Electricity, transport and heating account for a massive 80% of greenhouse gas emissions and are at the forefront of the battle to achieve Net Zero.
Electricity, transport and heating account for a massive 80% of greenhouse gas emissions and are at the forefront of the battle to achieve Net Zero. But reaching Net Zero means also dealing with the hard-to-reach 20% of emissions: agriculture, plastics, cement, and waste, and extracting at least 5% extra from the atmosphere to account for the emissions that we simply cannot get rid of. Together, this is known as the ‘Final 25%’. And Net Zero cannot be achieved without tackling this hard-to-reach wedge.
Made up of a range of greenhouse gas emitters, which are harder to spot than pollution-belching-carbon-burning power stations, these emissions cannot be overcome by flipping a switch or buying a new car. But, combined, they account for one-in-four tonnes of greenhouse gases.
To investigate the problems and suggest policy pathways for new innovation, Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment is today publishing findings from the ‘Final 25%’ project. The project called on the expertise of leading industry, investor, academic, civil society and policy minds to lay out roadmaps of investment to give us a fighting chance of meeting Net Zero with technology. These are contained in three keynote reports covering: the use of polymers; nature-based solutions for greenhouse gas removal; and alternative proteins.
Read more at University of Oxford
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