A new report says the technology to reach negative emissions by the 2040s is already available.

Climate research group Project Drawdown has identified more than 80 areas where Australia can reduce emissions. The group has highlighted energy and food systems as the biggest opportunities.

‘Drawdown’ is when the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere begins to decline.

To achieve such a level, the world needs to produce a net-negative amount of greenhouse gases, removing CO2 and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

“We look at individual solutions to climate change that actually exist in the real world,” says Jonathan Foley, executive director of Project Drawdown.

“They’re not just in the lab, they’re not a startup somewhere that’s talking about it, but they actually exist in practice today. And we ask fundamental questions like, how big could it be? How effective at removing or avoiding greenhouse gas emissions would it be? What does it cost to build it and what does it cost to operate it?”

To stop at 2 degrees of warming, the most important things to focus on (according to Project Drawback) will be:

  • Reduced food waste
  • Health and education
  • Plant-rich diets
  • Refrigerant management
  • Tropical forest restoration
  • Onshore wind
  • Alternative refrigerants
  • Utility-scale solar power
  • Improved clean cookstoves
  • Distributed solar power

The group says implementation of such measures worldwide would cost $23.4-$26.2 trillion but would save $96.4-$143.5 trillion.

“We’ve shown, I think pretty convincingly, we have the tools,” Mr Foley says.

“They could be big enough to solve the problem. They all would cost some money but then make back far, far more. They’d all be good for us. They improve our health, our security, our jobs, our economy, our well-being, all of these things would improve. So it’s not like we can’t do it, we just have to do it fast.

“Business leaders can really step up and lead, not just be followers, not just be pushed by governments, but maybe help shape what regulations could be in the future to take advantage of this new emerging economy.

“The smart businesses are not going to be just dragged kicking and screaming to a climate-safe future. They’re going to be leading it.”

More information is available here.