World May Be Able to Cap Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2020 without Economic Harm

One of the biggest debates among world policy makers has been whether it is possible to reduce the world’s greenhouse gas emissions without adversely affecting economic performance. Now, a new report indicates that these two objectives, once believed to be conflicting in nature, may actually be within the world’s grasp.

One of the biggest debates among world policy makers has been whether it is possible to reduce the world’s greenhouse gas emissions without adversely affecting economic performance. Now, a new report indicates that these two objectives, once believed to be conflicting in nature, may actually be within the world’s grasp.

According to a report released Monday by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the goal of finally achieving a peak beyond which greenhouse gas emissions will never surpass could be achievable by 2020 with existing technology and very little economic pain.

The IEA suggests that the key to this improvement lies in tackling the emissions of fossil fuels. To effect this change, the IEA suggested five changes, some of which have already begun implementation and others that have met with significant resistance, particularly in less developed nations.

The proposed changes include:

* Increasing industrial energy efficiency by improving the efficiency of buildings and the transport vehicles

* Reducing the use of coal-fired power plants and discontinuing the construction of any new such plants

* Increasing investment in renewable energy technologies

* Gradually phasing out fossil-fuel subsidies

* Reducing methane emissions in oil and gas production

Notably, global leaders meet in Paris in just a few months to discuss a new climate policy treaty. If successful, the new policies would take effect in 2020 and would be the first international treaty in which both rich and poor countries could pledge to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Scientists believe these greenhouse gasses have contributed to an increase in temperatures around the world, creating the stronger seasonal cycles that led to a long and cold winter. That winter has taken the blame for a reduction in economic output in the United States for the first quarter of 2015.

To prevent further environmental damage, global policy makers have set the goal of keeping average temperatures below 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F) over what they were in a pre-industrial world. The IEA believes the only way to accomplish that is by cracking down on the industrial sector, because it produces a vastly greater amount of greenhouse gasses than any other economic sector.

Some of the proposals contained in the IEA report are already well under way in much of the industrialized world. For example, reduction of reliance on coal-based energy has been a large focus of the Obama Administration’s energy policy. While reduction from one energy source will necessitate bringing other power supplies online, newer energy plants using renewable technology, could both stimulate world construction sectors and modernize infrastructure with better, more “future-proofed” technologies. Moreover, world governments slated many of these improvements, so these policy changes will simply allow for better use of already available funding. That means little chance of significant economic hardship to comply with these new standards, and a high chance of adoption.