NEWS | DIGEST Covid-19 drives record drop in emissions The Covid-19 pandemic has produced the biggest annual fall in CO2 emissions since World War II, according to new analysis. Overall, emissions are down by almost 7%, with the biggest falls reported by the UK and France because of their particularly tough lockdowns. China, on the other hand, is expected to record a rise in emissions because of the speed of its economic recovery after the first wave of pandemic measures. The Global Carbon Project research says worldwide emissions will be down by 2.4 billion tonnes in 2020 compared with just half a billion tonnes after the 2009 economic crash and one billion at the end of the war. UK emissions will have fallen by 13%, and French emissions by 15%, with average falls of 12% across Europe and the US. TELESCOPES TO MONITOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY Earth will get a global health check via the space telescopes More than 50 cities on target to help climate With a total population of more than 200 million, 54 cities are meeting their targets to keep global warming below 1.5C and tackle the climate crisis, according to new research. The Deadline 2020 Programme, launched in 2016 by the C40 group, is working with cities to deliver objectives in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. These include the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to the impacts of climate change, and deliver wider social environmental and economic benefits. C40s research reveals that the initiatives taken by the cities could prevent at least 1.9 gigatonnes of harmful emissions from being released this decade. 65bn needed to pay for zero carbon heat A report from more than 200 built environment organisations says around 65bn will have to be invested in low and zero carbon heating for the UK to meet its climate change goals. The Coalition for the Energy Efficiency of Buildings says the investment is needed to get homes up to EPC rating C or above. It points out that massive investment will be needed in district and electric heating, as well as alternative fuels, while the replacement for the Renewable Heat Incentive should offer help towards upfront costs. The University of Cambridge has received government funding to use space telescopes to monitor the energy output of buildings on Earth. The Institute of Astronomy will focus high-resolution, thermal infrared telescopes in low Earth orbit to give buildings a global health check. The technology can identify anything bigger than around five metres across that is using large amounts of energy, including buildings, aircraft, lorries and ships. The University of Cambridge was one of 21 organisations awarded a share of more than 7m from the UK Space Agencys National Space Innovation Programme. This technology can let us know if the world is on target to meet its carbonemissions targets, said the institutes Dr Ian Parry. It also makes it clear who needs to act, and what they have to do, if targets arent being met. Carbon budget urges greater ambition from government CCCs Sixth Carbon Budget says UK should aim for 78% emissions cut The UK should be more ambitious and aim for a 78% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, according to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC). In its latest advice to government, the independent parliamentary group said this accelerated goal was essential if the country was to achieve net zero by 2050. It represents a considerable step up from the original Climate Change Act, which only committed the country to reducing net emissions by 80% by 2050. The new goal was the headline measure in the CCCs Sixth Carbon Budget, which covers the period between 2033 and 2037, and is the toughest yet, according to MPs. It states that the government will need to allocate 50bn more each year to decarbonisation by 2030 than it did in 2019. Chief executive of the CCC Chris Stark said the UK would have to decarbonise at a faster pace in the next 30 years than it has in the past 30 to deliver its net-zero promise including moving to net-zero heating systems by the early 2030s as part of a major retrofit programme covering most of the countrys 28 million existing homes. Stark said decarbonisation needed to be front-loaded with more being done in this decade and the first half of the carbon budget period than in later years, to reduce the cost of transition and provide technology incentives for investors through policy certainty. The committee also revised down the cost of delivering net zero to between 0.5% and 1% of gross domestic product (GDP), from between 1% and 2% of GDP, because economies of scale were driving down the cost of certain technologies. Stark said the UK economy would grow by just 3% less through to 2050 by aiming for the net-zero targets than it would under its original Climate Change Act Commitments. As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Sixth Carbon Budget is a chance to jumpstart the UKs economic recovery, said CCC chair Lord Deben. Anything less would shut us out of new economic opportunities. It would also undermine our role as president of the next UN climate talks. 10 January 2021 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Jan21 pp10 News.indd 10 18/12/2020 14:16