How we’ve stepped for climate change

Almost all of you know global warming is one of the most difficult problems in in the world. We have been urged for many years to address climate change. For this problem, various meetings have been held around the world, during which goals have been set each time. For example, the Paris Agreement or Kyoto Protocol and so on. However, do you know the results of those efforts? How are countries around the world addressing this issue? It is said that efforts are insufficient. Indeed, individual actions and the initiatives of a single country alone are not enough to tackle this problem. However, making an effort is important. Here, you may be curious about what kinds of efforts are being made. Therefore, I would like to introduce these initiatives.

First, let’s take a look at the world’s attitude as a whole! As of January 20, 2021, 124 countries and one region, including Japan, have expressed their commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. These countries account for 37.7% of the total global CO2 emissions.

How are countries establishing their specific goals? JCCCA: Japan Center for Climate Change Actions

・China   Reduce CO2 emissions per GDP by 60-65% compared to 2005 levels by 2030

・EU    Reduce CO2 emissions per GDP by 40% compared to 1990levels by 2030

・India   Reduce CO2 emissions per GDP by 33-35% compared to 2005 levels by 2030

・Japan   Reduce CO2 emissions per GDP by 26% compared to 2013 levels by 2030

・Russia   Reduce CO2 emissions per GDP by 70-75% compared to 1990 levels by 2030

・America   Reduce CO2 emissions per GDP by 26-28% compared to 2005 levels by 2025

These targets are guided by the Draft Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Based on these objectives, each country is implementing its own specific actions. Now, let’s explore some concrete ways to achieve reductions.

China

China is demonstrating strong leadership in renewable energy. In 2020, 72.8% of newly installed power generation capacity came from renewable sources, bringing the cumulative installed capacity to 934 GW. This represents a 17.5% increase compared to the previous year. Additionally, the 138 GW of renewable energy capacity added by China exceeded the total added by the rest of the world combined.

U.S.

By the year 2000, as U.S. policymakers and consumers became more aware of the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions, the per capita emissions in the United States had fallen to just over 21 metric tons per year. Meanwhile, China’s emissions had increased to 2.9 metric tons per person, and India’s to 0.9 metric tons. This resulted in U.S. per capita emissions being seven times greater than China’s and 23 times higher than India’s. Since that time, while U.S. per capita emissions have continued to decline, they were still nearly twice as high as China’s and almost eight times higher than India’s in 2021. (Our World in Data: CO2 emissions site.)

EU

The European Union (EU) contributes approximately 7-8% of the world’s total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This percentage reflects a significant reduction over the past few decades.

According to the EU countries under the Regulation of the Governance of the Energy Union in April 2022, the EU achieved a share of 22.1% for renewable energy in gross final energy consumption in 2020, surpassing the 20% target set by the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive.

In 2022, renewable energy sources accounted for 41.2% of gross electricity consumption in the EU, marking an increase of nearly 4 percentage points from the previous year, when it was 37.5% in 2021.

India

As of 2021, India’s forest cover stands at approximately 24.56% of its total land area. The country is actively promoting afforestation and reforestation programs to increase this percentage, aiming to enhance carbon sequestration and biodiversity. (The Forest Survey of India)

India has implemented the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) program, which targets energy-intensive industries to improve their energy efficiency. This initiative aims to reduce energy consumption and promote sustainable practices within the industrial sector. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) oversees these efforts, providing guidelines and monitoring progress to ensure compliance and effectiveness.

India is also engaged in international collaboration to combat climate change, most notably through the International Solar Alliance (ISA). This initiative, founded by India, aims to promote solar energy use globally.

In conclusion

These countries already take some actions. Global warming presents serious health challenges that demand urgent action. By recognizing these effects and implementing solutions, we can foster a healthier and more sustainable future for everyone. It’s a big problem, so it seems difficult to solve or take actions for it. However, indivisuals or even a company can do something. This is the carbon credit. Buy investing in a project or purchasing a carbon credit, we can contribute to the Climate change mitigation.