{"id":4527,"date":"2018-11-19T14:08:30","date_gmt":"2018-11-19T14:08:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/why-industry-can-combat-climate-change\/"},"modified":"2018-11-19T14:08:30","modified_gmt":"2018-11-19T14:08:30","slug":"why-industry-can-combat-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/why-industry-can-combat-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Why industry can combat climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"SmokeImage copyright<\/span>
\n Reuters<\/span><\/p>\n

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A new report on the potential of heavy industry to combat climate change offers a rare slice of optimism.<\/p>\n

Sectors like steel, chemicals, cement, aviation and aluminium face a huge challenge in cutting carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

But a group including representatives from business concludes it is both practical and affordable to get their emissions down to virtually zero by the middle of the next century.<\/p>\n

The report’s been described as wishful thinking by some environmentalists. <\/p>\n

Can we afford it? <\/h2>\n

The group, the Energy Transitions Commission<\/a> (ETC), says we can. It calculates that industrial emissions can be eradicated a cost of less than 1% of global GDP, with a marginal impact on living standards.<\/p>\n

The ETC – a coalition of business, finance and civil society leaders from energy producers and users – supports the aim of the 2015 Paris climate deal of limiting global warming to 1.5C, or at the very least, well below 2C.<\/p>\n

It sees benefits to society of cutting industrial emissions because this would save the costs associated with pollution and climate change impact.<\/p>\n

It would also generate economic growth through technological innovation and increased productivity of resources.<\/p>\n

The commission says this will require rapid improvements in energy efficiency across the whole economy.<\/p>\n

This should be combined with vastly increased wind and solar electricity to power cars, vans, manufacturing, and a significant part of domestic cooking, heating and cooling. <\/p>\n

Where are the biggest problems?<\/h2>\n
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Image copyright<\/span>
\n Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n Steel is one of the industrial sectors targeted by the Energy Transitions Commission report
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The focus of the report is on the tough nuts of climate change: cement, steel, chemicals, trucking and aviation.<\/p>\n

These sectors account for close to a third of total global carbon dioxide emissions, but on current trends that is likely to increase just as the rest of the economy is cleaning up.<\/p>\n

The report says it is technically possible to decarbonise all of them by the middle of the next century.<\/p>\n

It recommends:<\/p>\n