Climate Change

1. Build a Sustainable Future
According to the Emission Gap Report, the global greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 are
estimated at is 59 (57-61) Gt CO2e in 2020 and 68 (63-72) Gt CO2e in 2030 in a business-as-usual
scenario, a scenario that only considers existing mitigation efforts and also exclude the
implementation of country pledges and commitments under the Cancun Agreement.
Conversely, in the least-cost emission pathways1
consistent with the 2 °C target, compared to
pre-industrial levels, emissions should not be higher a global median of 44 and 42 GtCO2e in
2020 and in 2030 respectively. However, the range of expected global emissions, assuming full
implementation of the pledges is estimated at 52-54 Gt CO2e.
As a result, the emissions gap in 2020 is between 8 –10 Gt CO2e per year. It follows that,
without escalating climate-resilient actions, current pledges will not be overall met and global
emissions could be above the cap of the pledge range. That would mean, in turns, higher
emission levels in the short-run that would force to move up the time of carbon neutrality and
net zero total emissions.
Inevitably, delays of current rigorous emission reductions would turn out to be more costly and
risky to society, potentially undermining the already undertook pathway towards a sustainable
economic, social and environmental development. In fact, in order to stay within 2°C and
simultaneously allow to reach the MDGs, energy is the crucial yard linking these two vital
issues, Climate Change and Sustainable Development, whose goals and reciprocal benefits
strictly depend on sustainable energy.
To bridge the gap, it is essential from now to keep on acting on the road to the sustainable
energy, and renewable energy and energy efficiency belonging to it. The introduction of
additional renewable energy in the energy supply system and overall improvements in energy
efficiency, if fundamental to effectively lower emissions and to implement policies countries
priorities, present intrinsic trade-offs to be considered and barriers to be overcome. Among
the latter are those prices not factoring in negative externalities or subsidies encouraging the
use of fossil fuels, as well short-term driven investment results. Furthermore, lacks of proper
and affordable technologies, scarce borrowing access from micro and SMEs and difficulties to
1
The least-cost pathway means the temporal pathway of global emissions up to 2100 that meets a climate target and
that also takes advantage of the lowest cost options available (cheapest combination of policies, measures and
technologies) for reducing emissions.

2. unfold innovative technologies represent other significant
investment walls. Many European countries have implemented
transferable process to accelerate energy efficiency policies
particularly in building, including lighting and appliances,
industry (fluorinated gases measures particularly on air
conditioning systems) and transport sectors.
To be successful and enhance investments in energy efficiency (that is a reduction of energy
use per unit of energy services delivered) and zero- and low-carbon technologies it is crucial to
reduce policy, financial and investment asset’s risks, to improve the general investment
sentiment, to ease financing costs and to make accessible government budget provision. Such
investments can in turn reduce the so called Fuel Poverty2
that in the UK is just under 20%
whereas in Europe has been estimated that fuel poor are 50–125 million Europeans.
Besides, though a considerable amount of public and private investment is already flowing into
clean energy, recent calculation estimated a need US$ 250 billion in 2013.
Ultimately, actions from each individual will result pivotal in starting to
modify their local behavioural lifestyle towards a greener living, such as:
-Saving in a greener house (turning down family heating by cutting
energy bill; using less water at home3
: using water-efficient appliances,
turning off the taps, taking shorter showers; buying energy efficient
electrical products with rating of A or higher, choosing energy efficient
computer equipment)
-Choosing greener travels (driving less making use of public transport
and bicycles whenever possible; choosing fuel saving cars; flying less and offset CO2
emissions)
-Choosing a greener food (buying fresh and unprocessed foods; buying seasonal food grown
outdoors can help reduce CO2 emissions)
-Wasting less and recycle (reusing and recycling instead of discard items away means less
waste and less energy needed to make new items)
-Choosing to reuse and repair (avoid waste firstly, by reusing, upgrading and repairing. In
addition, by upgrading computers and hanging on to mobile phones, rather than replacing
them)
-Choosing a greener shopping (green labels: choosing items that cause less damage to the
environment)
References:
- UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2013
- World Development Report 2010: Development and Climate Change, World Bank 2010
- IPCC Fifth Assessment, Synthesis Report, Summary for Policymakers IPCC, 2014
2
Fuel poverty is defined a situation in which households need to spend more than 10 per cent of their income on
achieving adequate levels of energy services in the home .
3
In the UK, wherein there is less water available per person than in Italy or Greece, each person uses on average 150
litres of water daily, with the average household using over 100,000 litres of water every year. One fifth of a household’s
carbon footprint comes just from heating water for baths, showers and washing up.