​ONLY ZERO CARBON ONLY ZERO CARBON ONLY ZERO CARBON ON LY ZERO CARBON ONLY ZERO CARBON  ONLY ZERO


2. CORRECT THE PERVERSE ECONOMICS

All that is needed is to correct the environmentally perverse, fatally flawed, economics that is being generally accepted and can only lead us to climatic annihilation. Without correcting the economics nothing can work.


This has been perhaps best explained by the 2006 UK government Stern Commission's the Economics of Climate Change which in fact was a good assessment of global climate change in general.


This is still one of the best reports that identified the real root cause of continuing atmospheric greenhouse gas pollution causing global warming, climate change, and ocean acidification. The Stern Commission stated that global climate change is 'the greatest and most far-reaching market failure ever', meaning the cause is our socio environmentally perverse economics. The commission explained that the market failure was the result of an economics that did not apply the polluter pays principle allowing the greenhouse gas polluters not pay for the costs of pollution. The solution  was simply to put a price on carbon pollution and impose the price on the polluter by government regulation, by taxing carbon in addition to capping carbon emissions and carbon trading.


Stern Commission also said that fossil fuel subsidies would have two be stopped. However since the Stern commission report fossil fuel subsidies have been increased.


So today the very first thing that must happen is the governments to stop these suicidal fossil fuel subsidies totally and in short order. It is obviously totally impossible to decarbonise national and world economies all the time the fossil fuel industry is being subsidized to any extent. 



STOP AND SWITCH


FIRST STOP  ALL FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDIES AND SWITCH DIRECT  FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDIES TO CLEAN ZERO CARBON EVERLASTING ENERGY DEVELOPMENT.



Taxing carbon at source
The full cost of carbon has to be charged to the fossil fuel corporations. This is the huge so-called 'externalized' social and environmental costs, that are called indirect subsidies. This was the big thing that featured in the Stern Report.  
 
To stop indirect fossil fuel subsidies the polluting corporations must be charged the full cost by a carbon charge (it's not actually a tax). 


3. Stop wasting time & public money on ideas that can't get near zero carbon.  


  •  Stop subsidizing and supporting biofuels (more life cycle CO2 emissions than fossil fuels). 
  •  Stop public funding of fossil fuel carbon capture R&D (coal industry boondoggle.) 
  •  Give up on carbon trading
  •  Capping carbon emissions from fossil fuel emitters is fine, but does not lead to zero carbon energy and technology that has to be converted rather then capped.    



4. Develop industrial scale capacity to extract CO2 direct from the air.



This is actually the bottom line for the survival of humanity. We can do everything else, but if we are unable to get some CO2 out of the atmosphere we fail and the future is over for humanity. 



5. Stop all carbon dioxide emissions



Convert all fossil fuel energy sources and services to clean zero carbon.
Stop deforestation.
Convert to no till agriculture. 
Convert off the internal combustion engine for transportation.


The above on vehicle engines will also control the toxic GHG ground level ozone

and zero fosssil fuels will give a very large reduction in black carbon and ground level ozone 

as well as reducing methane to some extent.  

    


6. Stop emitting methane
 
Methane is the meat GHG emitted by ruminant livestock especially cows. 
It lasts in the atmosphere 12 years and has a global warming capacity over 10 years of 100X CO2. 
It goes on heating after 12 years, because in the atmosphere it is converted to other GHGs notably CO2. 


Convert to no till, zero chemical, zero industrial livestock, organic agro-forestry food production.

The meat heavy diet is responsible for 18% to 50% of methane emissions (according to studies). Stop subsidizing livestock and meat.



7. Stop warmongering and militarism


This should perhaps top the list. There is no chance of decarbonisation to any great extent all the time nations are warmongering and competing against each other. Decarbonisation is impossible so long as nations are manufacturing massive weapons of mass destruction that consumer massive amounts of fossil fuels to smelt and engineer massive amounts of metals and require massive amounts of oil to operate. International demilitarization and disarmament is an essential prerequisite for avoiding global climate suicide. The international economy of competitiveness is in fact a continuation of the World War economies.


8. Biochar


The way to buy time by removing CO2 out of the carbon cycle (for over 100 years) is by making biochar from wood. 

The process is pyrolysis. There is no such thing as any other long term sinking of carbon. 


                                       Other non CO2 GHGs


9. Stop emitting nitrous oxide


Like CO2 N20 is highly persistent and cumulative in the atmosphere so emissions must stop. 
It is 290 X the warming of CO2 and last 100 years.


It is emitted by the use of chemical nitrogen fertilizers and livestock manure waste.

Convert to no till, zero chemical, zero industrial livestock, organic agro-forestry food production. 


10. Stop emitting halocarbons. 


These human made chemical include the most potent and long lasting of all the GHGs. 

They are used in manufacturing processes for which there are good alternatives. They must be banned. 



11 Other global warming emissions:   black carbon (BC) or soot


Only a zero carbon combustion world economy can bring down black carbon emissions


 


Net-zero for stabilization can happen by conversion - not by CCS and not the carbon intensity approach  


The only feasible option for zero carbon emissions is rather obviously the conversion of  all fossil fuel energy to non polluting renewable energy sources. This is definitely feasible.

These are two other options frequently referred to for mitigation, that are in the IPCC AR5,but are not options at all. 


Carbon capture & storage (CCS)

The carbon capture & storage (CCS) concept has been around for many years, the IPCC published a special report on CCS in 2005. There is still no evidence it is feasible on any scale, and it cannot get to zero carbon. 


Carbon intensity

Improving carbon intensity of fossil fuel combustion can never get close to zero carbon and is an excuse for more fossil fuels for energy. The IPCC AR5 WG1 technical summary actually had a graph showing that the best that carbon intensity could do is useless. 


1. Stop all fossil fuel subsidies #7 Trillion/yr


2. Price carbon- fossil fuel pollution charge TO THE POLLUIING COPORATIONA


3. Fossil fuel divestment

The Dec 2015 UN Paris Agreement actually does nothing to put global emissions into rapid decline.

In fact its non binding national emissions targets (NDCs) lead to more emissions by 2030       

Paris 2015 Call by economists.

No progress without correcting the economic market failure

IMMEDIATE CO2 EMISSIONS DECLINE

The IPCC 6th Assessment sys that global emissions have to be put into decline immediately, rapidly

This is for the 2C limit as well as the 1.5C limit

Action Plan