If the world is to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, net negative emissions in some sectors must be established in the near future, Nicholas Stern, chair of the London School of Economics’ Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said Friday during a presentation at the Royal Society. “Most pathways for annual emissions that meet the target of holding warming to well below 2˚C require zero net annual emissions well before the end of this century,” Stern said. “That will mean net negative emissions in some major sectors well before the end of the 21st century, because some sectors are unlikely to be able to reach net zero emissions.”
The international Paris Agreement on climate change, which is due to enter into force on Friday, aims to keep global temperature rise “well below” 2 degrees Celsius – and hopefully closer to 1.5 degrees.
There are many ways to approach the emissions challenge, Stern said, but none are being pursued as they should be. He noted the capacity of natural negative carbon systems, which can be tapped into by growing forest cover or rehabilitating degraded land. Stern also cited bioenergy generation with carbon capture and storage. “Forests and land rehabilitation could play a strong role for a while but not for as long as we would need. Therefore negative emissions technology must be a strong priority for research and development over the next 10 years,” he said.