September 13, 2011

Technical Innovation, Economic Development and Implications for Energy Use and Emissions

The UNESCO Energy Bulletin has published a longer and more articulated version of the World Bank Development Outreach article on emissions and economic development

Carlo Carraro and Emanuele Massetti. 2011. "Technical Innovation, Economic Development and Implications for Energy Use and Emissions." UNESCO Energy Bulletin, 2(11).

"In order to achieve the target of a 50% reduction of GHGs emissions by 2050 set forth during the G8 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy, in 2009, CO2 emissions per capita need to be lower than 1.14 tons in 2050, using 1990 as the benchmark year and assuming that an equivalent effort is undertaken to reduce emissions of all other GHGs. If we consider that in 2005 CO2 emissions per capita were about 4.5 tons and we expect a median future level in 2050 equal to 6 tons of CO2 per capita, we can easily conclude that we are definitely off-track. The historic pattern that links emissions to economic development needs to be reversed."


"Some solutions are already available and a well-crafted climate policy can stimulate their adoption. However, there are limited options available today to invert drastically the relationship between economic growth and emissions."