INNOVATIVE POLICIES FOR AFFORDABLE CARBON NEUTRALITY

AFFORDABLE CARBON NEUTRALITY: INNOVATIVE POLICIES FOR A FAST AND DURABLE TRANSITION TO CARBON NEUTRALITY AND NET ZERO EMISSIONS

Friday 12th November, 9.00-10.30, China Corporate Pavilion, Hall 4, Blue Zone

At this event academics Professor Myles Allen and Dr Matthew Ives from the University of Oxford and Professor Li Zheng from Tsinghua University presented the findings of their innovative research. The event was hosted by Chatham House, Tsinghua University and Oxford Net Zero, University of Oxford.  

Description: Rapidly decarbonizing the global energy system is critical for addressing climate change but concerns about costs have been a barrier to implementation. New research from the Oxford Institute for New Economic Thinking predicts that if current deployment trends in key renewable and storage technologies continue for the next decade, we will be on track to meet the Paris goals and make net savings of many trillions of dollars.

However, to achieve a smooth transition to carbon neutrality, we must make safe carbon dioxide disposal a licensing requirement for the continued extraction and import of fossil fuels. An innovative policy proposed by Oxford Net Zero scientists that will ensure this is called the Carbon Takeback Obligation (CTBO), which requires extractors and importers of fossil fuels to recapture and permanently store a progressively increasing fraction of the CO2 they generate.

These innovative policy interventions will work like the opposing scissor blades to rapidly cut emissions, achieving both affordable intergenerational equity and durable net zero and carbon neutrality. China has a key role to play in applying both policy blades as the large emitter of fossil fuel emissions and the country most likely to gain from the enormous growth potential in renewable and storage technologies.