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Filling The Emission Gap
Green Technology Featured Articles
November 08, 2013

Filling The Emission Gap

By Kathleen Delaney

In 2010, several countries agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, primarily CO2, in order to curb global warming. The UNEP set a goal of 44 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions to be reached by 2020. However, there is an emissions gap, and it is expected to worsen with time. 



The Emission Gap 

Greenhouse gas emissions in 2010 hit 50.1 gigatons. The UNEP says that the world needs to reduce its emissions to 44 gigatons by the year 2020. The difference between current greenhouse gas emissions and the levels permitted by the UNEP agreement are called the emissions gap. The emissions gap is estimated to reach 8 billion to 12 billion tons by 2020.

Factors Driving the Emissions Gap 

Twelve billion gigatons equals 80% of the greenhouse emissions. However, turning off the power isn’t an acceptable solution. The United States has inadvertently cut its CO2 emissions through natural gas fracking, reducing its reliance on coal for power. China and India, however, are building four new coal fire power plants a week. China’s government has stated that it has the same right to develop as the West, and therefore it will continue developing its power grid and infrastructure regardless of greenhouse gas agreements. India is moving forward with power plant construction to provide a reliable power grid and improve the standard of living for its poorest citizens. For India, solar powered flashlights and wind powered water pumps are a first step to a much higher standard of living.

Why the Emissions Gap is News

The United Nations Environment Program, or ENEP, issued an updated report in November 2013. A new climate pact will be signed in 2015, but it will not go into effect until 2020. If the emissions gap is not closed, the UNEP expects greater global warming than predicted by its climate models. These warming projections are theoretical and increasingly scrutinized, since global warming models have failed to account for the stall in atmospheric global warming since 2000. The latest IPCC report projects ever more dire weather events while assuming that the missing heat was absorbed into the oceans.

Solutions to Closing the Emissions Gap 

It is possible to take steps to close the emissions gap without condemning the billions in the world to poverty. Emissions can be reduced through reduced power generation through polluting sources like coal and firewood, and implementation of renewable power sources like wind and hydroelectric. The UNEP points out that better agricultural practices could close the emissions gap by a third. These solutions have already been demonstrated in Argentina, were 100 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions were prevented by shifting to conservation tilling. Worldwide development of fracking over traditional drilling would provide reliable power without the same pollution as coal and oil. Nations like Dominica provide subsidized cooking gas to prevent the decimation of wild forests, while a second Green Revolution (News - Alert) promises to improve food production and permit more land to return to a forested state and become natural carbon sinks. These steps to close the emissions gap can occur while improving everyone's standard of living.




Edited by Cassandra Tucker


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