2.2 Reducing carbon dioxide emissions

To stabilise climate change, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions would have to be reduced by around 70% globally. This is a considerable amount.

One of the main problems with CO₂ is the length of time it remains in the atmosphere, as broadly speaking it can take around 100 years or more for it to be removed, even after some of it is absorbed by vegetation. Consequently, even if we stopped CO₂ emissions immediately, the effects of human activity would still influence our weather for years to come. However, CO₂ emissions are not going to stop; therefore, some change in our behaviour, consumption and approach will help reduce the effect of climate change. The level of change depends on the amount of greenhouse gases we continue to emit, which in turn is related to population growth, the use of new technologies, consumption and how much energy we use.

By reducing the amount of greenhouse gases even marginally, the rate of change should be less and, therefore, there will be less impact on our planet and our lives.

To achieve the CO₂ emission reductions necessary to forestall a continuing cycle of global warming, a broad range of policy instruments will need to be deployed; and action by all countries will be required.

• ‘Climate change, risk and global emissions trading’ is a paper by Aubrey Meyer and Tony Cooper in which they argue that current international policy options are inadequate and that the answer to stabilising climate change lies in a truly global and equitable solution.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) argues for technological innovation to bring down the costs of climate change mitigation over time. It argues that a concerted research and development effort can be expected to yield important benefits, but not by itself. The OECD also provides an analysis of carbon leakage; that is, the concern that greenhouse-gas-intensive industries located in countries that take action will lose competitiveness vis-à-vis competitors in countries that do not. The OECD assessment is that such effects, while they are of concern, diminish quite rapidly as the set of countries participating in climate change mitigation efforts grow.