Changes in behaviors and lifestyles are necessary to help cut greenhouse gas emissions and keep the world on track to meet the Paris Agreement’s global warming targets, according to the United Nation’s climate change arm.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said in its most recent analysis on climate change mitigation Monday that, although the world has made some progress to slow the rate of greenhouse gas emissions growth, economies need to reduce fossil fuel use more aggressively in transportation, typically the highest-emitting U.S. sector, and industrial processes to prevent warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celcius.
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“There has been a consistent expansion of policies and laws addressing mitigation since [the IPCC’s 2014 report],” the report’s “Summary for Policymakers” said.
That has enabled “avoidance of emissions that would otherwise have occurred and increased investment in low-GHG technologies and infrastructure.”
The report said things need to move faster, however, and that governments should enact policies that “encourage changes in consumer behavior,” including those incentivizing more use of public transportation and others lifestyle changes that would reduce energy use.
It also notes that costs for solar energy and wind energy, which are central to decarbonization strategies because they generate electricity without emitting greenhouse gases, decreased 85% and 55% between 2010 and 2019, while the lithium ion batteries used for electric vehicles have decreased 85%.
“Having the right policies, infrastructure and technology in place to enable changes to our lifestyles and behaviour can result in a 40-70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This offers significant untapped potential,” said Priyadarshi Shukla, who co-led the group of analysts who drafted the report. “The evidence also shows that these lifestyle changes can improve our health and wellbeing.”
The IPCC published its report in the midst of a severe strain on global energy markets, especially for those in Europe, where consumers have been facing the highest fuel and power prices on record.
Europe’s grids have significant amounts of renewable energy, but the high cost of natural gas is keeping prices elevated.
The high prices and the volatile geopolitical situation caused by the war in Ukraine are driving leaders back toward energy strategies involving fossil fuels, including higher-emitting coal, as they seek to cut ties with top gas supplier Russia.
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However, top EU officials and the Biden administration have insisted the longer-term solution is to get more wind and solar into the grid so it is less reliant on commodities such as oil and gas, the prices of which are especially volatile.
