but it doesn’t come into effect until 2027. No such mechanisms for #agriculture.

Exciting news! Our annual 'Trends and Projections' report on EU progress on climate and energy targets is out! 🌍 Four key takeaways: ⭐ Big emission drop: EU net greenhouse gas emissions fell by 8% from 2022 to 2023, reaching 37% below 1990 levels. 📉 Future projections: Current and planned policies are projected to bring EU net emissions to 49% below 1990 levels by 2030. 📊 Sector performance: Significant emission reductions have been achieved in the energy sector, industry, and buildings, while transport and agriculture still show slower progress. 🌍 Looking ahead: Achieving our 2030 and 2050 targets requires sustained progress across all sectors and clear, predictable policies — including an agreement on the recommended 90% net reduction target for 2040. Discover more insights in the full report: https://lnkd.in/dZb8Wd9k #EUClimateAction #EUGreenDeal #Sustainability

The EEA’s annual report on Trends and Projections in Europe explores historical trends, recent progress, and projected future progress on mitigating climate change through reduced GHG emissions. #Sustainability #Green_deal #EU_mission #GHG_reduction #Climate_change

As the sun sets on Earth Day 2024, I thought it would be interesting to see how we're doing on our power system GHG emissions in Canada relative to the rest of the world. So, I went to Our World in Data and found that we're doing well at 0.14 kg of CO2/kWh vs 0.22 kg of CO2/kWh for the world average, and improving each year. We're making progress 🙂 Source - Our World in Data: https://lnkd.in/gwR4EFzr

Today #UNEP has Launched Emissions Gap Report 2024. According to this report, Global GHG emissions increased 1.3% from 2022 to 2023. Continuation of current policies will lead to a catastrophic temperature rise of up to 3.1°C by this century. Nations must collectively commit to cutting 42 per cent off annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 57 per cent by 2035 in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – and back this up with rapid action – or the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal will be gone within a few years.

New Emissions Gap report says planet to warm by 3.1 C by 2100 without greater action 🔥 🧯 Global greenhouse gas emissions rose by 1.3% between 2022 and 2023, to a new high of 57.1 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. 🚴♀️👉 Urgently, reduce emissions and phase out #fossilfuels. Emissions Gap Report 2024: https://lnkd.in/dgXuVxEp More info: https://lnkd.in/dYN6ZDQU #climatechange #carbon #EmissionsGap