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Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions are primarily caused by people burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Phasing out fossil fuel use can happen by conserving energy and replacing fossil fuels with clean energy sources such as wind, hydro, solar, and nuclear power. Secondary mitigation strategies include changes to land use and removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. Governments have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but actions to date are insufficient to avoid dangerous levels of climate change.
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A zero-carbon city is a goal of city planners that can be variously defined. In a narrower sense of energy production and use, a zero-carbon city is one that generates as much or more carbon-free sustainable energy as it uses. In a broader sense of managing greenhouse gas emissions, a zero-carbon city is one that reduces its carbon footprint to a minimum by using renewable energy sources; reducing all types of carbon emissions through efficient urban design, technology use and lifestyle changes; and balancing any remaining emissions through carbon sequestration. Since the supply chains of a city stretch far beyond its borders, Princeton University's High Meadows Environmental Institute suggests using a transboundary definition of a net-zero carbon city as "one that has net-zero carbon infrastructure and food provisioning systems".
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Climate change is leading to long-term impacts on agriculture in Germany, more intense heatwaves and coldwaves, flash and coastal flooding, and reduced water availability. Debates over how to address these long-term challenges caused by climate change have also sparked changes in the energy sector and in mitigation strategies. Germany's energiewende has been a significant political issue in German politics that has made coalition talks difficult for Angela Merkel's CDU.
The San Diego Climate Action Plan was adopted by the city of San Diego in December 2015. It is a local climate action plan whose rules are defined by the California global warming Solutions Act of 2006, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Through this plan, the city initially set goals of eliminating half of all greenhouse emissions and sourcing all energy from renewable sources by the year 2035. With a coalition of business owners, environmental advocates, and community leaders, Mayor Kevin Faulconer approved the Climate Action Plan. The Climate Action Plan consists of several policies to ensure the economic and environmental growth of the city of San Diego. It was referred to in The San Diego Union-Tribune as "the most aggressive climate action plan in California."
Coal, cars and lorries vent more than a third of Turkey's six hundred million tonnes of annual greenhouse gas emissions, which are mostly carbon dioxide and part of the cause of climate change in Turkey. The nation's coal-fired power stations emit the most carbon dioxide, and other significant sources are road vehicles running on petrol or diesel. After coal and oil the third most polluting fuel is fossil gas; which is burnt in Turkey's gas-fired power stations, homes and workplaces. Much methane is belched by livestock; cows alone produce half of the greenhouse gas from agriculture in Turkey.
India is ranked seventh among the list of countries most affected by climate change in 2019. India emits about 3 gigatonnes (Gt) CO2eq of greenhouse gases each year; about two and a half tons per person, which is less than the world average. The country emits 7% of global emissions, despite having 17% of the world population. Temperature rises on the Tibetan Plateau are causing Himalayan glaciers to retreat, threatening the flow rate of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yamuna and other major rivers. A 2007 World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report states that the Indus River may run dry for the same reason. Heat waves' frequency and intensity are increasing in India because of climate change. Severe landslides and floods are projected to become increasingly common in such states as Assam. The climate change performance index of India ranks eighth among 63 countries which account for 92% of all GHG emissions in the year 2021.
China's greenhouse gas emissions are the largest of any country in the world both in production and consumption terms, and stem mainly from coal burning, including coal power, coal mining, and blast furnaces producing iron and steel. When measuring production-based emissions, China emitted over 14 gigatonnes (Gt) CO2eq of greenhouse gases in 2019, 27% of the world total. When measuring in consumption-based terms, which adds emissions associated with imported goods and extracts those associated with exported goods, China accounts for 13 gigatonnes (Gt) or 25% of global emissions. According to the Carbon Majors Database, Chinese state coal production alone accounts for 14% of historic global emissions.
References
- ↑ "COP26: India PM Narendra Modi pledges net zero by 2070". BBC News. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ↑ "India's Intended Nationally Determined Contributions" (PDF). Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change .
- ↑ "India: Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022, Allowing for a Carbon Credit Trading System, Comes into Force". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ↑ "The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022". prsindia.org. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ↑ "Cabinet approves India's Updated Nationally Determined Contribution to be communicated to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ↑ "India Updates its Nationally Determined Contribution to Tackle Climate Change". The Wire. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ↑ "India's long-term low-carbon development strategy" (PDF). Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change .
- ↑ "India Outlines a Long-Term Decarbonization Strategy at COP 27". www.globaldata.com. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ↑ Dickie, Gloria (14 November 2022). "COP27: India lays out plan for long-term decarbonization". Reuters. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ↑ "India's Long-Term Low-Carbon Development Strategy" (PDF). unfccc.int. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ↑ "Draft: National Energy Policy - NITI Aayog" (PDF). NITI Aayog .
- ↑ Kumar. J, Charles Rajesh; Majid, M. A. (7 January 2020). "Renewable energy for sustainable development in India: current status, future prospects, challenges, employment, and investment opportunities". Energy, Sustainability and Society. 10 (1): 2. doi: 10.1186/s13705-019-0232-1 . ISSN 2192-0567.
- ↑ "National Electric Mobility Mission Plan | BEE | Department of Heavy Industry (DHI)". evyatra.beeindia.gov.in. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ↑ "National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 – Policies". IEA. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ↑ "National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 | ESCAP Policy Documents Management". policy.asiapacificenergy.org. Retrieved 28 August 2023.