The Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) is a global consortium formed in October 2013 which researches methods to limit the rise of global temperature due to
global warming to 2°C or less.
[
][
] The focus of the DDPP is on
sustainable energy
Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenh ...
systems, other sectors of the economy, such as
agriculture and
land-use, are not directly considered.
Methods
Analyses of possible scenarios assume no major changes in culture and rely on existing technology. They assume no major changes in the lifestyles of people in developed countries and do not include possible future technologies such as
nuclear fusion. Population growth of 1% per year and economic growth of 3% is assumed. Analyses show a need for continued research on energy technologies.
[
The DDPP rejects an incrementalist approach to climate protection. Instead, meeting the ]climate change mitigation
Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing Greenhouse gas emissions, emissions of greenhouse gases or Carbon sink, removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caus ...
challenge (as set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, Climate change a ...
) will require backcasting to a suitable attractor, such as complete decarbonization. This method allows short-term policy options to be developed that are consistent with the selected long-term target. Even so, there are numerous possible deep decarbonization pathways (DDP) for each country and stakeholders and policymakers will need to debate and choose one, building the necessary political consensus as they go. DDPs can help avoid dead-end investments that reduce emissions in the short-term but obstruct deep decarbonization in the long-term and thereby reduce the risk of becoming stranded.[
The PDF is open access.]
In 2016, the project proposed a new conceptual decision framework for deep development pathways (DDP) analysis across its 16 participating countries. This includes an agenda for the further development of modelling methodologies. A key motivation is to address the "intertwined goals of transparency, communicability and policy credibility."[
]
Findings
DDPP's analyses show that meeting a goal of limiting the rise of global temperature due to 2°C or less is barely possible using existing technology, if it were deployed, however long term plans are not in place to do so.[
As of early 2016, the DDPP was composed of energy researchers and institutions across the following economies and covering 74% of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, the UK and the US. The 2015 global synthesis and country reports can be downloaded.]
See also
* Climate change mitigation
Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing Greenhouse gas emissions, emissions of greenhouse gases or Carbon sink, removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caus ...
* Climate change mitigation scenarios
* Energy modeling
* Energy Modeling Forum, and in particular EMF22
* Jeffrey Sachs, one of the founders of the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project
* Open Energy Modelling Initiative
References
Further reading
Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project Reports
, the synthesis report and the country reports
*
External links
Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project homepage
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International climate change organizations
Environmental research institutes