My eight green reasons for hope in 2021

 In Air Pollution, Energy Saving

Despite the gloom of covid and another lockdown, this year could be a better one for the environment says a Midlands green energy expert, Ron Fox, who gives his eight reasons of hope for 2021.

  1. The election of Joe Biden this month as the new American president. Tackling climate change is a major part of his of his agenda, which includes bringing the US to net zero emissions by 2050 and rejoining the 2015 Paris agreement, which he did last week. This would reduce global temperatures by 0.1C by 2100.
  2. China’s President Xi Jinping told the UN that his country, which is responsible for 28 per cent of the world’s emissions, would reach net zero emissions by 2060 which could reduce global warming by 0.2 to 0.3C by the end of the century.
  3. The UK and the European Union are among 110 countries which have set a net zero target by the middle of this century. But Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Australia and Russia have still not set zero targets yet.
  4. The UK has announced a 10-point self-styled green industrial revolution to achieve its net zero target. It includes ending the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, banning gas boilers in all newly-built homes within three years and spending £1bn this year to insulate homes and public buildings.
  5. In November this year the UK will be hosting the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) when world leaders will gather in Glasgow from November 1-12 for the successor to the Paris meeting of 2015. The conference, delayed a year by the pandemic, will provide a forum to ensure these carbon cuts are ratcheted up worldwide.
  6. The best solar power schemes now offer the cheapest source of electricity in history, according to the International Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organisation. With further investments in wind, solar and batteries in the next few years, prices are likely to fall even further to a point where they are so cheap it would make commercial sense to shut down and replace existing coal and gas power stations.
  7. A new analysis by the Climate Action Tracker group has predicted the rise in world temperatures could be held to 2.1C by the end of the century, down from the previous estimates of 3.5C at the 2009 Copenhagen summit but still above the 2C goal of the Paris meeting, and the 1.5C threshold that scientists have called for.
  8. Planting more trees helps removes carbon dioxide from the air, storing carbon in the trees and soil as well as releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. There is a worldwide move to plant more tree with the UK planning 30,000 hectares or 115 square miles of trees every year.

“2021 is a vital year for the world to cut its carbon footprint,” said Ron. “I hope next December we can look back and see we are getting even closer to achieving net zero emissions.”

For more details about green energy call Ron of Noreus Ltd on the University of Keele Science and Innovation Park on 01782 756995

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