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Industries impacted by this opportunity
annual worldwide clean energy investment required by 2030 to reach net zero emissions by 2050
The fastest way to decarbonise is to immediately cease all company activities that generate carbon emissions. But for most companies this is not an option. So, what can be done?
Energy efficiency and conservation measures can help to decarbonise, as can the production of low carbon electricity. Clearly, the path to decarbonisation will require firms to make drastic changes. In view of this, the fastest way to decarbonise is to align stakeholders’ incentives around decarbonisation goals and identify ways to strengthen businesses through decarbonisation. But to set ambitious decarbonisation goals, you must first understand the amount of carbon you’re producing, along with the amount of carbon produced by your suppliers. And this is currently a challenge.
Companies can calculate their carbon emissions using the framework developed by the GHG protocol, which categorises emissions in terms of scopes 1,2 and 3. Scope 1 emissions are all direct GHG emissions, scope 2 are indirect GHG emissions from consumption of purchased electricity, heat or steam, and scope 3 are indirect emissions. This could be the extraction and production of purchased materials and fuels, for example. While scope 1 and 2 are often relatively easy to calculate, scope 3 can be challenging as it requires a high degree of visibility into your supply chain.
There are many decarbonisation technologies available. But arguably, to decarbonise, firms need better visibility into what their carbon emissions are. And this is where technology can play a role. Most emissions measurement, monitoring and reporting is currently done using estimates, which means they're frequently inaccurate. New technologies are emerging that offer the chance to measure carbon emissions more accurately. Sensor technology has both advanced in leaps and bounds and become more affordable. Vaisala and Picarro, for example, offer in situ IoT-enabled sensors that can be used for greenhouse gas monitoring.
The decarbonisation process will be different for every sector and company. Many firms will have to substitute existing materials for new ones as part of the process. For concrete producers, for example, novel materials are emerging that attempt to mitigate the emissions inherent in the production of cement. At the same time, producers are exploring carbon capture at site, trapping emissions for storage underground. The key benefits of carbon capture and storage are that the greenhouse gas emissions reductions possible are very high compared to other decarbonisation technologies. Carbon mineralisation is also attracting increasing interest.
