Opinion | World’s race for net zero carbon emissions by 2050 will require an Olympian effort

Name: World leaders pledge to cut greenhouse emissions at virtual Earth Day summit
Uploaded: 2021-06-04T22:45:13.000Z
Duration: 3 min 27 s
Description: World leaders pledge to cut greenhouse emissions at virtual Earth Day summit

If the technical solutions are there and finance seems available, why is progress still slow? Blame politics

The race to the top on climate action between the US and China is the best thing that can happen for the planet

Reading Time:3 minutes

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A boy holds a sign during a climate change strike in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 29, 2019. The global race for net zero is like a 2050 Olympics where every city and country shows it can win, not just for its community but for the whole world. Photo: EPA-EFE

Andrew Sheng

Published: 6:45am, 5 Jun 2021Updated: 7:04am, 5 Jun 2021

There have been some remarkable achievements on the climate change front in the past two months. First, US President Joe Biden’s climate summit in April got 40 top leaders to commit towards working together on climate change.

Even though several countries did not commit to anything new, notably Australia, just having the United States back in the Paris Agreement is a big deal. With China, Russia and all the G20 emerging markets aboard, this was a sign that enemies and rivals can cooperate where it is important for mankind.

Second, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has published its “Net Zero by 2050” report. Since the energy sector accounts for three-quarters of greenhouse carbon emissions, its views count. The main message: “All the technologies needed to achieve the necessary deep cuts in global emissions by 2030 already exist, and the policies that can drive their deployment are already proven.”

In other words, science and industry think that the net zero challenge is technically solvable, and that carbon emissions can be balanced globally by removing them though capture or storage, such as reforestation.

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World leaders pledge to cut greenhouse emissions at virtual Earth Day summit

Third, leading oil and gas companies are facing major pressure to change to low-carbon strategies. Activist investors have forced ExxonMobil to replace three board members to drive a greener strategy. Chevron Corporation has also buckled under investor pressure. And Dutch courts have forced Royal Dutch Shell to cut its carbon emissions by 45 per cent by 2030.