Decarbonization

[New] The Newfoundland and Labrador government shares the federal government's goals of environmental protection and reducing carbon emissions, including for the oil and gas sector, and has committed to achieving net zero by 2050.
[New] The results of a new study show that achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement will require a deep reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions, ideally by around 40 to 50% by 2030.
[New] In 2019, the Government signed legislation to commit the UK to a legally binding target of net zero emissions by 2050.
[New] Global greenhouse gas emissions are expected to slump this year after countries and industries shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but Australia's electricity grid appears immune.
[New] Australia's commitment - a 26% to 28% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared with 2005 levels - is not enough to play its part in meeting the goals of the Paris agreement.
[New] The impact to 2020 GDP will have a strong influence on 2020 emissions, but emissions under a business-as-usual scenario are likely to rebound to pre-COVID - 19 levels well before 2030, and short-term emissions impacts from COVID-19 will not make a material difference on cumulative emissions to 2050.
[New] Under a business-as-usual setting, emissions will likely approach pre-COVID - 19 levels by 2025 and COVID-19 is not likely to have a material impact on annual emissions in 2030 or cumulative emissions through 2050.
[New] EVs and fuel cell vehicles reduce road CO2 emissions by 2.57 Gt a year by 2040 - and are set for much larger reductions thereafter - but total emissions are still 6% higher in that year than they were in 2019.
[New] The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects an estimated total global reduction in fossil fuel emissions of almost 2.6bn tonnes of CO2 over 2020, an 8% reduction, dominated by decreased oil and coal consumption which is expected to peak in the second quarter of the year.
[New] In the US, where more than 90,000 people have died from COVID-19, carbon emissions from energy are projected to dip 11% in 2020 compared to the previous year.
[New] Interest in fleet electrification will continue to slowly increase over the next several years as businesses strive to reduce carbon emissions and overhead costs in fossil fuels.
[New] The island state Tasmania of Australia has committed to being 100% renewable by 2022 and ambitiously targeting 200% renewable energy by 2040, so it will also be able to help mainland Australia to reduce carbon emissions.
[New] By 2030, the UK government pledged to reduce emissions 23% from 1990 levels and double the proportion of renewable sources in total energy consumption to 35-42% - an objective it described as consistent with the EU bloc-wide target to cut emissions 50% -55% by 2030.
[New] New solar projects serve as a critical part of Amazon's overall plan to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 and meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement a decade early.
[New] The IMO's initial strategy on the reduction of GHG emissions from shipping envisages a cut of at least 40% from 2008 's levels to carbon emissions per transport work by 2030, and a cut of at least 50% to total GHG emissions from the industry by 2050.
[New] The Climate Leadership Council's proposal would create an immediate 18% reduction in emissions and a 50% reduction by 2035, relative to a U.S. economy without a carbon price.
[New] A key milestone will be 2030, by which time the Spanish government pledges to double the proportion of renewable sources in energy consumption, and to reduce emissions by 23%.
The scale of the reduction in emissions this year could be similar to the annual emissions reductions that would be required in order to meet the objectives of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which seeks to limit global warming to 1.5 to 2 °C above preindustrial levels.
The cumulative global emissions for 2020 could drop by anything from 4-7%, which would represent the largest drop since the Second World War.
If pre-pandemic conditions return by mid-June, then 2020 emissions could decline by four per cent compared with 2019, but if restrictions remain worldwide until the end of the year, then emissions could drop by seven per cent.
Denmark plans to build two energy islands totalling 4GW of offshore wind capacity, under plans to reduce emissions by 70% from 1990s levels by 2030 and become a green energy exporter.
Decarbonisation of the global energy system can grow the global economy and create up to 28 million jobs by 2050.

See full forecast

Last updated: 31 May 2020