Decarbonization

• [New] In the United States, many state and local climate change plans are built around targets based on outdated climate science, such as 80% emissions reductions by 2050.
• [New] Putting a price on the carbon emitted by countries and companies could help instigate a shift away from harmful practices and toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
• [New] Some countries instead establish a goal for emissions reductions (such as the United Kingdom's 68% reduction by 2030 compared to 1990 levels) and then focus on minimizing the costs of achieving it, estimated at $ 20-100 per tonne of CO 2.
• [New] The world must reach net zero emissions by 2050 to limit global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial times and avert the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.
• [New] The European Union has made hydrogen a key plank in its aim to eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with plans to install 40 GW of electrolyzers this decade - equipment to produce emissions-free hydrogen using water and renewable power.
• [New] Climate Action 100+, a group of more than 500 institutional investors that together manage more than $47 trillion of assets, has asked the world's 161 highest-emitting companies to release their plans for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
• [New] Federal agencies could now increase financial and technical assistance for low-carbon innovation to help usher in a new wave of American entrepreneurship.
• [New] Putting innovation onto a fast track could help the United States capture the opportunities associated with burgeoning markets for low-carbon technologies such as vehicle electrification; carbon capture, use, and storage; hydrogen and sustainable fuels; and advanced materials.
• [New] Increased renewable energy generation, coupled with overall decreased energy use, resulted in a remarkable decline in carbon emissions in 2020, putting the U.S. on a path to achieve its target 26-28% reduction in emissions by 2025.
• [New] If Canada set a target of 25,000 new zero-emission medium - and heavy-duty vehicles by 2025, in addition to cross-sector investments in vehicle procurement, an investment of about $350 million in charging and refuelling infrastructure would be required.
• [New] If a target was set, for example, to see 25,000 new zero-emission medium - and heavy-duty vehicles on the road in Canada by 2025, a total investment of about $5 billion (from industry and government) would be required for vehicle procurement alone.
• [New] Singapore aims to halve the amount of greenhouse gas emissions it generates from its 2030 peak by 2050, with the goal of achieving net-zero emissions as soon as viable in the second half of the century.
• [New] IBM will use feasible technologies, such as carbon capture (in or by 2030) to remove emissions in an amount which equals or exceeds the level of IBM's residual emissions.
• [New] IBM aims to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, by prioritizing actual reductions in its emissions, energy efficiency efforts and increased clean energy use in more than 175 countries where it operates.
• [New] Temperatures will not stop rising in Texas unless emissions stop rising in India.
• [New] Ford committed today that by mid-2026, 100% of Ford's passenger vehicle range in Europe will be zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid, and will be completely all-electric by 2030.
• [New] Ford in Europe has unveiled a new ramped up electrification strategy that includes making all its passenger cars sold in Europe zero emissions capable by mid-2026 and also transforming its Cologne site into a hub for electric car manufacturing.
• [New] A nationwide HVDC network built to support wind and solar resources could reduce carbon emissions by as much as 80% by 2030, without increasing electricity costs for consumers.
• [New] Developing technologies, including hydrogen units and flow batteries, could begin to address some of the shortcomings as the U.S. approaches 2035, the year the Biden administration says carbon emissions should be eliminated from the power supply.
• [New] Surrey County Council in the UK is deploying s smart street lighting solution which is predicted to save around 7,700 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
• [New] President Joe Biden wants to bring the United States to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to fight climate change through a shift to clean-energy technologies, while reducing pollution in low-income and minority neighborhoods near industrial facilities.

Last updated: 21 February 2021