Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
9/19/2014
A swift shift from unabated coal burning, an end of fossil fuel subsidies and an increase in low-carbon technological innovation, among several other measures, can lead to a low-carbon future without causing economic harm, according to a report published this week by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate. According to the report, “countries at all levels of income now have the opportunity to build lasting economic growth at the same time as reducing the immense risks of climate change. This is made possible by structural and technological changes unfolding in the global economy and opportunities for greater economic efficiency. The capital for the necessary investments is available, and the potential for innovation is vast. What is needed is strong political leadership and credible, consistent policies.”
The report lays out a global action plan which, it says, should be implemented at all levels of government. A notable action the report calls for is the phasing-out of unabated fossil-fuel energy generation. New coal plants should be built only if no alternative is economically feasible, “bearing in mind the full range of financial, social and environmental costs associated with coal power.” After 2050, the report says, there should be a complete phase-out of unabated fossil-fuel power generation, which should begin now, with high-income countries stopping the building of any new unabated coal-fired power plant and retiring existing unabated coal-fired power plants at an accelerated pace.
The report notes that an end to the generation of cheap energy by burning coal will cause a burden for low-income households. To address this issue, the report says, “governments should provide assistance to support workers, low-income households and communities in coal-dependent regions and carbon-intensive sectors that may be adversely affected by these policies, to ensure a just transition with appropriate social protection measures, using where relevant some of the revenues from carbon taxes and subsidy reform for this purpose.” Ending subsidies for fossil fuels is a key to reducing harm to the poor, the report notes elsewhere in the action plan, as funds can then be redirected to benefit those on low-incomes directly.
Other points in the action plan include: integrating climate action and risk into strategic economic decision-making; entering into a lasting and equitable international climate agreement; making connected and compact cities preferred for urban development; ending deforestation and restoring lost or degraded forests and agriculture lands.
Low-Carbon Innovation Must Be Bolstered
The report notes several “game-changing” technologies in the transition to a low-carbon future including energy storage and carbon capture utilization and storage. Government funding of research and development in these areas has fallen short, the report says and should be tripled in high-income countries by the min-2020s. However, support for innovation must be adopted even in countries with smaller economies, the report says. “All countries should develop coordinated programmes to support the development, demonstration and deployment of potentially game-changing technologies, such as energy storage and carbon capture, use and storage.”
To finance research and development projects, carbon pricing and other regulatory measures should be adopted to send a strong market signal to private investors as well as to ease the burden of a shift to low-carbon technologies on low-income households, the report says. “Governments should strengthen the market pull for new low-carbon technologies, in particular through carbon pricing, performance-based (technology-neutral) codes and standards, and public procurement policies,” the report says, also suggesting that “national governments should introduce a strong, predictable and rising carbon price as part of fiscal reform strategies, prioritising the use of resulting revenues to offset impacts on low-income households and finance reductions in other distortionary taxes.”
Low-Income Countries Ready to Contribute to Climate Mitigation Efforts
As it becomes clear that climate mitigation efforts can take many different forms and that waiting to address the issue of climate change will end up making the process more expensive, developing countries are becoming more willing to take part in efforts, Nigel Purvis, founder and CEO of Climate Advisers, said at a Center for American Progress panel discussion held this week. “Twenty years ago, developing countries were saying ‘We don’t want to do this. You do it, then maybe we’ll consider doing it.’ There is now a building global consensus that all countries need to take action. That there are a huge number of actions that countries can take that are in their own economic self-interest.”
Also speaking at the panel discussion, Rachel Kyte, World Bank Group Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change said that the report says what many stakeholders have been thinking “The one thing we all agree on is that the incremental cost of building climate-smart infrastructure and energy systems and everything is not that expensive over the business-as-usual-scenario and if you wait, it simply gets more expensive,” she said.
