{"id":2179,"date":"2022-11-23T10:20:04","date_gmt":"2022-11-23T09:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enpc.ergeais.com\/?p=2179"},"modified":"2025-07-29T15:34:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T13:34:56","slug":"climate-change-mitigation-time-for-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ingenius.ecoledesponts.fr\/en\/articles\/climate-change-mitigation-time-for-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate change mitigation: time for action"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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Illustration de Luc Schuiten \u00a9<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, the first part of the IPCC report, on the physical basis of climate change, established the human impact on global warming as an unequivocal fact: 1.1\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels, the highest level in 100,000 years. A few months later, the second part of the report showed the ripple effects of this warming on ecosystems and human societies. It also focused on solutions for adapting to a changing climate, but also the limitations of these solutions. The third part of the report builds on these findings, summarizing scientific knowledge on past emissions and the outlook for future emissions, options for reducing emissions, climate change policies, the financing and the innovations they require. What does this report tell us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A critical decade<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the growing number of policies and measures, in numerous countries and at all levels of government,  greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remain high. These policies and measures have helped prevent emissions, but only slowed their rate of growth at the global level, without reversing the trend. As such, GHG emissions, which accumulate in our atmosphere and cause climate change, have never been higher in absolute terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Source : IPCC, 2022. Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Figure SPM.1. [Accessed November, 4th, 2022]. Available at: https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/report\/ar6\/wg3\/figures\/summary-for-policymakers\/figure-spm-1\/<\/a>
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Yet, in order to pursue a pathway compatible with limiting global warming to 2\u00b0C, global emissions must be reduced by 20 to 30% by 2030, compared to their level in 2019. And to limit warming to 1.5\u00b0C, they must be cut in half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Source : IPCC, 2022. Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Figure SPM.4. [Accessed November, 4th, 2022]. Available at: https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/report\/ar6\/wg3\/figures\/summary-for-policymakers\/figure-spm-4\/ <\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This means that the present decade is critical to initiate and accelerate a reduction in global GHG emissions, and set in motion the transformations needed in key sectors \u2013 energy, industry, transport, building, infrastructure, cities, the agri-food systems, among others. Regardless of the targeted level for global warming stabilization, we must achieve net zero CO2<\/sub> emissions (also known as CO2<\/sub> neutrality or carbon neutrality), and reduce other GHGs \u2013 methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases. In pathways compatible with 1.5\u00b0C, this carbon neutrality is to be achieved around 2050, and around 2070 for 2\u00b0C pathways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Limiting the extent of climate change<\/strong><\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While major transformations are needed in all key sectors, solutions are available. There are options for reducing emissions that cost less than $100 per ton of CO2<\/sub>, which could cumulatively halve global GHG emissions by 2030. Such options include technologies for generating renewable (solar, wind) or nuclear electricity, solutions for reducing the leakage of methane and fluorinated gases, storing carbon in agricultural soils, restoring ecosystems and forests, solutions for energy conservation and efficiency in buildings, developing public transport and active mobility (cycling and walking), the electrification of vehicles, solutions for using energy and materials efficiently in industry, and recycling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Source : IPCC, 2022. Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Figure SPM.7. [Accessed November, 4th, 2022]. Available at: https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/report\/ar6\/wg3\/figures\/summary-for-policymakers\/figure-spm-7\/ <\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>The report focuses especially on actions related to demand (for energy, materials, goods, land, water) and highlights the potential to significantly reduce emissions \u2013 by 40-70% \u2013 by 2050. Some of these actions are based on adopting technologies, while others involve efficiency and sufficiency. Examples of such actions in the building sector include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n