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Governments 'underestimating' scale of CO2 emissions | A new research has concluded that policymakers in Europe and US are markedly underestimating the changes needed to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO2) emission required to prevent
dangerous climate change because they work in 'silos'. Dr Sebastian Carney, from
The University of Manchester, UK, discovered that the lack of communication between
government departments, NGOs and other authorities has resulted in significant
differences over who is responsible for what. Using special computer software
he developed at The University of Manchester, Dr Carney has worked with authorities
in England, Scotland and California to troubleshoot the way they calculate emissions
reductions. The 'scenario sessions' bring together national and local politicians,
council officers, policy makers and NGOs - among others - to discuss their approaches
to emissions. "When it becomes evident that policy makers, and energy planners
are vastly underestimating the scale of the problem, the universal reaction is
one of shock," said Dr Carney, who is based at University's Centre for Urban Regional
Ecology. "In most cases, they have never sat down and quantified their energy
futures in terms of changes in CO2," he added. The United Nation's International
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the European Commission both say a CO2 reduction
of at least 80 percent on 1990 emission levels by 2050 will be required to limit
the average global temperature rise to 2 degrees centigrade. But according to
Dr Carney, governments do not realize the extent of the work needed to achieve
the 80 per cent figure. "Because they have not played with their own numbers,
policy makers just don't realise the scale of the changes needed to deliver the
reductions required," he said. "But they for sure are taking this issue seriously
- which is why we have together created the EUCO2 project," he added. The software
- called 'GRIP' - blends in real time, different quantities and types of energy
consumed with economy size, population and general behaviour to illustrate the
effects of different scenarios on CO2 emissions. The EUCO2 project, to which Dr
Carney is Scientific Advisor, devises low carbon urban strategies for cities in
Spain, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Netherlands, France, Slovakia, Italy,
Portugal and the UK. "The scenario process is for the first time identifying problems
and getting them out into the open. Then it's possible to do something positive,"
he said. |
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