Industrial decarbonization is critical for ensuring a planet that’s livable for future generations to come. The manufacturing and construction sector contributes almost a third of the entire greenhouse gas emissions, which is the highest of any of the economic sectors across the world. Therefore, there is an increasing chorus for industrial decarbonization.
Even though it is a much talked about term these days, still there are a number of things that you might not be aware of. Here are 5 things that you need to know related to industrial decarbonization.
Top Contributors for Carbon Emissions
Three industries, iron and steel, chemicals, and plastics, produce around 55% of the total emissions across industries. Therefore, it’s crucial that necessary changes are made to ensure that the emissions go down by focusing on improved processes to fix underlying issues that prevent these industries from achieving reduced emissions and contributing towards a greener planet.
Not tackling the Issue will have Dangerous Repercussions
The temperature of the planet could rise to 3.9 degrees Celsius, which could displace more than 275 million people as major cities worldwide would be engulfed by the sea due to the rise in sea levels. This would result in huge economic costs as the population of entire cities would need to be relocated to prevent loss of life.
Industries Need to Switch to Cleaner Energy Sources
To achieve industrial decarbonization, industries would need a dramatic shift in the way they operate. Rather than fossil fuel, they would need to rely on zero-carbon electricity and biomass as fuel if they want to cut down on their emissions. However, this would require governments to invest in generating zero-carbon electricity and improving upon the infrastructure required to provide access to that electricity.
Cost of Decarbonizing the Industry
Economically speaking, the cost of shifting towards cleaner sources of fuel as opposed to using traditional options such as fossil fuels would require trillions of dollars in investment. This often poses a hindrance for businesses as both investors and key stakeholders often do not agree towards making these investments. Therefore, it’s important to take them into confidence to ensure that zero carbon footprint can become a reality.
The Need for Government Assistance
The government needs to incentivize businesses who want to move towards cleaner sources of energy, as that would encourage the investors and key stakeholders in the business to seriously think about investing in more sustainable methods of increasing production capacity without damaging the environment. This is also important, as otherwise, the sustainable development goals set under the Paris Agreement 2015 won’t be met as industries are heavy contributors to CO2 emissions.
Industrial decarbonization is one of the most important steps that need to be undertaken in a serious way. The rise in temperature as a direct result of greenhouse gas emissions is melting polar ice caps at an alarming rate, causing not only sea levels to rise, but by making the planet hotter, it has resulted in increased floods and droughts that were previously unheard of.
If you are a business owner and want to ensure that your business is one of the few that is taking the necessary steps towards ensuring the decarbonization of industries, partnering with a reputed electrical brand can be one of the few ways you can start your journey towards ensuring a better, and greener planet.
It’s important to understand that we only have one planet to live on and aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, so taking care of the only home we know of is of utmost importance if society, nations, and industries have to survive in the future.