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China has confidence, resolve to fulfill climate commitments: Xi

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PARIS, Nov. 30 (Greenpost) — Chinese President Xi Jinping said here Monday that his country has confidence and resolve to fulfill its climate change commitments.

Xi made the remarks when delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of a United Nations climate change conference, officially called the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

As a developing country, China has taken bold actions to reduce carbon emissions while setting ambitious climate goals.

In his speech, Xi reiterated China’s pledge made in June to cut its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, and increase non-fossil fuel sources in primary energy consumption to about 20 percent and peak its carbon emissions by the same date.

These pledges represent a big step further from the world’s second largest economy’s previous emission control targets.

“This requires strenuous efforts but we have confidence and resolve to fulfill our commitments,” Xi said.

China has been actively engaged in the global campaign on climate change, now topping the world in terms of energy conservation, and utilization of new and renewable energies, Xi said.

China’s Five-Year Plan from 2016 to 2020, aiming at a more sustainable and balanced way of development, seeks to promote clean industrial production, low-carbon development and energy conservation to ensure sustainable growth in the next five years.

On the basis of technological and institutional innovation, China will adopt new policy measures to improve industrial mix, build low-carbon system, develop green building and low-carbon transportation and establish a nationwide carbon-emission trading market, the president said.

To act on climate change is not only driven by China’s domestic needs for sustainable development in ensuring its economic, energy and food security, but also driven by its sense of responsibility to fully engage in global governance and to forge a community of shared destiny for humankind, according to an action plan China submitted to the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on climate change late June.

The highly-anticipated Paris climate conference, opened by leaders from over 150 countries, aims to yield a new international agreement to reduce greenhouse gases beyond 2020 when the 1997 Kyoto Protocol expires.

Such an accord is seen as crucial for keeping the rise in global temperatures within 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, a goal scientists say should be met to avoid risky changes in the climate.  Enditem

 Source Xinhua 

 

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Action called on short-lived climate pollutants to reduce climate warming

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By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

STOCKHOLM, Dec. 3(Greenpost)– A new assessment by Arctic Monitoring Assessment Program has called for action on short-lived climate pollutants to reduce climate warming in the short-term.

This is because a complement to action on carbon dioxide Short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) are air pollutants that, like carbon dioxide, are causing the Earth’s climate to warm.

The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) has examined the Arctic climate impacts of the SLCPs methane, black carbon and tropospheric ozone, according to a statement from AMAP.

The new AMAP assessments outline key findings regarding: how global and regional reductions in SLCPs may influence projected Arctic warming and which emission sources and regions contribute most to Arctic climate change.

At the ongoing COP in Paris governments will discuss actions aimed at preventing global average temperatures rising by more than 2 degrees C by 2100.

Carbon dioxide emissions are the major driver of anthropogenic climate change and reductions in carbon dioxide emissions are therefore necessary and urgent if the threats posed by climate change are to be addressed.

However, other air pollutants including black carbon and methane also contribute to global warming.

Unlike carbon dioxide, short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) have a relatively short residence time in the atmosphere (of a few days to about a decade – hence the term short-lived). The shorter the lifetime, the more quickly atmospheric concentrations can be reduced by lowering emissions.

This means that action on SLCPs has the potential to slow the rate of climate warming on a comparatively shorter time scale.

Action to reduce SLCPS should be seen as a complement to, and not a replacement for action to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. Human activities have caused increased air concentrations of methane, black carbon, and ozone, affecting both global and Arctic climate.

However, technological measures to reduce emissions of SLCPs and coemitted pollutants already exist. Actions to reduce methane emissions could slow the global warming expected by 2050 by approximately 0.2 degrees C.

Arctic warming is part of global warming. Consequently, reducing overall global warming will also result in reduced Arctic warming and slow the rate of melting of snow and ice.

A reduction of about 0.25 degrees C in the Arctic could be achieved through global actions to reduce emissions of black carbon and co-emitted air pollutants.

Much of the avoided warming from black carbon is associated with reducing black carbon on snow and ice.

Thus, if these existing measures were introduced to their maximum extent globally, the AMAPs assessments indicate that Arctic warming could be reduced by roughly half a degree C by 2050.

The assessments did not consider the cost or likelihood of maximum feasible reduction.

These estimates of avoided warming can be compared with an expected Arctic warming due to all climate forcers over the period to 2050 of approximately 2 degrees C from current level.

Arctic temperatures are warming at about twice the global average and this is resulting in unprecedented changes in Arctic sea ice, land ice, permafrost, and snow cover.

While uncertainties associated with climate warming and effects of mitigation actions exist for these SLCPs, they should not be an impediment to taking action.

Action on black carbon and ozone has added benefits since these pollutants are also harmful to human health.

Arctic countries are responsible for substantial amounts of SLCPs and co-emitted air pollutants from sources associated with important anthropogenic emissions sectors.

 

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Sweden’s strategy ahead of COP21

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Stockholm, Aug.19(Greenpost)–Sweden has drawn up a strategy that is to guide Sweden’s work ahead of the climate change conference, COP21, in Paris later this year, according to a statement published in the government website.

The strategy identifies priorities and positions in the Government’s climate policy at national, EU and international level.

The objectives and parts of the strategy

The overarching objective of the strategy is for the UN climate change conference in Paris in 2015 to result in a global, fair and legally binding climate agreement that helps to keep global warming as far below two degrees as possible over time. The strategy rests on three pillars:

  • Sweden is to be a leading country and tighten its national climate policy. Sweden is also pushing for the EU to raise its ambitions in terms of emissions reductions.
  • The new climate agreement needs to be dynamic so that countries’ binding emissions targets can be subsequently raised.
  • A good agreement will only be achieved if willing countries cooperate. Sweden is to prioritise cooperation with the countries that are also pushing for an ambitious agreement and that are most vulnerable to      the effects of climate change.

Climate change hits the already vulnerable the hardest

The effects of climate change affect all countries, but poor and vulnerable countries that do not have the resources to adapt to the changes are particularly hard hit. All countries must make the transition to a sustainable society with low emissions and high resilience to the effects of climate change. If done properly, a transition of this kind also has positive effects on economic development and poverty reduction, energy security and improved health, as well as important environmental targets such as clean air.

It is also important to take account of the challenges that come with such a transition. Sweden is encouraging a broader discussion on how the global investment flows can be aligned so that they support socially, economically and environmentally sustainable development with a considerably smaller prevalence of fossil fuels. Important global components include putting a price on carbon dioxide and not subsidising fossil energy.

Raised climate ambitions needed

A new climate agreement under the UN is crucial for international climate efforts. The agreement should be guided by science and include emissions commitments that, over time, can limit global warming to a level as far below two degrees as possible. This will require a higher level of climate ambition as well as new, enhanced initiatives in every country of the world and among central actors, including Sweden and the EU.

COP 21 can provide the political momentum to push forward a higher level of ambition concerning emission reductions also in the EU. Progress is needed regarding both emissions reductions and climate adaptation. Climate financing is important to strengthen climate action. Other tools and instruments for implementation, such as technology development, technology diffusion and capacity development, are also key to achieving the higher climate ambitions. Climate financing will be a crucial issue for whether the world can agree on a new climate agreement in Paris.