Decarbonization and Why It Matters

In that report, the IPCC also revealed that there would be a bigger impact if the earth's temperature rose by 2°C compared to 1.5°C. The number of people suffering from drought, water scarcity, hunger, disease and dying from extreme temperature changes will be far greater. Forest fires and damage to biodiversity and ecosystems will also occur more massively. Not only that, if we fail to keep the earth's temperature below 1.5°C in the next few decades, it is estimated that up to 10 million people will be relocated due to rising sea levels.

 

The IPCC describes that in 2017 the earth's temperature has increased by up to 1°C compared to pre-industrial times (in 1750-1850). That number continues to increase by around 0.2°C every decade. If left unchecked, the earth's temperature rise will cross the 1.5°C mark between 2030 and 2052.

 

To keep the increase in the average temperature of the earth to stay below 1.5°C, one way that can be done is to reduce the production of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through decarbonization efforts. In general, decarbonization is a process to reduce or even eliminate all human-produced carbon emissions. There are various ways that can be done to support decarbonization, including switching from the use of fossil fuels to fuels that are low carbon, renewable and sustainable. Another thing that can also be done to increase the earth's ability to absorb carbon.

 

The Indonesia Research Institute for Decarbonization (IRID) believes that the application of decarbonization will bring various benefits, both from an economic, social and environmental perspective. That's why decarbonization is one of the work areas that we work on.