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World leaders are under pressure to take action on climate change – but what exactly is it they are talking about? Here are some of the commonly used climate terms and what they mean.
– Greenhouse gases
These are gases that trap some of the heat from the sun in the atmosphere and keep the the planet warm enough for life to thrive.
Concentrations of these gases, which include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, have increased at a rapid rate in recent years.
– Greenhouse gas or carbon emissions
This is the release of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere, mainly from burning fossil fuels – coal, gas and oil – in things such as power stations, vehicle engines and boilers for heating buildings.
Livestock and changes to how we use land, including cutting down or burning forests and draining peatland, industrial processes such as cement making and refrigerants are among other sources of greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity.
(Andrew Matthews/PA)
– Global warming
Because of emissions from human activity, the overall level or concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased.
The higher the concentrations in the atmosphere, the more they trap heat and warm the Earth, pushing up temperatures across the land and oceans, which is known as global warming.
In 2020 global temperatures were around 1.2C above what they were in the 19th century, before most of the industrial activity driving emissions got going.
– Climate change
This encompasses the rapid changes we are seeing to weather conditions and the natural world, driven by global warming and the human activities that cause it.
Impacts we are already seeing include more frequent and extreme heatwaves and wildfires, increased rainfall and storms which can cause floods, melting ice and rising sea levels, changes to crop yields and loss of wildlife.
As temperatures continue to rise, the impacts of climate change are projected to worsen, and the situation is increasingly being referred to as a climate crisis or emergency.
(AP)
– Net zero
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions from human activity to zero overall, which is needed to halt the global temperature rises driven by the increase in levels of gases in the atmosphere.
Just as you need to turn off a tap completely to stop the level of water in a bath from continuing to rise, we need to cut emissions to zero to stop the greenhouse gas levels – and therefore temperatures – rising.
Completely stopping emissions is extremely difficult, but there are some measures, such as planting trees, which can absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere – the equivalent of bailing some water out of the bath to keep the water level steady even if the tap is still running slightly.
So emissions have to be cut as much as possible, and any remaining pollution, from hard-to-tackle sectors such as aviation, needs to be “offset” by action that absorbs carbon to have the net effect of cutting emissions to zero.
– Decarbonisation
The process of removing the emissions associated with activities or sectors, for example decarbonising electricity generation by phasing out coal and gas plants that put out pollution, and building renewables such as offshore wind farms.
(Owen Humphreys/PA)
– Paris Agreement
The world’s first comprehensive treaty on climate change, agreed under the United Nations in the French capital in December 2015.
Under the deal, all countries commit to action to limit temperature rises to “well below” 2C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to keep them to 1.5C, to reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.
– Nationally determined contributions (NDCs)
National plans for climate action submitted by countries under the Paris Agreement.
They outline post-2020 action to tackle climate change, with many plans running to 2030. Countries are under pressure to bring out new or updated plans because current action leaves the world way off track to meet the 2C or 1.5C goals.
– Cop26
This is a global climate summit held under the UN’s climate change convention, which is being hosted by the UK and is set to take place in Glasgow in the first two weeks of November.
Cop26, delayed from last year by the pandemic, is seen as the most important international climate meeting since Paris 2015, as it aims to drive urgent and significant action to halt rising temperatures.
There will also be negotiations to agree the final parts of the “rulebook” for implementing the Paris Agreement.
Cop stands for “conference of the parties” and it is the 26th meeting.
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The NSW government’s latest tilt at reducing the state’s emissions to net zero has the potential to become a grand scale nation building program. But without appropriate oversight, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars could simply “perpetuate business as usual”.
Innovation system expert and UTS emeritus professor Roy Green said the state’s latest proposal – $750 million over 10 years to help high emitting industries transition to cleaner technologies – is comprehensive and credible.
“I would even go so far as to call it nation leading as well as nation building,” Professor Green told InnovationAus. But he argues that success will depend on the effective management of grants and co-investments.
Opportunity: Roy Green says if handled right, the NSW net zero policy is a winner
In the absence of a national emissions trading scheme, the states’ have been left with little option but to incentivise heavy emitters to clean up their operations, according to Professor Green.
NSW in particular will need heavy industries like mining and manufacturing on board if it is to reach its 2050 net zero target. In those two industries, the top 55 emitting facilities account for more than 29 per cent of NSW emissions.
Energy Minister Matt Kean this month unveiled a $750 million program to lower emissions, with most of the money going to subsidise heavy emitters’ transition to lower emission plant and equipment.
“The advice to government here is that very strict enforcement provisions need to be provided around the provision of those resources so that those companies and industries truly do transform,” Professor Green said.
“And the funding is not allowed to perpetuate business as usual.”
The NSW government’s program received early support from industry, but details on exactly how the program is to be delivered are yet to be developed. The state government said it would consult widely on “detailed delivery plans” for the program.
The NSW Net Zero Industry and Innovation Program has three key focus areas: developing new clean technologies in NSW; building infrastructure for low emission industries and strengthening their local supply chains; and deploying low emissions technologies and infrastructure to reduce the emissions associated with existing, high emitting industrial facilities in NSW.
It is the latter that would get the lion’s share of taxpayer money – $380 million worth of grants and government co-investments. But there are millions more earmarked for the development of new technologies and low emission infrastructure, as well as support for low carbon industries like green hydrogen.
“We have to hope the government can take as comprehensive a view as it seems to in the positioning that the paper provides,” said Professor Green.
He says NSW’s approach could lead to lasting change, but it must avoid any “set and forget” mindset in the distribution of grants and conditions of co-investment.
“You’ve got to have a very strong coordination principle operating around the disbursement of these grants,” Professor Green told InnovationAus.
“Those grants have to be based on conditionality that those emitters, the high emitters, can commit to low and zero emissions within given timescales, and the resources available to them to do that are invested in those low emissions technologies or the capability building that enables that transformation.”
The inclusion of stakeholders outside government and industry would be welcome, Prof Green said, adding that the NSW government should also leverage innovation hubs and partners like the CSIRO and universities as much as possible.
The NSW approach also makes an important acknowledgement, he says: “Post COVID recovery is not consistent with tackling climate change.”
“It’s for too long been seen as a binary choice, but it’s not a binary choice. The two are not just complimentary but increasingly integrated. If we want jobs and sustainable growth, we also have to invest in low emissions and zero emissions technologies.
“And that’s what this [NSW government] paper proposes with some funding streams attached to promote new industries as well as transforming existing.”
The NSW government plan lays a groundwork for Australia’s most populous state that many would have expected was in place years ago. And with countries around the world moving to scrutinise and even penalise the carbon footprint of any imports, Australia – the number 19 exporter in the world ¬– needs to get moving.
“The rest of the world is going to move in the direction of non-tariff barriers to exports that are carbon intensive, and maybe even tariff barriers as well.
“And so we can complain to the [World Trade Organisation] all we like. But the fact is, every other country in the world is going to do it. And so our complaint may well go unrecognised.
“It’s much better, therefore, to position ourselves in advance to take advantage of the new trading regime and ensure that our exports from low emitting zero carbon industries. And that we can also develop new technologies that will drive the world’s attempt to tackle climate change and global warming.”
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