The Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) is a collaborative initiative to understand and show how individual countries can transition to a low-carbon economy and how the world can meet the internationally agreed target of limiting the increase in global mean surface temperature to less than 2°C. Achieving the 2°C limit will require that global net emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) approach zero by the second half of the century. This will require a profound transformation of energy systems by mid-century through steep declines in carbon intensity in all sectors of the economy, a transition we call “deep decarbonization.”
Currently, the DDPP comprises 15 Country Research Teams composed of leading researchers and research institutions from countries representing 70% of global GHG emissions and different stages of development: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, the UK, and the USA. The Country Research Teams are acting independently of governments and do not necessarily reflect the positions or views of their national governments. Each DDPP Country Research Team is developing a “pathway” analysis for deep decarbonization. We expect the number of Country Research Teams to grow over the coming months and years.
Several Partner Organizations contribute to the analysis and outreach of the DDPP, including the German Development Institute (GDI), the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD). We invite other organizations to become DDPP partners and contribute to practical problem solving for deep decarbonization.
The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) co-founded and lead the DDPP. The DDPP is an ongoing initiative that will issue periodic reports on deep decarbonization. The DDPP is issuing this interim 2014 report to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in support of the Climate Leaders’ Summit at the United Nations on September 23, 2014. The interim 2014 report describes the DDPP’s approach to deep decarbonization at the country level and presents preliminary findings on technically feasible pathways to deep decarbonization.
As underscored throughout this report, the results of the DDPP analyses remain preliminary and incomplete. Additional country chapters1 will be published in the coming weeks. The complete 2014 DDPP report will be issued ahead of the Climate Leaders’ Summit in September 2014. In the meantime, the DDPP welcomes comments and suggestions on this draft to be sent to info@unsdsn.org and iddri@iddri.org before August 15, 2014.
In the first half of 2015, the DDPP will issue a more comprehensive report to the French Government, host of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP-21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The 2015 DDPP report will refine the analysis of the technicaldecarbonization potential, exploring options for even deeper decarbonization, but also better taking into account existing infrastructure stocks. At this stage, we have not yet looked in detail at the issue of the costs and benefits of mitigation actions, nor considered the question of who should pay for these costs. The 2015 DDPP report will take a broader perspective, and go beyond technical feasibility, to analyze in further detail how the twin objectives of development and deep decarbonization can be met through integrated approaches, identify national and international financial requirements, and map out policy frameworks for implementation.
We hope that the Deep Decarbonization Pathways (DDPs) outlined in this report and the ongoing analytical work by the Country Research Teams will support discussions in every country on how to achieve deep decarbonization. Above all, we hope that the findings will be helpful to the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as they craft a strong agreement on climate change mitigation at the COP-21 in Paris in December 2015.
For the full report:
http://unsdsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/DDPP_interim_2014_report.pdf
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