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Creative policies and novel technologies needed, says group
21/07/2015
Institutions urge action on climate change
Tell governments to lead and take appropriate action
Adam Duckett
A COALITION of renowned scientific and engineering bodies, including IChemE, has called on governments to take immediate action to limit the effects of climate change.
The communiqué, signed by 24 organisations including the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society, urges governments meeting at a crucial UN climate conference in December this year to demonstrate leadership by embracing “appropriate policy and technological responses” in the face of the substantial risks of human-driven climate change.
The signatories outline the need to transition to a zero-carbon energy economy by early in the second half of the century in order to limit global warming to 2°C.
Previous UN negotiations – most notably a 2009 gathering of world leaders in Copenhagen where expectations were high that an international treaty would be agreed – have been strongly criticised for failing to agree binding targets.
Rachael Hall, a member of the IChemE Energy Centre board, said: “The time for talking without substantial action has passed. In Paris, governments must do everything possible to secure a universal, binding agreement that will limit global warming in this century to 2°C.”
Last week, news broke that a document from French diplomats seen by Reuters indicates that the French government is feeling the pressure for meaningful action, calling for a short, flexible agreement that does not require frequent complex renegotiations.
“Creative policy interventions and novel technological solutions need to be fostered and applied,” reads the communiqué published today. “This will require a sustained commitment to research, development, entrepreneurship, education, public engagement, training and skills.”
The call for policy interventions echoes demands made by major oil companies in June for governments to agree a global carbon pricing system.
On the need for technological developments, Hall adds: “An effective agreement in Paris will, amongst other things, foster the widespread adoption of climate-change mitigation technologies that are already available and ready to be deployed.”
This much has been shown by a partnership of UK process industry firms called the Teesside Collective which earlier this month outlined plans and a schedule to begin capturing emissions from across their own operations.
“The debate is settled; the immediate and urgent task is to respond to the climate change challenge,” says IChemE’s policy director Andy Furlong. He adds that IChemE’s new Energy Centre will now work to develop evidence-based recommendations for action in the areas of energy efficiency, carbon capture, energy storage and smart grids and will prepare a more detailed position statement ahead of the talks in Paris.
The full text of the communiqué can be read here: www.iop.org/news/15/jul/file_65971.pdf
